I originally started playing The Walking Dead on my PC. It’s a fantastic game, if you can really even call it that. Much like Jurassic Park (which was also made by Telltale Games), the only thing you really do is watch cutscenes and interact with various elements. The actions you complete and decisions you make affect the story, but you’re not really playing a traditional game. That doesn’t mean it offers a poor experience, on the contrary.
Unfortunately, The Walking Dead didn’t translate so well when ported to the PS Vita. You can use the consoles touchscreen in addition to the gamepad controls, which I might add is remarkable. I loved being able to move characters with the joystick, and interact with various elements by tapping the screen. In those nail-biting moments where you need to respond at a moment’s notice you can also press one of the gamepad buttons- it helps out a lot.
The real problems with the portable version stem from the loading times, because they are fucking atrocious. Worse yet, I bought the Walking Dead bundle which came with a memory card and digital game voucher. To translate, that means I was playing the digital version of the game. By all rights the loading times should be so much better, if only because I’m playing from a memory card. Sadly, that is not the case at all.
The game has been ported great, and the controls improve the experience. If it weren’t for the loading times I would recommend playing the game on a Vita. On a portable console though, you’re likely playing most when you’re out and about which means you’ll want to drop into the game real quick. You’re fucked when it comes to this game, because you can’t do that. The cutscenes are usually long and drawn out, if you don’t interact at the right moments you fail, and the loading times- well, even though I’m repeating myself they just fucking suck.
The game itself is fantastic and I absolutely loved how the game made use of the source material. It compliments the comics, and can even work as a companion to the TV series. You do meet a few familiar characters, but the cameos are so quick it doesn’t really matter that they don’t coincide with the other mediums in the series.
As an aside, I could have done without the add-on content 400 Days. Supposedly it exists to get everyone ready for season two (which is coming soon) but I digress.
Don’t get me wrong, I definitely recommend playing this game. However, if you are going to play it then play it on the PC or another console. The Walking Dead is not ideal for portable consoles, and there are plenty of other games you can play on your Vita anyway.
Long live Clementine (she’s way better than Carl and she goes missing a lot less)!
