Game of Thrones: Episode One - Iron From Ice

1. l-marc

   Feb 7, 2015

   10

   After falling in love with Telltale's Walking Dead Season 1, having mixed feelings toward Wolf Among Us, and completely hating Telltale'sAfter falling in love with Telltale's Walking Dead Season 1, having mixed feelings toward Wolf Among Us, and completely hating Telltale's Walking Dead Season 2, I had begun to lose all hope in the company's ability to create powerful character-driven plot. I had written them off as a one hit wonder that could never live up to the horror and heartbreak they created in the chilling and exhilarating story of Lee and Clementine. That was until I played the demo for their new series Game of Thrones.
   
   Telltale's Game of Thrones is everything fans of Martin's novels and the acclaimed HBO television series, are looking for and more in a video game adaption. Interestingly, the story does not alter plots already established in the hit show, but rather shows a different perspective from events already taken place, and the ramifications of the war between The Starks and The Lannisters on other noble families in the world of the story. The game begins at the night of The Red Wedding, an event fans of the show will be well aware of and affected by. The game is centered around events following House Forrester, noble bannermen to The Starks.
   
   What was lacking in Atlus' highly criticized release of their own Game of Thrones adaption, was the appearance of prominent characters from the show and their roles within the game. In this aspect Telltale goes above and beyond with appearances by: Cersei, Tyrion, Lady Marjorie, Ramsay Snow, and Jon Snow all within the first 2 episodes.What may be most interesting for fans of the hit show, is that all of the aforementioned characters are voiced by the actors who play them in the series.
   
   Just as is expected from Game of Thrones, each and every scene is filled with tension, treachery and tragedy. With that in mind, the Game of Thrones world is the perfect world for the mechanics of Telltale's episodic point-and-click adventures, where each and every decision the player makes affects which characters live and die. It's exactly like watching an episode of the show, but being able to make the character's decisions for them.
   
   What amazed me most, was the power of the story and the brilliant pace of the plot, which Martin is known for. I wouldn't have been surprised if Martin wrote the story for the games himself, nor was I surprised when it was released the Martin's personal assistant was a story consultant for the game. For gamers who have watched The Walking Dead and wished they could experience that apocalyptic world, Telltale made that dream come true. While time will tell whether they fulfill that same dream for Game of Thrones fans, they're certainly off to a powerful and promising start.
   
   Graphics: 4/5
   
   Soundtrack: 5/5
   
   Voice Acting: 5/5
   
   Gameplay: 4/5
   
   Story: ITS OVER 9000! / 5… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
2. aadms

   Jul 9, 2015

   9

   Am I suppose to rate each episode? I'm sorry, but I'm rating the whole series at this point, with two episodes to go. The game is nearAm I suppose to rate each episode? I'm sorry, but I'm rating the whole series at this point, with two episodes to go. The game is near perfect. Playing in the world of Game of Thrones is exactly the type of game that Tell Tale does the best. Excellent partnership here. I hate QTE during combat, but considering that this is a storybased driven game, it fits perfect with the cinematic feels. I realize that I only hate QTE in the combat games where you excel at your own skills only to have it taken away from you as you watch a battle. That's why I detest QTE generally. But in this game it works. And making decisions playing the game of politics is very intense. I recommend this to everyone.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
4. Ecko69x

   Dec 4, 2014

   9

   I preordered this game as I had high expectations from TellTale Games. I was not disappointed. The beautifully crafted environment and artworkI preordered this game as I had high expectations from TellTale Games. I was not disappointed. The beautifully crafted environment and artwork resembles the Game of Thrones universe. The game retains the same shock and awe factor as we've seen from the TV series. I love the GoT introduction they created for the game. It was not expected and I was blown away. This game is a MUST have.
   
   The only issue I have with the game is that the decisions once again seen to not ultimately matter. To avoid spoilers let's just say that the ending you get is the same regardless of your actions.… Expand

   • 4 of 7 users found this helpful
5. themdr127

   Dec 18, 2014

   7

   The first episode of a promising series has proven itself premiere worthy. But i must be honest, i almost exited the game within the first 5The first episode of a promising series has proven itself premiere worthy. But i must be honest, i almost exited the game within the first 5 minutes, due to unfamiliar events. I stuck through the boring beginning and started feeling more pulled towards the story, proving that the Foresters are Game Of Thrones quality characters.
   The female characters later on did not increase interest in the episode, and the scene by the forest with all the kids made the experience a bit boring.
   The strongest element of the episode was the small council, the choosing of the sentinel and the decisions that are made up by lord Ethan.
   I played it several times, answering everything differently but it seems that either way, the same result comes at place; Very small changes are adjusted, but tend to fade out as the story progresses.
   The animations are glitchy from time to time, but nothing to worry about.
   Overall, it has a good story, with an imagination that the books provide, an the excitement that the HBO Hit series provides.
   The pros outgrow the cons in many ways, and its a series to look forward for every 4-7 weeks.… Expand

   • 0 of 1 users found this helpful
6. phAtBenJ

   Dec 4, 2014

   7

   I've been excited for a while since I heard Telltale would be developing an episodic adventure for Game of Thrones, one of the best televisionI've been excited for a while since I heard Telltale would be developing an episodic adventure for Game of Thrones, one of the best television shows on currently. It's hard to approach this review because it's still an overall enjoyable experience, but Telltale games are definitely starting to show their age.
   
