![]() ![]() I did a couple times, like when I ripped someone's arm off, but he totally had it coming. ![]() It's hard to choose lawful restraint over Batman-like vigilantism when liars and criminals are thrashing me around-my Bigby tried his best, but I was often tempted to extend his claws. I love that I get to be menacing, and then feel guilty about it with Bigby, and then be sympathetic, and feel guilty with Bigby again when good intentions aren't enough. He's compassionate, but resigned to his reputation as a violent bully and willing to use it to do his job. Bigby's primary internal conflict becomes a metaphor for the plot's escalation and the line between justice and vengeance: is he The Big Bad Wolf, monstrous and violent, or the reformed sheriff, enforcing the law by the book? The big, the bad, and the ugly As he grows more attached to the people he cares about-one of them's a pig, actually-he unravels in a way, too. It begins with one murder, but over the course of the season Bigby discovers that everyone in Fabletown has something to hide and something to protect, and everyone is involved. In the spirit of films such as Chinatown, the story is an unraveling. The finale satisfyingly resolves the plot, but there is no right choice and there is no winning. Like any good noir story, The Wolf Among Us can't be solved. And, as long as it's part of the theme and not because the characters have limited dialog, it's also great when choices don't feel meaningful. When my choices do feel meaningful, The Wolf Among Us is great. I'm not concerned with how much my choices 'really' mean-I accept that certain events need to happen, and that Telltale isn't really building hundreds of unique branches-but the illusion must be maintained so I don't feel helpless. A single line of dialogue in the final episode cleared my name, but it didn't really seem to make a difference. At one point, for instance, I chose to interrogate a suspect by the book, and was scolded anyway. Most disappointing is that the response to my actions sometimes feels incongruous. Episodes one and three do that well, but the others keep the leash on too tight. I'm asked to make smart decisions about where to go first and what evidence to examine, making it a rare case in games where I feel like I'm actually doing an investigation. My favorite sequence in The Wolf Among Us lets me visit three locations in any order and investigate them by poking through evidence at each. It gives me a chance to feel like I live in the world instead of just observing it. ![]() I like walking around, even though navigating with a static camera is as awkward here as it is in The Walking Dead. I'm disappointed that, in a game about decisions, I have so little control over where Bigby goes and how he handles problems. The brief running time (no more than 90 minutes an episode) and forced progression, however, mean certain relationships are skimmed over in the end. Toad, and to poke around Fabletown for more evidence before taking action. I wanted to get some answers from Bluebeard, for instance, who does something earlier in the season that's never addressed, and to work out an issue with Mr. The lack of freedom to control my pace and direction is my biggest problem with the finale, which is too busy with climatic quicktime events to let me take a moment to live in Fabletown. The Wolf Among Us too often pushes me from scene to scene like a TV show, especially in the final episodes. It's great for its source material and its writing, acting, character design, and ethical challenges-the same reasons The Walking Dead is great-but it struggles to express action, and can't always maintain the illusion of meaningful choice. The Walking Dead was new and risky in 2012, but by hewing closely to the same format, The Wolf Among Us is comparatively safe. ![]()
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