Many people who play games today were inspired by one game or another, and Let's Play videos have inspired a new generation of gamers to try out different series they'd never try before, myself included. Many of whom would answer with "Telltale's The Walking Dead."Easily millions of fans were captivated by the relationship of a man and a young girl trying to survive the apocalypse together, and their relationship, the game, and its style has made Telltale to a well known brand in the gaming industry and kept The Walking Dead and the journey of Clementine further onward. Enter in Season 3; players take control of a young "retired" baseball player by the name Javier and his struggle to survive with what remains of his family.
Naturally, with new additions into a series, players weren't happy that their star favourite was taking second seat, but many were still curious enough to see what had happened to the young woman struggling to live in a dangerous world. I cannot deny Season 3 does have its fair share of disappointments, but it has rare moments of greatness.
Without giving too much of the plot away, we watch Javier through flashbacks from before and at the beginning of the zombie outbreak and play primarily as him years later with sister in law Kate and his brother's children Marianna and Gabe. Eventually Clementine does make an appearance, slowly revealing her past as to what had happened between the year of Season 2 and 3 through flashbacks. It's here that players control Clementine (to a degree - they are primarily choice options) as she tells her tale.
Much of the criticism over the years has been Telltale's trademarked "This series is tailored to how you play" and not having much to build up on. Unfortunately, this is where the hits and misses begin. Key choices you've made in the game from episodes past (or even seasons ago) are completely changed due to circumstance or random plot. The guy you saved? He's bitten and dies. The person you chose? Dead almost immediately after the next chapter starts. The guy you killed before? Weirdly somehow back. In standard Telltale fashion, Season 3 has its fair share of glitches (such as a main choice in an earlier episode reviving a dead person and they becoming key to the plot), and changing the dialogue. But therein lies the issue and why I left it be: it changed the dialogue, but not the choice. People didn't change, no distrust was made, it still played out normally.
Gameplay was standard as before, point and click with few action oriented parts (as in using the joystick) and primarily Quick Time Events that can be unresponsive. The story, as always, is what holds the series up; plotlines converge and a great dynamic is built by the end of the series. The conflicts between brother and brother were incredibly well done and almost lifelike; if you're a guy and have a brother, you cannot deny the relationship between Javier and David isn't realistic, especially if you're a younger brother as I am. Choices were well done, giving people clear options between kindness, snark and downright furious at times, and the entire cast was incredibly well acted out, especially by Javier's Jeff Schine and Clementine's Melissa Hutchington.
Considering Season 2 to 3, the graphics and tone of the series have definitely shifted, while still retaining the same art style, which I approve of. Characters look much more rounded, with incredible detail made on their eyes, and help fit into the world a little better than previous seasons.
Ignoring the story and animation glitches for now, another small gripe with the series is the episode's length; in previous seasons, each episode would be around the two hour mark or more, but each episode in this season barely reaches that mark, the finale episode 5 the worst of the bunch; with cutscenes and credits all said and done only managing to pull an hour and twenty minutes. So in short, a five episode season for 6-7 hours of content? Granted, there are plenty of games out there that have higher asking prices for less, but this in itself is a shame, especially (as I hate to say this) the replayability is incredibly lacking here.
The jokes and such help this incredibly dark addition to the series (and the final 5-10 minutes of Episode 5 have been my personal favourite overall), but looking at the overall picture of the series, there isn't much that helps this season stand out from the rest.
Season 3 of Telltale's The Walking Dead isn't bad by a long shot, but this season hasn't been overly strong in the long run, and the crunch of time in development is clearly obvious. Perhaps Telltale is biting off more than they can chew, perhaps they simply ran out of time, I cannot say for sure. But what I can say is that Season 3 could have been stronger in parts.
If you're a fan of the series, or after a good dramatic addition of the Walking Dead series, Season 3 is the way to look, but if you're new, I'd recommend the first seasons before this one. What holds this season up is its well written characters, the conflicts that work and the continuation of Clementine's story. And while I love and relate to Javier so much, a return to the roots of the game is very much needed.
A solid addition to the series, but like many gems, not without its flaws.
Telltale's The Walking Dead Season 3 - 7/10
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