It is hard to find a game company that continuously creates award winning games, let alone award winning game experiences. Telltale Games most recent project is centered in the heart of George R.R. Martins A Song of Ice and Fire universe and its release this past week certainly pleased thousands of fans.
Coming from the creators of the award winning video game The Walking Dead, A Game of Thrones had mixed expectations when it was first announced. With almost no information released to the public regarding what the story was going to be about, where it was going to be placed, and who it was going to involve, fans were both eager and worried that the game might not be as good as Telltales previous projects.
Those worries were instantly crushed as soon as the public finished playing the first ten minutes of episode 1. The story follows the survival of House Forrester, one of the many houses loyal to House Stark of the North. The player will trek through several known locations for fans of the series and participate in many events that are tied both to the show and to the television series as well.
In typical Telltale Games fashion, this game isn’t so much of a game, but more of an experience. The player has zero to none control as to where the characters go throughout the course of the episode but rather has practically full range as to what the characters say. Throughout conversations with other characters, the player will have four options as to what they want their character to say or do at specific moments that thus further enhance and change dynamics and story of the game. Creating completely unique experiences for each and every player.
The art design, score, and voice acting are all excellent as well. Characters from the show return to voice act characters in the game which creates an Emmy award winning experience fans of the show won’t want to miss.
However for as great as the game is, the enjoyment one received from it would not be the same if one was not familiar with novels or show. The universe is simply too broad with too many characters that it would almost be impossible for someone to jump into this game without any prior knowledge to the universe and enjoy it.
Telltale’s newest series is certainly looking to push the boundaries of what storytelling truly is in videogames. Episode 2 of Game of Thrones will be released early 2015.
