The Wolf Among Us plays out similar to the narrative featured in the comics, with the first episode, named Faith, centering on the character Bigby aka the Big Bad Wolf. The events of the series takes place roughly 20 years before the first issue of Fables and finds Bigby as the Sherriff of Fabletown in the middle of an important investigation to a bloody murder. Bigby isn't a bad guy anymore, but he can definitely have a feisty attitude when he's pushed too far. Players can control most of his movements, decisions and dialogue choices while ensuring the magical citizens of Fabletown remain hidden from the rest of the world and learning more about the characters in the game and their connection to the murder.
Players that played The Walking Dead should feel right at home with The Wolf Among Us. The new release offers very similar game mechanics to last year's new series with some new enhancements. Controlling Bigby usually gives players a variety of options from talking to characters in the nearby area to interacting with various objects in the environment and finding hidden items that are important to the game's storyline. Typically, players will have to make one of four dialogue choices in any given scenario, and a timer will urge players to say something quicker than they may would like. Other characters in the game are intelligent and can remember and react to anything the player says, so it's important to pay attention at all times. There are also scenes with combat or mini-games where the player must follow along with the rules on-screen to perform various actions and proceed in the storyline.
While The Walking Dead offered players plenty of tough choices that could mean anything from getting yelled at later to saving someone's life, the decisions never seemed to matter much in the final outcome of the game. The Wolf Among Us is attempting to change all of that starting with its first episode. Throughout Faith, players will be faced with many different scenarios in which various outcomes can occur and completely change the storyline. This helps ensure no one playthrough should be like any other, and it of course encourages playing through the episode multiple times to see different outcomes. At the end of the episode, statistics will reveal how players reacted when given a tough decision so that players can compare their reactions with friends and The Wolf Among Us community as a whole.
In addition to the improved decisions and consequences, combat has been improved as well. Bigby has a knack for getting himself into plenty of fights with other Fabletown residents in spite of his good intentions, and when he does, players will find they actually have a choice in how these interactions will ultimately turn out. In on playthrough, a person may be knocked out by smashing their face into a bed, while in the next, Bigby could attempt to talk the other character out of the altercation and then sucker punch him. These mini-games and special events aren't always win or lose situations as in previous Telltale Games releases. There are also more far more of these special encounters in the first episode of The Wolf Among Us when compared with the first episode of The Walking Dead that help make the player feel a lot more like they're playing through a game and not just an interactive story.
While The Wolf Among Us looks great, it still suffers from the same slow down and framerate issues that plagued The Walking Dead series. It's easy to realize The Wolf Among Us was built on the same engine the provided the platform for 2012's Game of the Year, and it's a bit painful to have to sit through the same stutters and pauses with the new releases from Telltale Games. Despite this very noticeable flaw, The Wolf Among Us is still a good game that players will enjoy just as they did with The Walking Dead last year. The Wolf Among Us: Episode 1 will not be taking home game of the year honors like The Walking Dead however since it has its share of problems. There was numerous times that immersion was broken completely due to graphical glitches or the game just locking up during a cutscene. On several occasions during quick-time scenes, while pressing the indicated buttons, we found that the game would lock up and have to be restarted from the last saved point. In a game that focuses primarily on telling a great story, problems of this nature can be a real deal breaker for some.
The Wolf Among Us features cel-shaded graphics that look as though the Fables characters have jumped off the pages of their comics and onto the television screen. The Wolf Among Us creates a different atmosphere for players to experience with a neon color collection that helps accentuate the magical storyline. Voice acting is comparable to other great Telltale Games releases with top quality performances from nearly every character in the game. One of the best qualities about The Wolf Among Us is the simplistic controls that allows anyone to pick up and play the game, whether they're experienced with a controller or not, and if recent releases from the company are any indication, The Wolf Among Us will be even more simplistic when the iOS release arrives later this Fall.
The Wolf Among Us will release five episodes over the coming year, and after playing through the entirety of Faith a couple of times, we definitely can't wait to get our paws on the rest of the season. The Wolf Among Us takes what worked for 2012's Game of the Year and makes it even better. Decisions players make in the game have far reaching implications, while the player will feel in control of the action more now than ever before. The Wolf Among Us offers a great storyline that shouldn't intimidate players that are worried about not recognizing the Fables comic series. If you've ever read any nursery rhymes or fairy tales growing up, you'll immediately have characters you can easily familiarize yourself with, though The Wolf Among Us often challenges what we thought we knew of these characters. The Wolf Among Us is a good game that fans of great storylines should pick up and is a fun title to try out this Halloween season!
The Wolf Among Us is now available for download on PlayStation Network, Xbox LIVE Arcade and Steam. The Wolf Among Us is rated M by the ESRB for Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Partial Nudity, Strong Language & Use of Alcohol and Tobacco. For more information on the game, check out the official The Wolf Among Us website.
Game Features:
- Single Player
- Based on Fables Series
- Branching Narrative
- DLC Support
- Trophy/Achievement Support
Game Information:
Developer & Publisher: Telltale Games
Platforms: PlayStation Network, Xbox LIVE Arcade (reviewed) & Steam
Release Date: October 11, 2013
