Firewatch PC - Complete Review

                                       




Hello there readers after a long while am doing another review and ironically it is my first review of 2016. 'Firewatch' is a first person Indie/Adventure game developed by 'Campo Santo' and this game is a pleasant surprise of this till now.

                                             I picked up this game from steam just on a whim without any prior or proper knowledge about it, the only thing i knew about it was from a short trailer I saw on E3 2015 and it was to my great surprise after playing it I realized how absolutely pleasant it really is and how this Indie title separates itself from the masses.

Story/Plot


The game starts by gives you a narration of our protagonist's back story in a textual format but still it managed to attract a gamer's attention and felt attached to the character in a mature manner. The game presents us the story of 'Henry' who to escapes his sorrowful and despondent life to work as a Fire Lookout in Wyoming wilderness for the summer and the game follows how he spent his 79 Days of summer as Fire Lookout, apart from our protagonist the game features only one other character 'Delilah' a lookout from another region with whom 'Henry' only interacts using a radio day in and day out.
                                             
The main story arc of this game surrounds the strange and mysterious incidents occurring around the forest and these two lookouts trying sort them out. This game takes a very mature progression of the Story line where players gets attached to both 'Henry' and 'Delilah' and how these two support each other just via talking through a radio, you could actually experience a bond forming between these two strangers over a radio and in their common struggle to unravel the mystery.

                                    The ending to the plot would not be as climactic as one might expect but still it manages to provide you with a complete satisfactory conclusion and if you could think about it by not giving a much climactic ending the game shows its maturity and I personally admires it, the only drawback was that the game was pretty short even with casual pace and exploration it would hardly take 4-5 hours of gameplay.


Gameplay


                                                      Speaking of Gameplay it is a simple first person Adventure game with a small hint of simulation, where developer opted for a no HUD gameplay which I prefer most of the time and tried keeping complexities to a minimum giving a player to completely cherish the the fire lookout experience the game has to offer, it is a great example on how simple gameplay can be engaging and effective. Climbing down or rappelling through ravines, going through wilderness and keeping check on campers and finding caches, finding amusing easter eggs, reporting incidents back to station, interactive talking with 'Delilah' or simply hiking through forest and exploring.

                                 The Gameplay offers nice variant vistas of Wyoming Wilderness and provides a play through grounds which very neatly hides it's linearity and small area but even with its limited are the game still manages to keep the play through interesting and non repetitive.

Visual/Sound FX

Visual of this game is what is generally called a bold 2-D graphic style and with that sense of  in game visuals you can't really go wrong, the graphics are soft with nice and pleasant light effects and evenly textured wilderness which could be found appealing.

                                              The sound Score of this game along with voice acting is one of the biggest selling point about this game right along with its plot. With game only featuring two characters a whole lot depended on their act and they pulled it off splendidly without a doubt and its Music score offers mild singular tunes sounding pleasant to ear, the which you could literally listen on for hours at the end and typically transitioning swiftly based on ambiance.

Final Words

'Firewatch' is a great game and a total unexpected surprise that snuck up on me. This game is the very definition of pleasant, it shows off its attributes in its simplicity and maturity in manner of both its story arc and gameplay, with nothing to go wrong visuals and a truly amazingly peaceful soundtrack and splendid voice cast that makes you attached with just two characters in entire game. No matter which sort of gamer you are this game is one of the must have experience.


Pros - Compelling and Mature Story Arc, simple yet engaging Gameplay, Amazingly peaceful SoundScore accompanied by splendid Voice Performance.

Cons - Story was a bit short, Ending not as climactic as one might expect.

Rating - 9.4/10

Initial release date: February 9, 2016
Genres: Adventure game
Developer: Campo Santo
Writers: Sean Vanaman
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS
Designers: Nels Anderson, James Benson

Ranked Worst to Best - Assassin's Creed Games

Hello there readers with the recent release of 'Assassin's Creed Syndicate' I have taken the opportunity to play all the games in franchise again and rank all the Assassin's Creed titles from Worst to the best, looking by the the rate at which new titles of the franchise are releasing i just might end up updating the list every once in a while , well at least for now this is the proper order according to me (The ranking is based on my personal opinion where i did my best to cover and compare all aspects of the games before ranking them though some of you may still disagree so, feel free to share your thoughts on comment section).

