G'day there guys and gals!(Please note: As Telltale's GoT series is released in episode form, they will be reviewed in DLC form: A through F.)
(Warning! This review features slight spoilers of late Season 3 and beyond. Tread carefully!)
With the huge success of The Wolf Among Us and The Walking Dead, Telltale Games has cemented their legacy to create touching, heartstring-pulling games with game mechanics easy enough for casual gamers and storylines to make even the most veteran gamers shed a tear or seven.
Game of Thrones has seen huge success since it's television debut, with many people (such as myself) flocking to the books for more at the end of a season. Iron From Ice not only has set itself apart from the novels and show, but has grown and adapted with them into something so much more.
This series follows the events of several protagonists, all situated around the House Forrester, a family loyal to the Starks. The game begins with Gared Tuttle, Squire to Lord Forrester, midst the celebrations of the houses attending the Red Wedding.
Mira Forrester, the eldest daughter, is also a playable character in King's Landing, the handmaiden to Margaery Tyrell, along with her little brother Ethan Forrester to complete the protagonists for this episode. Without divulging too much into spoiler territory, with the chaos of the Red Wedding, Gared finds himself assigned a special tasks and a message for his uncle back at Ironrath. Mira, as a Handmaiden and a Northerner, is wracked with grief over her family's quarrels all the while avoiding the suspicion from those around her in her standing. Ethan, now given a huge responsibility well before his time, faces the difficulty of making choices that were never meant for him.
First off to mention would be the graphics; while still retaining the classic Telltale look, the backgrounds and characters themselves almost have an oil painting look to them, with the features prominently focused front and center as the background turns to a slush of shapely colours. Although this is slightly off-putting at times, especially so when skins or textures look jagged and unpolished, it truly separates it from the rest of Telltale's work. As for gameplay, it's many of what you can expect, Season 2 fans of The Walking Dead will find it quite familiar. Much of the action orientation is situated around holding RT and using the joystick to move something or go somewhere but there is still plenty to debate and choose. THIS is what makes the game solidified in GoT's universe; whereas TT has prided itself where the players choices determine how the game plays and how they create the universe to our liking, each little choice is bound to set off a chain reaction, even smaller options such as who to talk to can determine your fate later on in the game.
Sound effects are slightly dull, many of the menu options complete copies of Walking Dead's, whereas swordplay sound effects and even grunting are looped too often to have much of an impact overall. Musical score on the other hand is perfectly done, bringing much of the feel of the show into the world as possible, despite the odd blockish homage intro to the show. Voice acting is done incredibly well, each character having their own role in the narrative perfectly executed to a T, leading even the smallest of characters leaving a large impact on the story, with many familiar faces also making an appearance as you continue to play.
With all of this in mind, what else can I say about the game without revealing the plot of it all? Be careful of the choices you make, for they may not just affect your own output as well. With a storyline that had me shaking by the end, excellent narrative/choices to be made and a wonderful beginning to the series, Telltale's Game Of Thrones is a great addition to the infamous series. While there are some bugs here and there, this series is a welcome breath of fresh air to the franchise and one that must be played over and over again. The North remembers.
Telltale's Game Of Thrones Episode 1: B+
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