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Every year or so a game comes along that makes me recalibrate my notion of how the medium can tell stories. Uncharted 2 proved to me that the traditional model of cut-scene-gameplay-cut-scene actually can work if both parts are expertly crafted and don't outstay their welcome; Demon's and Dark Souls proved to me that a cohesive, yet mystifying world can work as well as any conventional plot' and The Walking Dead proves to me that the choose-your-own-adventure-movie format can actually work for a full-length game.Of course this template has been attempted before. David Cage's Heavy Rain comes to mind, but I've always chalked that one up as a failed experiment. I found it had more plot holes than plot, most of its interactions felt like unnecessary gimmicks (brushing one's teeth, for example), and the chapter-select feature encouraged players to go back and make different decisions with the ultimate goal of getting the 'good' ending, just as we kept our finger on the choosy pages in those choose-your-own-adventure books all those years ago.
Telltale's Walking Dead does away with the finger. We can't bookmark our progress, copy our save data, or rewind our story via a chapter select (although you can quit the game and resume at the last checkpoint, which I would argue is missing the point entirely). We must live with our consequences. If you want to see what else might have happened you'll have to start a new game - which you're not going to do as it's pretty long - or you're going to accept the hand you've been dealt and move on. You can trade war stories with your buds later.
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