At this point, I think it's safe to say we all know what to expect from an episode of Telltale's The Walking Dead. Now that the season has reached its midpoint, it's clear that the emphasis of the game is on story, not action, and thus each episode is judged more on its plot significance than on any particular gameplay merits or demerits. After all, it's those tried-and-true adventuring mechanics we've all become accustomed to that form the foundation of the game, but the story, scenarios and characters are what build each episode into something unique and fun.

For exactly those reasons, it's a little tough to review Episode Three. At this point, Lee and his gang have gotten into such deep drama that it's hard to go five minutes in the latest episode without running into a major spoiler. Suffice it to say, the gang must finally choose between staying at the Motel or leaving in their motor home, and the results of their hasty decision making play out in shocking and gruesome fashion. Like most of the major story beats, you won't have much input on the decision to leave or stay. In the end, you'll have to head out. It's what happens after, and the interactions between you and your fellow survivors when they are at their absolute worst, that makes playing through Episode Three such a shockingly powerful experience.

To say anything more would be a detriment to the story that Telltale and their talented team of writers have worked so hard to create. I will say that within the first hour, I had already encountered one literally jaw-dropping moment, and many more were to come over the course of the four hour campaign. This is vastly more intense on an emotional level than any of the previous episodes, and far less predictable than Episode Two was to boot. As you come to the end of this third episode, you will have an idea of Lee's true moral center, both as a character and as yourself inhabiting that character. If you were in his shoes, what would you do? Would you end up the hero, or the villain?

Stunning as the story elements are, there are a few "action" scenes (and I use that word liberally, as you're still doing nothing more than clicking on enemies) that fall flat. One particular scene in the beginning of the game is needlessly difficult and frustrating. It requires you to click a constantly-shifting target several times within an incredibly contstrained time limit or face death; this was the first time I had died at all in the series, and thanks to the maddening unpredictability and unresponsiveness of the target you're supposed to click, it certainly wasn't the last. Another late-game action scene suffers from the same issue.

The Walking Dead's third episode is inarguably its best. There are some truly fascinating character moments sprinkled liberally throughout the game's four-hour runtime, punctuated by sudden bursts of violence as all that inner turmoil suddenly becomes manifest. Only a few irritating action sequences hold this captivating game back from perfection. With standards like these, the next two episodes have got their work cut out for them. I can't wait to find out how they fare.

Score: 9/10

This game was reviewed on the PC