the walking dead
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Walking Dead Episode 5 stats broken down
It's impossible to talk about this Walking Dead Episode 5 stat breakdown video without spoiling the story, but we're going to try. Remember when you had to make that choice? To make Lee do that thing? And it was terrible/awesome? Turns out that's what most other players did too.
Richard Mitchell01.23.2013
The Walking Dead classified for Australia
Despite being surrounded by water and populated with vicious crocodiles, Australia will still suffer the inevitable incursion of the undead. More specifically, Telltale's The Walking Dead has been classified in Australia. The game received an MA15+ rating for its "strong themes and horror violence." Sounds about right.Telltale confirmed to IGN that the game will be available to download on both PlayStation Network and Xbox Live "very soon," with retail release dates for the console and PC versions expected "in the coming weeks."
Richard Mitchell01.22.2013
Walking Dead XBLM codes being given to players with disc version issues
Telltale Games is issuing The Walking Dead XBLM codes to players affected by the Xbox 360 retail version's "severe hitching." Posting on Telltale's forums, the developer narrowed down issues of "unacceptable freezing or stuttering" to those playing the disc version on a 4GB Xbox 360 with no internal hard drive. The post notes acquiring an internal hard drive resolves the issues, but goes on to say Telltale is giving XBLM codes to those who cannot acquire a hard drive, as long as they supply proof of purchase.The other major issue which cropped up last month saw some players unable to start episodes after the first one; upon trying to load Episode 2, for example, they'd find themselves restarting Episode 1. In another forum post, Telltale says it's submitted a remedying patch to Microsoft which, once approved, is being made available as a title update. The post doesn't note when the update is expected to be available. In the meantime, Telltale suggests how players can confront two different variations of the issue.For those who have online-enabled Xbox Live accounts and are playing the retail version, Telltale says playing the game while connected to Live should remedy the problem. While Telltale doesn't have a guaranteed workaround for the "rare" variation in which save data can be overwritten, the developer notes some users had success with recovering affected save files by copying them across from Slot 1 to Slot 3. This apparently leaves you at the start of the episode you were last playing, but with all previous choices still saved.[Thanks, Johnny]
Sinan Kubba01.10.2013
Telltale 'figuring out' save file transfers to Walking Dead Season 2
Telltale Games is currently looking at how best to carry save files over between The Walking Dead and its next series of episodes. Dan Connors, Telltale co-founder and CEO, isn't saying much else about the second season yet, as it's still in a conceptual phase."Right now we are just starting to form the concept for season two," Connors told Red Bull in an interview that could only have taken place inside a home-made flying apparatus hurtling toward a lake. "This all remains to be seen but we are definitely figuring out how to carry the saves over."? Joystiq will remember thatSo far the critically acclaimed game has made "roughly more than $40 million in sales, not including any promotions," according to Connors.
David Hinkle01.07.2013
Telltale: The Walking Dead has sold 8.5 million episodes
Telltale's acclaimed episodic series The Walking Dead has sold over 8.5 million episodes, CEO Dan Connors told The Wall Street Journal. Connors said that about 25 percent of the sales come from iOS devices, and "at about $5 per episode, that's roughly more than $40 million in sales, not including any promotions."Of course, The Walking Dead has seen its share of promotions, and is even a part of this weekend's Steam Holiday Encore sale. With Telltale Games planning to expand in the coming months, these sales numbers could equate to a much bigger conference room.
Mike Suszek01.06.2013
Steam's Holiday Encore Weekend reprises discounts on Dishonored, XCOM and more
Steam's Holiday Encore Weekend has kicked off, and it's essentially the digitally distributed PC gaming equivalent of one of those Top 40 best-of compilation CDs: Now That's What I Call The Best of Steam's 2012 Holiday Sale, Vol. 1.Running until 1 p.m. Eastern on Monday, January 7, the sale encompasses much of Joystiq's 2012 Game of the Year list, including The Walking Dead, Dishonored and XCOM: Enemy Unknown, as well as a few of our favorite games from last year, such as Skyrim and Saints Row: The Third. There's 24 deals in all, some of which span multiple games in a franchise, like the Batman, Borderlands and Portal sales. We doubt this compilation will see a Vol. 2, however, so best "get while the gettin's good," as our southern grandmothers would have said.
