The Walking Dead: Episode 2 preview

The Walking Dead's second episode, titled "Starved for Help," is set to arrive later this month. We go hands-on with the first twenty minutes.

Ozzie Mejia

June 11, 2012 2:30 PM

Note: This preview contains spoilers from episode one and two of the game. The Walking Dead's second episode, is set to arrive later this month, but I took an early look at the first 20 minutes of it during E3. Utilizing the same captivating formula of the first episode, "Starved for Help" showed off numerous player decisions and the consequences that resulted from them. The episode begins three months after the events of the last, with the survivors running dangerously low on food. Lee returns as the main character, and he must hunt for wildlife in the woods. Accompanied by Mark, they encounter a group of college-aged kids, one of whom has his leg caught in a bear trap. The first part of "Starved for Help" has players making seemingly arbitrary decisions that can come back to haunt them later. For example, Lee confided to Mark that he felt crotchety Larry was a racist. Mark wound up spilling these details later, creating further tension amongst an already-apprehensive group of survivors. Other decisions need to be made on the fly. Going back to the bear trap, Lee had to decide whether to cut the kid's leg off and save him or leave him to an approaching herd of walkers. In this demo, Lee opted to save him and bring him back to the camp. This led to a major twist that I won't dare spoil here. Decisions from the first episode also weigh heavy on "Starved for Help." Various instances within the second episode are significantly altered depending who survives or perishes in the first episode. Choices in all parts of both Walking Dead episodes matter and I got a serious sense that no two playthroughs are the same.

Click to see new screenshots from Episode Two

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?

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June 11, 2012 2:30 PM

Ozzie Mejia posted a new article, The Walking Dead: Episode 2 preview.

The Walking Dead's second episode, titled "Starved for Help," is set to arrive later this month. We go hands-on with the first twenty minutes.
- theDrMikey
  
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  June 11, 2012 4:27 PM
  
  harry potter all up in that shit
- pyide
  
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  June 11, 2012 4:35 PM
  
  That's going to end up being a 2 month gap between the first and second episode, right? Does that match their initial release schedule? I thought they said monthly but game development is never on time like that.
  
  I really like the idea of episodic games but I'm too impatient to wait that long for the next one. Going to buy and burn through all the episodes back to back when it's finally done. I like Telltale and this series looks really good.
  - OzzieMejia
    
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    June 11, 2012 4:48 PM
    
    The Telltale reps at E3 said there would be a two-month gap in-between episodes. Should be much easier to keep up with that, given how many different story scenarios need to be tested out.
    - [deleted] 1269839605
      
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      June 11, 2012 7:14 PM
      
      [deleted]
- SpeedColaSmitty
  
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  June 11, 2012 6:51 PM
  
  Where can I cancel my three season passes? The length of time between episodes is Lame, and my wife, son, and I are losing interest quickly. Huge fan of the show, but this is ridiculous.
  - deathofrats
    
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    June 11, 2012 7:12 PM
    
    yeah why can't they just pump these suckers out on a weekly basis. What a bunch of slackers, they need to work harder/faster..who cares about their own wives/children.
  - JINKY
    
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    June 11, 2012 7:28 PM
    
    lol.
- etherboy
  
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  June 11, 2012 7:03 PM
  
  I thought the first episode was pretty fun. I prepurchased the season, and played it together with my wife. She was sufficiently scared, but wished the graphics were more realistic.