Note :- I'am only considering the main stream titles from the franchise and thus any handheld or mobile device titles are not included (This also does not includes 'Assassin's Creed Chronicles')

10. Assassin's Creed : Liberation HD(Honorary Mention)

            (Well the title did originally released on 'PS Vita' but after sometime they remastered it and released it on mainstream platforms that being the sole reason i have included the title in the list.)

In 'Liberation HD' you are placed in the boots of 'Aveline de Grandpre' first playable female assassin in the franchise. The adventure of this assassin takes place in new orleans the renowned french quarter during the american revolution with settings running parallel to that of 'Connor Kenway' infact our protagonist encountered 'Kenway' during one of her misadventures.

Considering that this is actually a handheld game remastered to be launched in higher platforms the game looks pretty neat and appears to be quite a polished product where it also brings a certain new elements to the table, one of which i would encourage is the persona mode where the stature of character changes with change in persona, though the game shows some promise in the beginning it falters as the game began to progress, equipped with boring story arc, uninteresting mission structures and no relations to the Grand Scheme of Assassin's Creed storyline. The game may shine at places and possess it's engaging moment but all in all non favorable and thus lies at the bottom.

9. Assassin's Creed

            Well The original game launched 8 years ago was groundbreaking in it's hay day which introduced us to 'Animus', the game possessing dynamic parkour gameplay accompanied by stunning visuals and not too shabby Storyline which followed the redeeming quest of Master Assassin 'Altair ibn la ahad' and his journey towards hunting templars and discovering the purpose of his order. 

                                 The game was iconic but with the release of sequels and many an occurred iterations which came along with them which favored the gamer paled the original game in their comparison. Basically it is a very good game but has become too dated and won't seem to us as phenomenal as it was on it's launch day.

8. Assassin's Creed: Rogue

               

                                              The game setting is very identical to that of 'Assassin's Creed Black Flag' but here your protagonist is 'Shay Cormac' who is an Assassin Turned Templar and is on a mission of rooting out the Hollow Leaders of Assassins, showing us the perspective of the struggle between two factions from Templar point of view and making a damn good point on it.

                                   The game possessed a great potential being almost completely identical to 'Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag' where it could have been one of the best assassin's creed title as the game possessed a unique plot angle and presenting a perception supporting Templars but the game laid waste in it's mediocrity. Assassin's Creed Rogue is a good game and i personally enjoyed it with nothing much to complain about it good visuals,gameplay and interesting plot but the reason it remained a mediocre game because it never aimed for a higher level to achieve and thus remained in the shadow and wound up at 8th position in my list.

7. Assassin's Creed: Unity

                Assassin's Creed: Unity placed you in the boots of 'Arno Dorian' a brash young assassin during the era of french revolution seeking vengeance on the templars with a disregard for following the creed and well that's it for the plot with barely and influence of the ongoing french revolution on the plot there is literally no great significance that lies here, i honestly found it be boring and forcefully lengthy but the game possess other redeeming qualities. Leaving aside the bugs and glitches this game suffers it infact is a very good looking game possessing great visual and textures, absolutely gorgeous with an introduction of a slightly improved and a much more dynamic approach towards game play mechanics it tries to compensate for it's poor plot and mostly that would have been enough but many a mission structure (disregarding the assassinations) were very linear not much diversification to be noticed and the game does very little to reward the completionist types which in previous games were very much rewarding, engaging and encouraged people to spend more hours on the game. So there you have it why unity got placed in the 7th position.

6. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood





               This game was a direct and immediate sequel to 'Assassin's Creed II' where it took it's prequel's attributes which we all adored and expanded upon it adding more contents to it. The game game was quite a feat which also introduced the multiplayer mode to the franchise which according to me personally was very engaging and gameplay was cleverly implemented. Though the game is very satisfying and provides many rewarding contents it still feels more like an expansion of 'Assassin's Creed II' and less like a stand alone game ,there also lies some elements which i would not approve of which includes many filler missions just to extend game time, forcefully lengthening of the game plot. Many of you might not agree with and some might even curse me but as for the guy who played all the assassin's creed title again just for the sake of writing this article am not that far off the mark. 
                                                 Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is a very Good game and i enjoyed it thoroughly but some tough choices were made while positioning it on my list though i would not differentiate much between 5th & 6th position.

5. Assassin's Creed: Syndicate




                The latest installment in the franchise of Assassin's Creed felt less of a traditional Assassin's Creed game possessing a little grandeur in epic fantasy department and more of a rut buster because the game feels a lot different than any of your traditional titles in the franchise but that does not necessarily means a bad thing. 'Assassin's Creed Syndicate' is an awesome game with interesting plot, great visuals and most importantly the dynamic diversity of missions and side missions providing you with loads of rewarding contents and for the first time the franchise providing two playable characters the frye twins 'Jacob & Evie Frye' going through the Streets of Victorian London in the blooms of industrial revolution and liberating it from the Templars. The game was much more engaging and entertaining than it's predecessor 'Assassin's Creed Unity'. My only complaint would be the combat which could prove to be sometimes repetitive and the plot is not as influential and inspiring as previous titles (Unity,Rogue & liberation not included). Tough choices were made and that is the reason it wound up at 5th position though i would not differentiate much difference between 6th and 5th position.



4. Assassin's Creed: Revelations




              The Final Installment of Ezio trilogy concluded it with a satisfying end and provided the gamers with a much deserving closure both on life of 'Altair & Ezio' and finally revealing the grand purpose of Desmond's Destiny. This Adventure of Ezio depict him as an aged person and full of wisdom but far more deadlier than he was before, in his final installment Ezio visits masyaf and constantinopole in search of wisdom left behind by the altair to find a deeper meaning in the beliefs of their brotherhood and in turn wounds up facing the templar order. The game could be a little limiting with Mission sequences being not much spectacular than usual but it's biggest attribute is the plot depicting the struggle of Ezio in a foreign land while searching for Altair's wisdom along with Desmond's struggle in present time with his fragmented mind puts on an air of Grandeur which leaves a lasting impression.



3. Assassin's Creed III  




            
Most of you disagree with me right now and many of you are about to discredit the entire list by now but hear me out here. Assassin's Creed III is the biggest underrated title of the franchise where people struggled towards the change from 'Ezio' (it was bound to happen as he was part of 3 predecessor titles and people were habituated of him) towards the protagonist of this game 'Connor Kenway' and many of the people wound up comparing both the protagonist which was not at all a fair comparison as both Assassins are from a different era, Ezio from renaissance and Connor from American Revolution. The characters deserve to possess their unique characteristics and attributes and i found the character of 'Connor Kenway' to be original, unique and most importantly agreeable. Apart from character the game contains a very interesting plot and the arc it follows is very satisfying with a visual that is mind blowing even still it is a very good looking game and the game tries to provides it's own uniqueness to the already present strong gameplay mechanics, it introduced the dynamic ship gameplay which was widely appraised in 'Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag' and not only that but the game also provides importance to the role that 'Desmond Miles' plays and brought in many ground breaking changes in the 'present day' story line. The only complaint i have with this game is that it could prove to be rushed and inconsistent at times.


2. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag




              Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag was one of the most unexpected turnout of the Franchise where everybody expected it to be yet another yearly title of Assassin's Creed Franchise but the game literally blew our mind, the game in itself is a feat, provided with a true experience of a pirate's life(i mean who wouldn't love it) along with the most appraised attribute of a pirate experience is commandeering your very own ship and the game gladly presented it to us. Go treasure hunting, whaling , hijacking ships, taking down fortresses, assassinating templars, looting/pillaging, unraveling conspiracies and all in all while searching for a mysterious precursor site. This game is a whole package and most deserving to be the finest of the 'Assassin's Creed' franchise.



