The Walking Dead Season 2 Vita Review – HTG
Should You Buy the Walking Dead Season 2 on Vita? Yes, yes you should.
Let me start off by saying that I’ve never really been a handheld gaming type of guy, I’ve always been a huge console gamer. I do however own quite a few handheld consoles dating back to the original Gameboy, and I still to this day own the original Pokemon games. With that being said I have always loved the idea/concept that handheld gaming brings to the gaming world, especially the vita with its touch screen, which is portability. I know what you’re saying, that seems pretty obvious, so let me explain. Systems like the Playstation Vita work best, in my personal opinion, when you can spend 30 minutes to an hour playing at a time and then put the game down for awhile to go take care of other things that need to be done. The Vita is great timekiller when you’re on the train or bus on your way to work, or waiting for your next class to start, or just sitting around your house watching TV. It is for this reason that the Walking Dead is absolutely perfect for the Vita.
If you haven’t played the Walking Dead Season 1 on PS3 or on PS Vita then I strongly suggest you do that first and then move onto Season 2. In each season there are 5 episodes to play through that see you interact with other characters in the world and to struggle to stay alive, forcing you to make some hard and moral choices to keep not only yourself alive but also your friends. The Walking Dead will constantly make you think about your actions and the long term consequences they could have depending on your choices. In this regard the Walking Dead has succeeded in Season 1 and in Season 2 thus far.
Each episode of the Walking Dead takes roughly 60-90 minutes to complete, usually closer to the 60 minute mark, which makes it the perfect game to take on the road or when sitting around. You can very easily complete the game in one or two gaming sessions without feeling like you’re getting wrapped up in the world like you would in lets say LittleBigPlanet or playing Call of Duty or Killzone online. In other words I don’t have to devote hours and hours and hours of my life playing the game all at once to try to beat it because well there is only an hour or so at a time to play, giving me time to do other things.
Controls
Other than the perfect length of each episode the area that the Walking Dead really excels in on the Vita is the touch controls. As most of you know the Walking Dead is a point and click adventure, basically different options and interactable objects appear in the world that you can click on and well interact with. While the Walking Dead works very well on PS3, it really shines with the touch controls of the Vita. Instead of moving the cursor to the object you can just click on what you want to interact with by just touching the white icon. It seems like minor detail but being able to actually click on objects instead of moving a cursor to it really increases the interaction and makes you feel like you have more control of your actions. Having more control over your actions in a game where your actions are everything is a huge bonus and very important which is why I recommend everyone plays the Walking Dead on Vita.
Story
So what about the most important factor of the Walking Dead, the story? The story is what made the Walking Dead Season 1 Game of the Year. By the end of the game you really felt for the characters and constantly wanted to know what happened next. Thankfully, without spoiling anything, the Walking Dead Season 2 seems to be continuing that trend. After two episodes I am really excited to see how the story is going to go and I can only hope that they release each of the remaining episodes as fast as possible. Episode 1 also had one of the most amazing scenes that I have ever played through in a game and even though it was the second time I had played through it, the scene still got to me. If you have played through episode 1 then you know exactly what scene I am talking about and you will most likely not be able to forget it. Episode 2 “A House Divided” took the momentum from Episode 1 and really capitalized on it. Episode 2 “A House Divided” immediately starts off with a strong scene and continues to develop the characters all while leading up to the reveal of a return character. Episode 2 “A House Divided” also has a very strong ending that I wasn’t expecting to see happen so early in the season and it makes me even more excited to see what is going to happen in the rest of the series.
Graphics/Audio
Other than the fact that you can use the touch controls to really immerse yourself into the game the PS3 version and the Vita version are very similar, though I prefer the Vita version. The graphics and audio are the same and are still as amazing as always. The Vita version has a few spots of lag but it is only during the cutscenes and doesn’t affect the overall gameplay. The new characters they added are still very dynamic, interesting, and easy to get attached to which make Season 2 just as good as one, and are all voice acted very well.
Wrap Up
In the end there is really no reason not to buy the Vita version of this game, unless you don’t have a Vita which I respond with Why Not?. I expect some people will say well I’ve already played the PS3 verion why bother playing this on the Vita? Well other than the reason I’ve already listed the story makes it worth it and is definitely good enough to play multiple times if for no other reason than to make different choices. Besides that you watch movies more than once, you read books more than once, and you definitely listen to a song more than once, so why not play a game more than once? If that still isn’t enough for you then reach in and find your inner trophy whore and play it for the Trophies!!!
Overall the Walking Dead Season 2 is every bit as good as Season 1 and definitely deserves to played by every true gamer. If you aren’t a big gamer or just enjoy the show or even just like a great story/narrative then you should definitely give this game a shot and pick up the season pass for $20. Trust me you will definitely want to see what happens in Episode 1 and beyond.
Also be sure to check out our playthrough of Episode 1 on PS3 if you still aren’t sure if you want to play this.
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