Jordan Mallory01.05.2013Editorial: Point out the definition of adventure games until it clicks
As the underground cult of indie development surges to the surface and crowdfunding allows vague ideas to transform into products, the scope of gaming bubbles and changes. Games now span spectrums of physical input and emotional amplitude, and our perspectives change with them.Amid this upheaval is an age-old genre that for some reason resists attempts of acceptance in the "hardcore" gaming audience: point-and-click adventures. They're just choose-your-own-adventure stories; they're interactive novels; the choices in them don't matter – all arguments against adventures as true games, while shoot-die-respawn titles play on, unchallenged.Joystiq's own Top 10 of 2012 list includes The Walking Dead, a high-profile and famously intense point-and-click, and my own Best of the Rest has Yesterday, a gritty adventure from Pendulo Studios. Obviously, we consider both of these games to be games. Other players, maybe not so much – so let the argument begin.In order to debate whether adventure games are, in fact, games, we first need a shared definition of the term. Without definition, you could argue that The Walking Dead isn't a game and I could just as passionately espouse why it is, and we could both be correct within the worlds of our own, secret definitions. While mutually assured correctness sounds like a wonderful conclusion, in reality it does nothing to examine the question at hand and leads to huffy frustration, leaving the debate unresolved forever.What we're really arguing is the definition of a "game," rather than any particular sub-genre, which are all just variations of that main theme. This is my definition.
Jessica Conditt01.04.2013
Joystiq Top 10 of 2012: The Walking Dead
Telltale's The Walking Dead proves the old adage true at nearly every turn: You just can't satisfy everyone all the time. As Lee Everett, you're going to fail someone no matter what you do. Every decision – including indecision – will piss someone off at best and get someone killed at worst. What's remarkable about The Walking Dead is that you actually care about these fictional relationships at all.At some point, however, the arguments, accusations and attacks cease to be important. People break apart. Relationships fall away. Eventually, only one thing matters: The safety of a little girl.
Richard Mitchell01.03.2013The Walking Dead sale: complete season for 800 MSP on XBLM today
Episodes 2-5 of The Walking Dead are half-price in today's Xbox Live Countdown to 2013 deal. With that quartet now shambling for just 200 MSP each, and the first episode still creeping about at no cost, that means you can chomp on the entire season today for just 800 MSP ($10).Telltale's zombified adventure has been a big hit at Joystiq HQ, with the series scoring an average of four and a half stars across all five of our reviews. On a sourer note, many users have taken to the developer's forums to report the recently released retail version is at present near-unplayable on Xbox 360.
Sinan Kubba12.28.2012
TUAW's Best of 2012 Personal Picks: Michael Grothaus, and the year that wasn't
In my opinion, 2012 was a lackluster year for the Apple ecosystem and the tech sector as a whole. Smartphones are now ubiquitous and this is the year the tablet hit mainstream adoption. While those are both good things, the whole touch computing world is now five years old and innovation and excitement seems to be taking a back seat to more of the same old-same old. 2012 brought us more Instagram clones, more Angry Birds knock-offs, and an endless array of people asking me to review their Kickstarter projects. I remember a world pre-2012 when developers and accessory makers would ask me to review real, finished products. Even the self-righteous outrage in the tech media about Twitter's third-party client TOS changes that brought about the (horribly named) App.net attracted only the geekiest of the tech world. After all, how is a Twitter knockoff that charges annual subscription fees going to gain mass adoption among users in the non-techie world? Before I depress people more about the state of tech in 2012, let's talk about a few bright spots. Yes, most of these were because I need to pick something that says "this was good" -- that's why my category choices are a bit generic. Hopefully 2013 will be a more exciting year for tech. Best iOS device: iPhone 5 This year we saw the iPad 3, the iPad 4, the iPad mini, and the new iPod touch in addition to the iPhone 5. That's a lot of new iOS devices in one year. And while the iPad mini deserves praise for its design and lightness, the best iOS device of the year is the iPhone 5. Its thin profile, look and feel, and that extra bit of screen space turned an aging design into something sleek and sexy again. I never thought adding just a half-inch (diagonally) of