1. Assassin's Creed II





                       This game was, still is and will be (Most probably) the best installment in all of Assassin's Creed franchise. The game may be dated but still deserving it's position on the top of the mantle. The game introduced many iterations from original assassin's creed game and added many new characteristics which are still in regulation but most importantly the game introduced us to a brash and passionate youth from Renaissance by the name of 'Ezio Auditore da Firenze'  and tells us his tale that shows us how betrayal and tragedy fell upon his family and circumstances forced him to become an assassin and his transition into the brotherhood.The game is perfection in itself and one of the most influential plot i have experienced, accompanied by such an amazing soundtrack which was so good that it ended up becoming the theme sound score for the entire franchise. Not only this game is the best Assassin's Creed Game of the franchise but one of the best video gaming experience i have ever encountered.


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Assassin's Creed Syndicate (PC) Review

Hello there guys sorry for the long inactivity, it has been a long time since i posted a review on a video game but am back with a bang on a detailed review of 'Assassin'S Creed Syndicate' just go on ahead to find out if Assassin's Creed Series is back on its righteous track or do we have another 'Assassin's Creed Unity' at our hand which i honestly found to be uninteresting and mediocre at the very best and consider it to be a low point in Assassin'S franchise.


Story/Plot



      Welcome to London lads where the new installation of Assassin's Creed takes place in the blooming heart of Victorian England with era of Industrial Revolution upon us and the streets of London scouring with thugs and amidst all this we find our two protagonists, that's right for the first time in history of Assassin's Creed you get to play as not one but two Assassins the 'Frye Twins'. This game tells us how these two young Assassins are going to take on the streets of London while enacting their responsibilities towards the creed.

                               The plot of the game tell us on how this brother/sister duo taking over the streets of London using their gang 'The Rooks' from 'The Blighters' who are supported by The Templars whilst searching for the pieces of 'eden' hidden in London somewhere. The plot engages us showing the contrast in nature of the twins where 'Jacob Frye' is a Head Strong bloke who is impulsive,irrational and a bit childish with an attitude of 'Shoot first Ask questions later' which honestly reminded me a bit of a young and rash 'Ezio Auditore' while her sister on the other side 'Evie Frye' is exactly opposite who is rational and keeps a clear head with more focused on her responsibilities towards the creed and finding the pieces of eden rather than playing Gang Leader with her brother. Though they both create their own brand of chaos, although you can switch between characters at almost any given time but mainstream missions are more 'Jacob' oriented rather than 'Evie' which was a bit of a let down as she is the Stealthier Among the two but given the dynamics of their relationship let us get past this error and makes us engage ourselves in the plot and the struggles they face both with Templars and among themselves.

                           Now speaking of present time Story line which was barely existing yet alone made engaging since death of 'Desmond' in Assassin's Creed III, they tried to recreate the spark but made an unsatisfactorily approach towards it.

                       All in All the plot was quite refreshing and engaging unlike it's previous counter part 'Assassins Creed Unity' which mediocre at best and plot being very dull. Though i still found the missing of the Grandeur which existed in previous Assassin's Creed game, a True Feel of fantasy which was lost since 'Assassin's Creed III' which made me fall in love with this series, they tried to rekindle the same essence in 'Assassin's Creed Black Flag' and for the most past they succeeded but i could not even find its glimmer in Assassins Creed Liberation,Rogue or Unity. 

Even though i adored Assassin's Creed Syndicate there were some unsatisfactory turn of events in the plot and the obvious missing sense of epic fantasy which personally was a bit let down for me.

                    
Gameplay



Well Gameplay always has been a strong and attractive attribute of Assassin's Creed Franchise and this one also is no different, this time around they have provided us with a more dynamic approach towards the gameplay which was first implemented in unity but here in this game we get to experience it in a polished form. The gameplay is very similar to previous Assassin's Creed game where you could use your acrobatic skills to free run around the city and carrying out the deed of the creed. The gameplay may very well be similar to previous titles but i couldn't help but notice some changes in the mechanics and most of it was for the better.

