The Walking Dead: Episode 4 - Around Every Corner

Guns run hot and objects become coated in blood throughout this chapter of The Walking Dead. In Episode 4: Around Every Corner you will kill more infected in this episode then all three of the previous ones combined, while at the same time building up to some amazing plot points for the upcoming final episode. However unlike the other episodes which focused heavily on moral choices, which can be easily related to oneself, these decisions follow a more drama centric formula in order to set everything up for the final episode.

Around Every Corner picks up after the events of Long Road Ahead. Once again you take control of Lee Everitt, a convicted killer now finding redemption by acting as the guardian of a little girl named Clementine. Lee his comrades finally arriving at Savannah, Georgia in search of a boat in hope of escaping the walkers. The group has drastically changed since the beginning of your journey and now includes long-time member Kenny, a gawky school kid named Ben, an old homeless man named Chuck, and the couple Omid and Christa. New characters such as a cancer support group and a lone scavenger with some incredible agility later join in your ordeals to help propel the story.

Like other people in The Walking Dead these characters each are presented with specific problems, skills, and ideals. With so many new introductions it was hard to care about these fresh faces as oppose to those who’ve traveled with you for so long. Omid seemed to be a cool guy but I was more interested in Kenny’s turmoil then his infected leg. You’ll probably wonder if some of these characters were simply introduced to make the story work as some of them will be gone by the end of the episode.

But now that you have made it to Savannah and new challenges await Lee and his friends as they attempt to find out who is the mysterious man behind the walkie-talkie, waiting for Kenny’s psychological breakdown, attempting to steal supplies from a fascist society, and wonder how no one has figured why Christa is acting weird. Some of these events do allow for some strange moments they mostly attempt to resolve and complete as much as possible for the final episode. While some events could’ve been left open instead of closing them in such an uneventful way, it felt that this episode was attempting to cover smaller things and leaving the bigger issues for the finale.

The gameplay hasn’t change much from pervious episodes. You’ll still control Lee from a third-person perspective and interact with the environment and characters using a transparent d-pad in either limited or infinite time. However unlike the other episodes you will find yourself in combat more often as you shoot and hack your way through five or seven zombies. Sometimes instead of placing a cursor to eliminate the target will have to once again use the poor first-person shooting system. While it does make Lee feel more like a badass the sudden shock of being attack is removed from the equation and replaced with adrenaline. If you have the entire adventure in one sitting you’ll probably appreciate this change from the constant dialogue and trivial puzzles, don’t worry this episode have plenty of those type of puzzles.

As before the choices you made and will make are the heart of this series. You’ll be killing a lot of infected but you will have to make a lot of calls and make new friends or enemies. Past events invoke chaotic emotional responses from Ben losing all hope in himself or Kenny seeing someone with a familiar face. As the episode comes to a close you will be faced with another cliffhanger that will leave you vexed as you wait for the final episode, but not without making some of you own consequential choices.

As to be expected the voice-acting is stellar and every actor does a wonderful job of voicing their character. Each conversation, especially the ones done by Clementine and Lee, convey emotion, sincerity, and disappointment. The graphic-novel style remains the same excellent quality and areas such as an old Catholic school and abandon house truly shine in this fashion. However the same issues to arise such as poor lip-syncing and graphical hip-cups. The same issues remain but so do the same delights.

Around Every Corner is another satisfying addition to The Walking Dead. While the story is saturated with a lot of action it works with the series as a whole. Some of the plot points seem to be either forced or ended prematurely, making it seem that Around Every Corner was simply a bunch of strangers who’ve come together in a precarious situation and end up helping one another. With that said I couldn’t put the controller down and now must wait in frustration as the final chapter in Lee and Clementine’s story comes out.

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed 

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