space to the screen would change the user experience that much, but it did. Matter of fact, that half-inch is just enough that I do most of my web browsing on my iPhone now instead of my iPad. Best Mac: MacBook Pro with Retina display Apple had two major Mac product launches this year: MacBook Pros with Retina displays and the new optical drive-less iMacs. While the new iMacs are sleek and beautiful, the best Mac award goes to the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. Why the 15-inch and not the 13-inch? Because the 15-inch is actually a little thinner than the 13-inch. Also, as my office is mobile, I prefer to carry the largest screen around with me that I can. For me, working in Word or Pages on a 15-inch screen is leaps and bounds better than working on a 13-inch screen. And, as with the iPhone and iPad before it, once you use a Retina display, it's hard to work on anything non-Retina. Best iOS game: The Walking Dead This is the one thing on my list that is truly a bright and shining example of a standout product in 2012. Yeah, there were tens of thousands of new iOS games this year, so why pick The Walking Dead? Because it brought back my faith that video games could be used to convey emotional, gripping stories. And that's where this game succeeds wildly. The entire team at Telltale Games deserves props for game play, art direction, and everything else that goes into making a game. However, it's the writers that deserve a standing ovation. The best video games on any platform (almost like a good book) are the ones that can get the reader emotionally attached to the characters. More than that, the best games (again, like the best books) are the ones that let us peek into the human condition and tell us something about the world around us -- and ourselves. And yes, the game is set in a world where zombies walk the earth, but that in no way implies that the story is not compelling or relevant. The world of iOS gaming is primarily dominated by "casual" games. They're games like Doodle Jump and Angry Birds (both fun games, mind you) that we play when we have five minutes to kill while on the train or waiting for an appointment. Games with complex, gripping stories are a rarity outside of the console world. That's why The Walking Dead is such an outstanding game. If you haven't played it, grab it this week while the first episode is free. The game is normally $4.99 for the first episode and $4.99 for each additional episode (or $14.99 if you buy the remaining episodes at once). There are five episodes in total and, once completed, they form a compelling story. Also keep in mind that The Walking Dead game is based on the comic book universe and not the TV series; however, players can enjoy the game without familiarity with either series. Best iOS app: Google Maps Enough has been said about Apple Maps this year. It was a huge mess that led to the firing of at least two senior executives at Apple and was a rare major failing on the company's part. Sure, Apple will keep building on its maps, and sometime in the future the company's back-end database may be adequate for most users. In the meantime, users are flocking to Google Maps via the new dedicated iOS app. In less than 48 hours there were over 10 million downloads of the app; while it wasn't out in time to be included in Apple's "Most downloaded apps" lists this year, something tells me that in its three short weeks of 2012 downloads, it may end up as the most downloaded app of the year. Besides being a wonderfully designed app with vector maps and turn-by-turn directions -- and an incredible POI database and search features -- I love the Google Maps app so much because it let me come back to the iPhone. I was finally able to buy that iPhone 5 I wanted so much, rather than bailing out to a Samsung phone. Best reader: The paperback I read a lot. My pace is about one book a week. This year I gave iBooks a real shot, having bought ten books through the iBookstore. And while the iPad's Retina display made ebooks much more pleasurable to read, the iPad is still too heavy and distracting to use as a dedicated e-reader. I also gave the new Kindle a shot. Again, nice, but for me it doesn't compare to a printed book. The only e-reader I found that I liked (primarily due to its size) was the Txtr Beagle, which I reviewed for The Guardian. However, that e-reader won't be out anywhere until next year, and in the US even later than in Europe, so I can't recommend it yet (not to mention I played with a prototype). 2012 saw e-readers move in the right direction, but for now the old-fashioned paperback book still rules. I wish picking the winners of tech in 2012 had been more work, with a larger pool of contenders to sort through. There just weren't. While I feel my choices (particularly The Walking Dead) are all bright spots, here's hoping 2013 brings much more than 2012 did.