   From start to finish, the story is engaging, as we've come to expect from Telltale games. Due to this series being six episodes instead of the more recently used five, the writers are given the time to pace things out more in-line with the show. It's a slow build for the most part, with the majority of the gameplay being conversations. There's a couple scenes featuring some quicktime events, but overall this is a very dialogue driven episode. This can be to the gamer's pleasure or displeasure depending on their patience and preference, but I found it to be great. The episode features set pieces that viewers of the show would recognize and allows the gamer to experience a story in a universe that is alive and complex, which in itself is a joy.
   
   All this being said, I feel a sense of fatigue when I play Telltale games nowadays. Maybe it's in part because I've grown accustomed to the formula of gameplay and decision making that they've now become known for or maybe it's because I know the majority of my choices won't have any dire consequences as playthrough will end with very similar results. For example, I knew that with the first major decision given in the game, it wouldn't truly matter because the opposite of what I picked would ultimately happen regardless. To simplify, in any given binary decision to be made, the outcome will eventually account for both options. This lessens the impact of all the decisions you make and removes you emotionally from the story that's taking place. This is a problem featured in all the Telltale games I've played. It doesn't really remove any of the enjoyment from an initial playthrough, but it does severely limit replaying the game, especially with Telltale's continual refusal to remove the ability to skip cutscenes or lines of dialogue on repeat runs.
   
   Telltale's Game of Thrones adventure will prove to be another great story to live through, I'm sure. Despite this, Telltale's inability to evolve from its gaming format prevents the game from truly transcending to what it can be. I just hope they will eventually grow out of their formula before other gamers come to realize their tendencies.… Expand

   • 2 of 5 users found this helpful
7. WildingCarpet11

   Dec 3, 2014

   5

   The first episode is largely disappointing. You would think that with all those choices it would influence the ending or the course of theThe first episode is largely disappointing. You would think that with all those choices it would influence the ending or the course of the game by little, but that is not the case here. Worst telltale episode i ever played! Rest of the game is pretty good,funny characters and interesting plot but choices with no value and bad ending with the most irritating villain i have ever seen make the game worse than any of the walking dead,wolf among us or tales from borderlands episodes. I hope there will be improvements in the next episode really. If you don't know what game to buy (Tales from Borderlands or Game of Thrones) Tales from Borderlands should definitely be your choice because that game is unlike this one a masterpiece!… Expand

   • 4 of 15 users found this helpful
8. BaldursGate

   Dec 5, 2014

   0

   I just finished the game, and here are my pros and cons.
   
   Cons: - HORRIBLE mouse smoothing. - No support for Xbox-controllers. -I just finished the game, and here are my pros and cons.
   
   Cons:
   
   - HORRIBLE mouse smoothing.
   
   - No support for Xbox-controllers.
   
   - Horrible main menu. Play it to see it. Didn't manage to change settings... took a few hours to figure out how it worked (there is a small arrow that you click, looks like it's part of the "fluff").
   
   - The sound engineering is also horrible. Everything sounds weirdly phasey/reverby. There are also lots of part with clicks and such thanks to the min volume going above 0dB.
   
   - QTE with button mashing. WHO came up with this for an adventure game? If they would just skip the button mashing with QTE crap it would be a much better game. It is NOT interesting to randomly click buttons to solve "puzzles".
   
   - The camera angles are horrible. I think this has been the case for most Telltale Games. There are invisible walls everywhere, you can't see **** and the only time the cameras are good are in some of the conversations. I wish they would just do the dialogues and the rest could just be a movie. Would've been more fluid.
   
   - The technology/graphics feels so aged... textures with ultra low resolutions and other idiotic things that really have no reason.
   
   Pros:
   
   - The only thing good with this game is the story and the story driven choices.
   
   Summary:
   
   Really low quality game. If you give this anything above 3/10 you must be a Telltale-fan. I am a Telltale fan and I really love Telltale Games, but they really need to start fixing all these problems before release these games. There is so much promise yet they just **** it up.… Expand

   • 3 of 23 users found this helpful

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