Available: Xbox 360, PC, PS3
For anyone who doesn't know, The Wolf Among Us is Telltale Games' follow up to the critically acclaimed Walking Dead series. I was late to the party on The Walking Dead and picked up all 5 episodes in one go, but to be honest I found them a little bit disappointing after all the hype they had been getting. So much so that I haven't even felt the urge to finish the last two episodes yet - though I definitely will at some point. Parts of it were amazing, but there were a few things that held it back from really grabbing me. The main issue I had was the illusion that you had a real choice in how the story advanced - yes you got to make some tough choices at times, letting one character live over an another etc. but you still had to watch your character do some really dumb shit at points, forcing you into bad scenarios that you could see coming a mile off.
So, having been disappointed with TWD why was I so interested in The Wolf Among Us that I downloaded it as soon as I got home on Friday? Well, for all the problems I had with The Walking Dead there was still a lot of it to enjoy so I was intrigued to see what they did to follow it up, the setting of the game really appealed to me and the £3-something price tag definitely played a part in it!
The Wolf Among Us is similar to TWD in that it takes an existing fictional universe and creates an original tale within it. In this case it's set in the world of the Fables comic series. Personally I had never heard of the comics, but don't let that put you off at all as this game is set as a prequel to them assuming absolutely no prior knowledge. The basic gist of the story is that a load of characters from the Fairy Tales that we all know have had to flee from their homeland and have taken refuge in an area of Manhattan known as "Fabletown". You'll see plenty of characters that you instantly recall, but the main one of interest and the one that you play in this tale is the "Big Bad Wolf", who now goes by the name of Bigby and is acting Sheriff of Fabletown.
The non-human Fables have developed a form of magic known as "Glamour" that will conceal their identity and make them appear human, but it costs money and if you can't pay then you are sent to live on "The Farm", a place that you may (or may not) visit in future episodes but don't see here which is located in upstate New York. So, having set the scene, let's get to how the game plays
The game opens with a bang, as you're immediately called into action as Sheriff answering a complaint about what seems to be a domestic fight. From the outset you're able to mould Bigby into whatever character you want him to play out as - you can politely knock on the door, or you can huff and puff and kick the thing in. Naturally I chose the latter. From here I was thrust straight into a fight sequence, though this may be avoidable if you're a bit more professional in your approach.
I'm glad the game started out like this because it provides an immediate opportunity to show how much the gameplay in the action scenes has improved since The Walking Dead. Controlling the fight just seems a lot more natural and smooth than before. You control Bigby's actions using a mixture of the analogue sticks, face buttons and the triggers using a combination of good timing and mashing the buttons as fast as you can. Another thing that I *really* liked here is that the button prompts are done in the same art style as the rest of the game, so you don't have some garish green button popping up breaking your immersion in the world. It reminded me a lot of the kind of in-game-world prompts made popular by Splinter Cell Conviction. The fights can be really brutal at times, with you targeting specific body parts and delivering crunching kicks to the kneecap or punches to the throat. The sound effects play a great part in making these sequences so immersive.
While we're on the topic of sound effects I feel I should mention that the soundtrack of the game is fantastic as well - it really sets the scene for a grimy and gritty urban tale. Add to the this the beautiful art work and style - gorgeous neon EVERYWHERE - and you have an atmosphere better than any game I've played in a long while.
Things in Fabletown seem just about bearable on the surface, but the sinister undertones are evident from the go and it doesn't take long for things to boil over. Without wanting to spoil the story (since it's the main draw of the game), you're soon investigating a grisly murder with very little evidence to go on.
There are a lot of shady characters you're introduced to and it's hard to tell whether their attitude towards you belies truly bad intentions or if they're simply fed up with the perceived shitty approach you have to doing your job. The Fables may be living their life in Fabletown, but it would be a stretch to say any of them are happy to be doing so.
One of the joys I had while talking to different characters was the fact that the majority are characters that you're familiar with - Snow White, Beauty & The Beast, Ichabod Crane, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee - but they are far removed from the versions of the characters that you know. Yes they're still fantastical characters, but they also have a more realistic edge to them and seeing them adjusting to New York life is fascinating. The script is brilliant, darkly funny and well acted by all concerned.
The conversational choices you have as Bigby are well designed to let you play the character however you want him to be. In The Walking Dead it never felt natural to me to play Lee as an asshole, he seemed like a good guy and personally I always felt compelled to go down that route. If you took the 'renegade' option it felt that Lee was behaving that way almost reluctantly. With Bigby you have a character that is much more of a double edged sword - a man that wants to do his job and serve the Fables, prove that he's turned over a new leaf but who also takes an awful lot of shit from people and isn't afraid to push back when needed. When you choose the darker option it feels like Bigby gets a real relief out of it with a pang of regret while accepting what he really is. Whatever way you choose to play Bigby it would seem believable.
Episode 1 is relatively short, it took me about 3 and a half hours but that included playing one section twice due to the autosave points sometimes being a bit far apart. It's a decent length for the price and left me desperate for more. I'll definitely be downloading Episode 2 as soon as it's released because I just can't get enough of this world. In the first episode the game has addressed almost all of the things that stopped me really loving The Walking Dead so here's hoping that trend continues.