Michael Grothaus12.27.2012
Steam sale continues with great deals on FTL, XCOM, and more
There are only four days left in 2012 after today, which means you're running out of chances to save money on games this year. Steam understands this, and today's iteration of sale prices is designed to help you pick up some of the best games of 2012 for super cheap.FTL, the great indie space roguelike, is down to $4.99, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown is at $33.49.Elsewhere, award winner The Walking Dead is only $12.49, the ambitious Spec Ops: The Line is available for $10.19, and retro dungeon RPG Legend of Grimrock is $3.74, which is less than that carton of eggnog you polished off last weekend.
Mike Schramm12.27.2012
Retail Walking Dead encountering problems on Xbox 360
As if hordes of the undead weren't problem enough, users are reporting that the retail version of The Walking Dead on Xbox 360 is nearly unplayable. Telltale forum dwellers note that the game has freezing and stuttering issues that render the game very difficult to play. This makes quick-time events particularly troublesome, with one user noting that button prompts appeared much too late, making the event impossible to complete.Beyond these performance issues, several users report that they are unable to start Episode 2 after completing the first episode. Upon selecting the second episode, the game simply restarts Episode 1, according to the forums. An Xbox Live title update was released to fix this, though some users are reporting that it persists even after the update is installed.As for the freezing issue, Telltale is aware of the problem, and states that it is apparently affecting users with the 4GB Xbox 360 Slim model. That said, there are users on the forum reporting the issues on other models, and Joystiq tipster Jared notes that it is also affecting his Gears of War 3 special edition console. Telltale is looking into the problem, and hopes to "provide more information soon." We've also contacted Telltale for comment, and will update this post as soon as we hear anything.
Richard Mitchell12.27.2012
The Walking Dead, Sims 3, Natural Selection 2 in today's Steam holiday deals
The Steam holiday offerings keep rolling along, with "game of the year" contender The Walking Dead's price chopped in half. Telltale's modern adventure game is $12.49 until tomorrow... if we survive.The Sims 3 is also 66 percent off the entire series, with the exception of Seasons and Supernatural (the latest expansions), which are 50 percent off for $20. That means the standalone game is $10.19, with several major expansion packs around the same price. It really is the ultimate doll/action figure house.More deals today include discounts on Natural Selection 2, Legend of Grimrock, Spec Ops: The Line and ARMA 2. There's also still time to grab yesterday's deals if you act now.
Alexander Sliwinski12.27.2012
The Daily Grind: Would you play an MMO based on The Walking Dead, Borderlands, or FTL?
Christmas is a time for family, for giving, and for giving family some credible excuses as to why you're ducking them in order to catch up on all the gaming goodness you missed during the year. In my case, I binged on Age of Wushu and a handful of the year's single-player critical darlings including The Walking Dead, Faster Than Light, and Borderlands 2. As I was feeling guilty for neglecting my bread-and-butter MMOs, I was also thinking about which, if any, of these titles would make for an engaging MMO translation. How about it Massively readers? Would you play MMO versions of those three titles? Why or why not? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Jef Reahard12.27.2012Telltale's The Walking Dead: Episode One free on XBLA
"Game of the Year" contender The Walking Dead's first episode is currently free on the Xbox Marketplace. IGN believes it'll be available like that until the new year. We've contacted Telltale to confirm, but we're not sure how quick the response will be in their shambling post eggnog consumption state.The Walking Dead has already started collecting year-end awards for crafting a classic adventure game with an intense narrative. Here's a chance to play the first episode without it taking a bite out of your wallet, or shoulder...or neck.
