Every now and again I experience a game so awesome I just want to scream and shout about it from the top of the highest mountain but fear everyone else would have me shot due to spoilers.
Telltale’s latest episode for The Wolf Among Us is the culprit for this desire of mine. It’s perfectly paced, has an amazing story and once again features a lot more detective work as opposed to an imbalance of action and quick time events. Episode 3: A Crooked Mile throws you into a deeper and darker world, yes it goes further down the rabbit hole so please excuse the fable pun. With the continuation of all the events and choices you’ve made from the previous episode Bigby Wolf, Sheriff of Fabletown, is put into more situations where you must decide if the violent approach is the only way of getting answers.
With all eyes pointing towards Deputy Mayor Ichabod Crane the race against the clock is on before the truth is lost forever. What I loved even more this time round was the fact even more choices were given as to where you’d like to visit first and what clues are being lost in the other locations due to your lateness. This gives you the temptation to replay the episode right away to see what you’ve missed even though you should stick to your decision, that’s the Telltale way.
One thing I’ve noticed whilst playing was the fact that I was starting to enjoy seeing the recurring characters as if I’ve known them as long as Bigby himself. With the immersive story and heightened situations characters such as the strong Snow White, intelligent Bufkin or the mischievous Tweedle twins, my belief that deep 3 dimensional characters have a big impact within a video game and should never be overlooked. Just as you find yourself getting to know them you’re thrown into a position where you can help or pursue one and upset or let the other get away, that makes every decision tough yet interesting.
There is a huge improvement from the previous episode with the catch up and coming soon video now running more smoothly. Before the tailored story videos that was different for each player’s choice staggered with long loading times to the point of annoyance and seeing as that was the only thing letting it down previously it’s now perfected.
We’ve reached the half way mark and once again the twists and turns will make the long wait for episode 4 an exciting and painful one. So many questions arise where the previously answered ones lay. I’m still hooked and most importantly I’ve not predicted a single thing.
