The Walking Dead: Michonne: Episode 2 - Give No Shelter
Score: 82% Publisher: Telltale Games Developer: Telltale Games Media: Download/1 Players: 1 Genre: Action/Survival Horror/Themed
Previously on The Walking Dead: Michonne: Fan favorite, the hard-hitting Michonne, has finally gotten her own well-deserved series. Within the first episode, In Too Deep, we got a glimpse of the woman behind the katanas in flashbacks to her past life and the never-forgotten children she left behind. It was a bit of a grim tale, beginning with the hard choice of suicide or life, with the fighter ending up on a boat with a crew of friends. As the story progressed, Michonne and main character Pete found a community of people due to their curiosity from a distress call over the radio. It turns out that this community is led by Norma and her brother Randall, and while they may act as if they are a welcoming bunch, the meeting doesn’t bode well for Michonne and Pete, or their new acquaintance, Sam, whose brother was killed in a senseless act.
Captive: When we last left Michonne, we were left hanging as to her fate. As The Walking Dead: Michonne: Episode 2 – Give No Shelter begins, we find that Michonne and Sam are still held captive, and not knowing the fate of their friend, Pete, the girls are in a position to make a hard decision of fight or flight when they find a way to break free. While Norma touts that their community is a safe haven and that they welcome those who play by the rules, there isn’t much patience for Sam, who apparently has had frequent run-ins with the group. Michonne is left to take sides. As they do, fights break out and Norma essentially declares war on the trio. It is in Episode 2 – Give No Shelter where, after relatively slow development in In Too Deep, that we truly get to see Michonne begin to blossom into the warrior that we have come to love. In fact, here we get to see her infamous use of jawless, armless zombies as cover to make it through the herd. The flashbacks do remain as well, so players are treated to a bit more backstory here and there as the game progresses. With Michonne’s mental health also at stake, Sam declares that they can be safe back at her father’s place, so that is where they head.
Give No Shelter: Like Episode 1 – In Too Deep, The Walking Dead: Michonne: Episode 2 – Give No Shelter has reduced the amount of exploration typically found in the other episodes of Telltale Games’ TWD series, and replaced it with more action and quick-time sequences. While it is fun to dispatch walkers with the click of a button, fans of the original may find that Give No Shelter plays through too quickly. On the contrary, this series has the makings of much more violence and shock value, to a degree. Things are no different when the gang makes it to Sam’s house, only to find an angry father who learns that his son was killed. Unfortunately for Michonne and her new group, Norma and her gang don’t give up easily. Depending on action taken previously, like the other TWD series and episodes, the story slightly branches but does more or less return back to the tree. Without giving any spoilers, it felt like something was familiar about a certain character in Episode 2. Maybe it is just wishful thinking or my mind and eyes playing tricks on me, but let’s just say it will be interesting to see which direction the third and final installment heads and if that at all ties in with other Telltale storylines.
Next Time on The Walking Dead: Michonne: While I don’t want to mention details that may take away from the ending of The Walking Dead: Michonne: Episode 2 – Give No Shelter, Episode 3 – What We Deserve will likely be even more action-packed than the first two. Michonne’s character development has definitely grown over the first two outings, so it is likely safe to say that she will have a no holds barred attitude for the finale. While I have never read the comics myself, it is said that this series will help fill in the blanks during Michonne’s absence. How that corresponds to the comics or to the TV series (which I have watched and loved) will be interesting indeed. I suspect that there will be a smooth transition between this last episode of the series and her comic book return, but I do know that I look forward to finalizing the story and finding out more about Michonne’s girls and how they haunt our heroine day and night.
-Woody, GameVortex Communications AKA Shane Wodele
Related Links: Official Website of The Walking Dead: Michonne Game Vortex's Coverage of The Walking Dead Official Website of Telltale Games
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