Telltale joined the devs that re-release their previous games on the current console generation. The Collection contains the first three seasons, 400 Days (set between the first two seasons), and the Michionne, three-episode mini-series. 19 episodes, as a „definitive” version, according to the devs.

When it comes to the first two seasons (and 400 Days), I can understand Telltale re-releasing these, as they were made for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. (The naming, however, is a little unfair: it’d only make sense after releasing the fourth, final season. Will they re-release the whole thing again?) Putting this thought aside, let’s see how they improved the visuals and the experience.

Looking better

The first two seasons’ characters have higher texture detail than before via high-resolution meshes, enhancing them while keeping the original art style. Understandable – they’d look awkward if you’d have put them next to the season three characters. (Kenny looks more modern now. Hail Kenny!) The environment got more detail than the original(s), and you can see even the trees being overhauled. The lighting got modified, too: Telltale switched from DirectX 9 to DX11, allowing more styles of ink line maps (and this is a cel-shaded game, so it’s important).

There are new effects, too: the post-processing effects got introduced, which means horizon-based ambient occlusions, geometric outlines to bloom effects, and tone mapping. Just look at the Lee image below – you’ll see how the kitchen isn’t as visible in the Collection as in the original game. One more thing about the lighting: Telltale moved from a lightmap technology to dynamic lighting, which might not sound impressive from a laical perspective, but it’s no mean feat behind the scenes.

Camera

Telltale did more revamping work than just the visuals: they even remade the cameras, as they use lens-based, auto-focusing cameras, which, according to them, results in a „greater cinematic look.” The user interface also got updated to the third season everywhere with expanded menu options for a unified look. (However, I do think it was somewhat pointless, because if they end up making a complete collection with the fourth season, will they update everything again to it?)

They also had to do some optimizing, too, as they had to pack nineteen episodes on a single disc, and Telltale recently became lazy with their Season Pass discs, containing ONE, or, in the case of the third season, TWO episodes…

However, the animations (which also needed work) are still far from perfect. I won’t rate the game, but I do need to point out two quite jarring „jumps” in the animation, which is a common „Telltale-feature.” You can see them in the video below at 41:51 and 58:43. Check them out:

So, visually, The Walking Dead got a visual boost, but I only recommend the collection to those who don’t have a strong enough PC to play games on it (and the Collection was launched on consoles only…), and if they skipped the previous console generation, and with it, the first two seasons. For others, all I’d say is to wait for the finale, because I’m sure that Telltale will re-release the whole thing… again.

Source: Telltale blog

-V-