                                       

The stealth mechanics takes a more dynamic approach along with the combat which it appeared to me a bit derived from the Batman Arkham Series, even the eagle vision now acts more as detective mode from batman series where you could see through walls and objects, not complaining even i think it was for the better. Apart from another major changes you could observe is the grappling hook you get which is attached to your hidden blade which u can use to grapple onto tall buildings or even hook slide from one building to another (yet another similarity from Batman Arkham games) the grappling hook mechanics is pretty neat but still it could not be said as finished product still need some work on it and another addition is that you could drive carriages as it was the only means of transport at the time and the carriage driving mechanics was properly implemented even though i wasn't much good at it and end up crushing bystanders. Speaking of bystanders the NPC bystanders seemed to me very unresponsive even when i was assassinating people left and right their expressions seemed to be like 'eh!' only on some situations i got the impression that NPCs are reacting to something though i must say on the contrast the enemy AI were very responsive and alert and difficult to handle which even added more to the dynamics of stealth mechanics.
Where 'Jacob' is more on facing enemies head on bashing enemies skulls using brass knuckles her sister 'Evie' is more stealth oriented where she uses a baton stick of some sort and honestly saying as soon as combat starts she turns into Inspector Gadget using that weapon of her.

                   In the living breathing London we have been provided a large playground and provided with many contents which i personally enjoyed and kept me engaged to the games be it helping out 'Charles Dickens' or finding secrets of a hidden Assassin Chamber, fighting in the pits, racing the carriages, fighting gang wars and many more and since you are basically a gang leader you can also increase the skills for your gang along with your own separate character skills with both trees mapped separately which not only require currency but also special items to upgrade the skills.

Apart form poor bystanding NPCs the game posses very strong gameplay mechanics which is a big positive factor of this game and with good optimization present you could experience smooth gameplay and it makes good use of its large map with lots of contents to keep you engaging towards it for quite some time.   



Visual/Sound FX


      The Visuals of this game is pure eye candy, very much similar to that of 'Assassin's Creed Unity' but the visuals of that game being amazing still was rough around the edges with dull tone and filled with bugs and glitches. This game is placed in a similar visual settings but with more depth and detail posing a warmer environment approach with a polished touch and a softer tone which was all for the better of it giving it a sense of a finished product. The character details and uniqueness were splendid though many of the NPC's from rival gangs possessed similar models so there were not much dissimilarities present and the population density was very low when compared to 'Unity' though it is for the better. Now speaking of the visual highlight of this game is the London itself, with a massive map to explore at first it might appear a bit greyish and dull but give it some moment to settle in and you will feel the beating heart of London and experience the true bloom of industrial revolution.

                                         The Sound FX of this game is also very satisfying  with a splendid voice act done by the cast especially the back and forth between the frye twins and the addition of 'Charles Dickens','Charles Darwin' and 'Alexander Graham Bell' was a nice touch with sound score giving a true essence of The Victorian Era, there was no complaint regarding it from my side.

Special Note :- PC port optimization is much better in this than in previous title and even on medium end PC the game should be able to run smoothly with Medium-Low settings without a hitch and stutter. 


Final Words




                                          Here is the final word, Since 'Assassins Creed Black Flag' this is the most enjoyable and engaging installment and for some parts even more so than Black Flag. The game plot is truly engaging especially with such interesting characters like 'Frye Twins' and their adventurous take on the control for the streets of London and I could not have asked for a more dynamic approach towards the stealth mechanics and interactions and lots of contents for you to be engaged in the game. Drawbacks of the which i found to be was that even with numerous weapons in your arsenal the combat could get repetitive and many of you could find some turn of events to be unsatisfactory but if you could move past it this is truly a splendid game and a very enjoyable and engaging Assassin's Creed title i have played in quite some time. 

pros - Engaging Plot, Contrast of Frye Twins, Polished Visuals, Dynamic Stealth Approach. Lots of interactive contents.

Cons - Repetitive Combat , Unsatisfactory turn of events in Plot, Unresponsive NPCs.

