I have strong doubts any of Mojo's five many readers will run out and buy The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series Collection. If you liked the games during their initial release, and have played all of them, I could only see die-hard fans shelling out $50 for enhanced graphics. I'm sure many would do so for a Monkey Island collection, but The Walking Dead? There isn't enough here to justify the price, and I doubt too many in our sphere would disagree.
And if you disliked the games, there is nothing here that will change your mind.
The enhancements, then -- they are technically very good. The graphics largely feel a generation past the originals. I'm sure a lot of work went into it. What I don't love is the slight stylistic change, which adds vivid color and shiny surfaces. The washed out look of the original might look dated, but it felt like a better representation of The Walking Dead's bleak story.
Again, though, props to Telltale for what they did with the technical aspect. And at least they didn't go the route of The Secret of Monkey Island "Special" Edition.
Now the games themselves... It has been a while since I played through season one, and I got to say, it holds up well. Sure, your choices don't always make much of a difference, with main outcomes largely staying the same, but that is forgivable, with it being an early attempt at that type of gameplay. (That it doesn't improve in later seasons is disappointing, mind you.)
I know I'm in the minority, but I still think 400 Days holds its own, and season two delivers in the end, too. Michonne? I couldn't get further than ten minutes in during my initial playthrough, as it just felt too Walking Dead-y. Nothing against dark storylines or anything, but man, it can be a bit much at times.
I was going to give season three a shot, but it didn't work in my review copy. I saw a patch downloaded yesterday, so I'll probably give it another try. Maybe Mojo will even put up a full season review? Stranger things have happened. Kind of.
The games are what they are, then. I enjoyed most of them well enough. But again, $50? As much work that must have gone into this, I understand it comes at a price, but I still cannot see how most consumers can justify it.
A review by Remi, who probably is a cheapskate.