I only have two niggles with the game, the first would be the aforementioned save system not giving you the option to save at any point and potentially leading you to replay an investigation section which can seem a little tedious when you've already completed it shortly before. Secondly the frame rate can dip and cause the game to stutter at certain points, especially during cutscenes. For a game that isn't that graphically intensive this is disappointing and can harm the otherwise near-perfect immersion that the game provides.
I wouldn't let either of these things put you off playing though. The game is short and very reasonably priced so if you're sitting around on your own this weekend wondering what movie to watch, you should maybe give 3 hours to The Wolf Among Us and see if you enjoy it as much as I did. There are four more episodes to go in this series, but if you don't enjoy this one you're under no obligation to play them. Personally, I've already bought the Season Pass because The Wolf Among Us is the best game I've played in a long while.
The game opens with a bang, as you're immediately called into action as Sheriff answering a complaint about what seems to be a domestic fight. From the outset you're able to mould Bigby into whatever character you want him to play out as - you can politely knock on the door, or you can huff and puff and kick the thing in. Naturally I chose the latter. From here I was thrust straight into a fight sequence, though this may be avoidable if you're a bit more professional in your approach.
I'm glad the game started out like this because it provides an immediate opportunity to show how much the gameplay in the action scenes has improved since The Walking Dead. Controlling the fight just seems a lot more natural and smooth than before. You control Bigby's actions using a mixture of the analogue sticks, face buttons and the triggers using a combination of good timing and mashing the buttons as fast as you can. Another thing that I *really* liked here is that the button prompts are done in the same art style as the rest of the game, so you don't have some garish green button popping up breaking your immersion in the world. It reminded me a lot of the kind of in-game-world prompts made popular by Splinter Cell Conviction. The fights can be really brutal at times, with you targeting specific body parts and delivering crunching kicks to the kneecap or punches to the throat. The sound effects play a great part in making these sequences so immersive.
While we're on the topic of sound effects I feel I should mention that the soundtrack of the game is fantastic as well - it really sets the scene for a grimy and gritty urban tale. Add to the this the beautiful art work and style - gorgeous neon EVERYWHERE - and you have an atmosphere better than any game I've played in a long while.
Things in Fabletown seem just about bearable on the surface, but the sinister undertones are evident from the go and it doesn't take long for things to boil over. Without wanting to spoil the story (since it's the main draw of the game), you're soon investigating a grisly murder with very little evidence to go on.
There are a lot of shady characters you're introduced to and it's hard to tell whether their attitude towards you belies truly bad intentions or if they're simply fed up with the perceived shitty approach you have to doing your job. The Fables may be living their life in Fabletown, but it would be a stretch to say any of them are happy to be doing so.
One of the joys I had while talking to different characters was the fact that the majority are characters that you're familiar with - Snow White, Beauty & The Beast, Ichabod Crane, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee - but they are far removed from the versions of the characters that you know. Yes they're still fantastical characters, but they also have a more realistic edge to them and seeing them adjusting to New York life is fascinating. The script is brilliant, darkly funny and well acted by all concerned.
The conversational choices you have as Bigby are well designed to let you play the character however you want him to be. In The Walking Dead it never felt natural to me to play Lee as an asshole, he seemed like a good guy and personally I always felt compelled to go down that route. If you took the 'renegade' option it felt that Lee was behaving that way almost reluctantly. With Bigby you have a character that is much more of a double edged sword - a man that wants to do his job and serve the Fables, prove that he's turned over a new leaf but who also takes an awful lot of shit from people and isn't afraid to push back when needed. When you choose the darker option it feels like Bigby gets a real relief out of it with a pang of regret while accepting what he really is. Whatever way you choose to play Bigby it would seem believable.
Episode 1 is relatively short, it took me about 3 and a half hours but that included playing one section twice due to the autosave points sometimes being a bit far apart. It's a decent length for the price and left me desperate for more. I'll definitely be downloading Episode 2 as soon as it's released because I just can't get enough of this world. In the first episode the game has addressed almost all of the things that stopped me really loving The Walking Dead so here's hoping that trend continues.
I only have two niggles with the game, the first would be the aforementioned save system not giving you the option to save at any point and potentially leading you to replay an investigation section which can seem a little tedious when you've already completed it shortly before. Secondly the frame rate can dip and cause the game to stutter at certain points, especially during cutscenes. For a game that isn't that graphically intensive this is disappointing and can harm the otherwise near-perfect immersion that the game provides.
I wouldn't let either of these things put you off playing though. The game is short and very reasonably priced so if you're sitting around on your own this weekend wondering what movie to watch, you should maybe give 3 hours to The Wolf Among Us and see if you enjoy it as much as I did. There are four more episodes to go in this series, but if you don't enjoy this one you're under no obligation to play them. Personally, I've already bought the Season Pass because The Wolf Among Us is the best game I've played in a long while.
