Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 Hours or Less

The Bottom Line:

"Best in series"

The Walking Dead Episode Two: Starved for Help follows in the footsteps of Episode One: A New Day, but in terms of quality is leaps and bounds ahead.

With A New Day, Telltale introduced Lee Everett, a heretofore unknown character from the comics, and once again you will fill his boots in rural Georgia, skipping over areas and characters from the original source material.

The story is inter-woven with the canon already shown in the stories, but with Starved for Help, Telltale have bravely moved away from the somewhat cheesy inclusion of series comic relief Glenn and has become it's own beast - and it's all the better for it.

Although A New Day was quite open with it's violence and horror, Starved for Help takes it one step further, with the opening moments forcing the player to choose between amputating a guy to save his life (forcing you to repeatedly axe away at his bloody stump), and fighting for survival not just against the undead, but outside forces that may seek to do your ragtag group harm.

The story takes place three months after the events of A New Day, with the story tailored to choices made in the first episode. The characters have become somewhat contemptible, there is an undercurrent of cabin fever, and the addition of outsiders initially seems to bring welcome relief to our survivors. Of course, nothing is what it seems on the surface.

The player will be guided along a few minor puzzles, such as unlocking a certain room and putting together a swing set for their little urchin Clementine, but it is the dialogue and the tension of Starved for Help which lifts the game above its simple premise. A chance encounter will uncover some utter horror, and the disquieting and ocassionally disturbing gameplay will definitely keep you hooked.

With character conflicts being carried over from the first title (and the promise of this affecting future titles as well), this showcases some branching design and dialogue decisions that can promote some character morals and their relation to the player.

A smattering of fast paced events keep the action ocassionally frantic, and force the player to make tough choices on the lives of those around them - and even if they are involved in the deaths of other characters. Your actions, or non-actions, are sure to have lasting impacts.

The graphics are again an interesting use of comic style cel-shading and expressive emotional characters. Starved for Help goes better in it's depiction of larger areas and more variety, and there is heaps of the red stuff going around as well. Some minor audio quirks aside, the sound will definitely keep you on edge, with the music inducing some chills while you appreciate the superb delivery of the cast.

It's not all good news however. There are some technical issues with the game, some lip-synching and graphical hitching, but it is overall minor, and it doesn't take away too much from this otherwise well paced and designed game.

With whole heapings of atmospheric horror and despair, Starved For Help is a step up from A New Day, and a disturbing look into how society may just function when it breaks down completely.