Alexander Sliwinski12.26.2012
Holiday game sales continue: Kingdom Rush, 2K Games, The Walking Dead, and more
We're rolling right up to Christmas next week, which means 'tis the season for big discounts and freebies on App Store titles, as publishers try to climb up in the charts going into the big gift-giving event. Kingdom Rush (which some say is the best tower defense game on the App Store) is now free, and the team would also like you to know that it's entered the game in the Steam Greenlight program, if you'd like to support it over there. 2K Games is having a great big sale, featuring Borderlands Legends for just US$0.99, Civ Rev and Sid Meier's Pirates for 99 cents as well (which is pretty amazing), along with a few other titles at the same price. Telltale's The Walking Dead Game is winning acclaim all over the gamingsphere, with plenty of Game of the Year nods already, and the company has decided to give the first episode of the title away for completely free on the App Store. Download this one right now if you haven't played it yet -- if you're a fan of zombies or just really well-made mature games, you won't regret it. Telltale has also got quite a few other games on sale, including Puzzle Agent, the Monkey Island series and almost all of its other episode titles, all for just 99 cents. Cut the Rope HD is just a buck right now. Almost all of Gameloft's games are on sale as well, for just 99 cents. The Settlers HD and Nova 3 are probably the biggest standouts, but there are a lot of options there. Rodeo Games' Hunters: Episode 1 is also on sale, as is Hunters 2. Whew! And we've only just started this week. Stay tuned for lots more gigantic sales as the week goes on.
Mike Schramm12.18.2012Spike VGA 2012 winners: Walking Dead takes GOTY, Journey floats away with a few awards
This year's Spike Video Game Awards just concluded and in between the Samuel L. Jackson skits and Black Ops 2 commercials, some awards were given to this year's standouts. The Walking Dead won a few, shuffling away from VGA 2012 with the Game of the Year award and Best Downloadable Game, Best Adapted Game. Telltale Games also won Studio of the Year.Journey had the most nominations this year and won Best PS3 Game, Best Original Score and Best Independent Game. Best Xbox 360 Game went to Halo 4, while Best PC Game went to XCOM: Enemy Unknown. You may have missed that last one because it wasn't in the actual show.Borderlands 2 also snagged a few: Best Shooter and Best Multiplayer Game. Dishonored ended up being awarded with Best Action Adventure Game.For the full list of this year's winners, head past the break.
David Hinkle12.07.2012
Top PSN games in November: Walking Dead reigns supreme
The Walking Dead may look like a slow mover, but when it comes to PSN sales it only seems to gain momentum. Episode 5 of Telltale's harrowing adventure series took top spot from Episode 4 in November's PSN chart, with all five episodes making the Top 20.Assassin's Creed 3 came in second, making a rise from an eighth place that probably had more to do with it arriving right at the end of October. Sonic Adventure 2 and Okami HD charted in at third and fourth respectively, while PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale rounded out the top five.It may not be the best Call of Duty ever made, but Black Ops Declassified still topped Vita's digital chart for November. Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation held steady at second, while the Golden port of Persona 4 debuted at third. The Vita version of PS All-Stars crept in at sixth, with eccentric Digital Reality shoot-em-up Sine Mora landing two places behind in eighth.
Sinan Kubba12.07.2012
Portabliss: The Walking Dead: Assault (iOS)
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. Like many of you out there, I'm a sucker for anything with zombies in it. I've read The Zombie Survival Guide and I've have mapped out my own plans to deal with a zombie invasion countless times over. I've read a ton of Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead comic – yes, I'm that guy.Where Telltale's The Walking Dead is about player choice and guarding a young innocent against the evils of a post-apocalyptic world, The Walking Dead: Assault throws players into a different, albeit just-as-important scenario of a zombie world: how to take out the undead.%Gallery-172809%
David Hinkle12.06.2012
The Walking Dead retail version delayed to December 11
The Walking Dead retail version has been pushed back a week in North America, now scheduled to launch on December 11. The standard and collector's editions were originally slated to hit in physical form on December 4. We assume the undead don't shuffle as quickly as Telltale originally thought.The standard edition includes all five episodes on-disc for $30, while the collector's edition runs $70 and features the full game along with the first 48 issues of the comic in an exclusive version of The Walking Dead Compendium One, all wrapped up in a special box.The Walking Dead will be available at all participating retail locations for PS3 and Xbox 360, but the PC version is sold only at Best Buy.
Jessica Conditt12.03.2012