Rating - 8.5/10

Game Of Thrones A Telltale game series : Episode 1 - Iron From Ice (Complete Review)

Ironically this time around am also doing review on a click & go adventure title , here is a funny coincidence this one is also developed by 'Telltale games' . I'm also hoping for this one too be a blast and not to jinx it am holding up some pretty high expectations as 'telltale games' excel at story telling and this time they are doing it with the 'Game Of Thrones' one of the best fantasy a person could experience not only in the form of George R.R. Martin's Novel 'A Song Of Ice & Fire' but also as HBO's original TV series and thanks to'telltale games' we get to experience the game version of this fantasy as its back lore contains literally tons of contents & little details which are worth experiencing.

Story/Plot

Well first things first if you fellas haven't caught up to recent episodes of tv show or read the books there might be some spoilers for you. So from what i have gathered from playing the game it entirely revolves around the lives of the house 'Forrester' who were the loyal followers of the 'Starks' and how the the outcomes of war effected their lives. The game begins with you being placed in the boots of 'Garred Tuttle' squire of The Lord Forrester who is one of the lead playable characters in the game others being the children of Lord Forrester , So the game starts off  during the 'Red Wedding' if you are aware of this incident  you know that this was one of the key moments in the lore. The incident of 'Red Wedding' brought a dramatic change in struggle for power over seven-kingdoms of westeros and the game tries to focus on  changes it brought among the houses which were not at the center of this turmoil and how indirectly it effected them , the episode 1 was particularly slow paced and struggled a bit in keeping the players focused on it although it started off a proper episodic chapter which am eagerly looking forward for. It was kind of like a slow paced version of  'Tales from Borderlands' and to be honest i liked the idea , the games constantly reminds you of the TV show which is a masterpiece in itself and not sure about other but Game Of Thrones fans just couldn't walk away from this game that's a guarantee.

Gameplay

As said before its a click & go adventure game a simple yet elegant approach towards depicting the story curve with this much complexity.The gameplay seemed a bit more interactive you characters play through many a combat scene and goes through many quick time events which makes sure to you stay on your toes. The game also features an inventory system  were you obtain some collectibles and items which might be helpful in future purposes for example herbs , keys , seals , milk of the poppy etc. and also the decision making requires much more thought as depending upon the intense theme of the lore and turn by turn you will be trapped in the conundrum of decisions you have to make and witness how drastically it effects the story in more than one way than you could have hoped.

                                                               One of the things i've always wondered was how it would feels like to survive and struggle in the land of westeros and have one of those complex and twisted conversations which you have to handle carefully and calmly so that they wouldn't later come to bite you in the behind , my hope is that just like episode 1 other episodes might also bring the ominous charm of 'Game Of Thrones'.

Visuals/Sound FX

Visuals and graphic designs could said to be a big draw back of the game as Dev's tried to surf on an unknown waters and provided us with paint stroke textures , it could have been nice but the textures are lucid and due to this there are no proper effects of lighting and shadow detailing could be noticed.The visuals does appear beautiful at times but fails to maintane the intense tone of the lore.

               


  Now here is the part which i liked the most not only does the game uses original soundtrack from TV show which includes creating the lovable intro of the game with theme music just like TV show . They also used the cast from TV show to perform in the game and let me just tell you this it doesn't get more authentic than this be it the sneaky charm of Margerie ,Bitter words of Cersei or Clever comments of Tyrion , rest assured others characters acting have also been preformed splendidly.

Final Words

The game literally takes one of the best fantasy available and tries to expand on its lore and with the level of complexity the lore of 'Game of Thrones' possess it would always keep you engaging.This was the first episode so just try to be a bit patience as it requires a slow approach to get to the good parts.This game might seem a bit dodgy at first but give it a try and it will grow on you & this goes without saying gamer or no gamer 'Game of Thrones' fans its a must play for you

"Game Of Thrones in a Graphic Adventure "

Pros - Engaging Complexity , Intense Decision Making , Voices done by original 'Game OF Thrones' cast

Cons - Shady visual artwork , quite a slow pace

Rating - 7.5/10 

Tales From Borderlands : Episode 1 - Zer0 Sum - Complete Review

Hey guys am with yet another review for my readers its a spin off game based on Borderlands series and thankfully unlike last spin off game i reviewed 'Escape Dead Island' which was a complete train wreck , this game here is developed by 'TellTale Games' who are loved for their 'Game of the Year' winner Walking Dead game series and have got quite a knack for story telling & they create video games episodically with every new episode releasing within a few weeks. So let's continue with the review of Episode 1.



Story




If anybody is not aware about the Borderlands back story or setup let me just quickly elaborate about it . The game series revolves around in a hostile planet of 'Pandora' where the stage set up is like a post apocalyptic world , and there are rumoured to be various vaults present on the planet containing invaluable alien technologies and the people who dedicate their life searching for it are called vault hunters and there is always a competition of violent nature going on between the vault hunters and a big corrupt corporation of 'Hyperion' owned by an evil guy called 'Handsome Jack'(i know its cheesy but fits right into the game). So in all the three established video games of Borderlands the plot technically revolves around a group of vaults hunters and their adventures during their search for vaults but in this game instead of focusing the plot on some big shot vault hunters it is being focused on the misadventures of the other guys whom the legends may not remember but still how they impacted the Borderland universe.


                                          
     The plot has two lead protagonists 'Rhys' & 'Fiona' on one hand Rhys is a corporate employee of the hyperion looking for a chance to make his way to the top of the company and in the world , where as on the other hand Fiona is a con artist who along with his sister and mentor trying to fill up her pocket as much as possible.The plot curve dictates how followed by a series of unfortunate events Rhys & Fiona were somehow bound to meet and thus begins their crazy adventures along with their friends trying to make it through the harsh world of Pandora. The entire plot is played on as narration where both Rhys & Fiona have been captured by an unknown assailant who is forcing them to tell their story as he needs some information out of it. As i mentioned before 'TellTale' games have quite a knack for story telling and this time also they don't disappoint , they have beautifully narrated the whole story (at least episode 1) where it was filled with wit , action & melodrama , you will witness that not only the game contains a true essence of Borderlands series with Zer0 from borderlands 2 playing a major support role in episode 1 ,but it also possess an interesting and highly engaging storyline on itself.




Gameplay




If you know 'Telltale games' you could have easily guessed that its a point click and go adventure game which is their strong suit and they always try to makes this simple format of gameplay more interactive and innovative where they place their attention towards little things that a gamer would enjoy instead of bringing up large and sudden changes which leads to undoing of many game titles.
as simple as the gameplay goes there is nothing much to elaborate about it , games of these formats are generally slow paced and the players would lose their most of the interest in prolonged gameplay sessions but the Devs made the game so interactive and engaging that you wouldn't let go of your controller till the very end. Apart from some quick Time Events in the game , what really attracts your attention is the dialogues you play through and the decisions you  make during the game and how deeply it effects the gameplay and storyline and it kind of always makes you anxious on how  the plot will unfold. The main forte of both the game genre & Devs is focused on story telling and the gameplay beautifully complements the enhancing this experience.














Visuals/Sound FX



The visuals of actual borderlands game contains the lovable comic book artwork and the 'Telltale games' have always based their games on this format , so basically what i'am trying to say is there is nothing wrong that could have gone with the visuals. 


                                          According to me in order to achieve the true essence of Borderlands sound fx plays a very important role and they have achieved it. The game is filled with  out of the whack characters each possessing their own uniqueness (thanks to voice cast)and the good old hilarious back stage to support it with original soundtrack from borderlands game , the fans would feel right at home.



                                           

Final Words




Confession time i loved this game , i seriously didn't hoped 'Tales from Borderlands - Episode 1' to kick off the series with such an amazing start with a highly engaging plot , interactive gameplay and beautifully complementing visuals & sound fx. If the future episodes be just as good as this one we all are literally looking at one of the top nominee for 'Game Of The Year' title. My only complaint is that this wittiful misadventure was way too short.

"An Amazing start To This Series Of  Episodic Graphic Adventure"

Pros - Engaging Storyline , True to story decision making , beautifully complementing visuals and audio

Cons - Too short

Rating - 9.5/10

1. 
   
2. Series: Borderlands
3. Developers: Gearbox Software, Telltale Games
4. Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, OS X