This works very well in Iron from Ice, because having access to three different members of the family (third son Ethan, eldest daughter Mira, and squire Gared Tuttle) helps communicate the wide array of influences that are at play. Through Ethan, for example, we see the immediate threats to the Forresters’ domain, while Mira’s perspective shows what political machinations are at work in the capital. This gives you the full picture of what’s going on as it unfolds, so you never feel as if you’ve been unfairly sideswiped by an event happening when you weren’t on watch.
While Iron from Ice is effective in using the show’s narrative structure to its own benefit, it does an even better job of introducing a sense of familiar anxiety with a unique spin. Fans of the show are used to being worried about the choices its characters make, but it’s an anticipatory concern; you see that someone has made a bad choice and dread what the results will be. But in Iron from Ice, when you’re given the decision-making reigns, figuring out the ‘right’ way to do things isn’t always so easy.
One choice often shuts the door to another, or you have to make several important decisions quickly, and you can’t see far enough ahead to know if you just messed up or not. This is both exhilarating and scary, as virtually every choice is in some way life-or-death, and you have to make it on the spot. It is perhaps the most effective use of Telltale’s decision-based model to date, combined with GoT’s high-stakes scenarios, so that things never feel dull. In one instance, a character of high social standing asks Mira Forrester if she is more loyal to her benefactor, who is within earshot, or the king himself. I spent many long minutes staring at that screen, and I still don’t know if I made the right choice. It’s uncomfortable, worrying… and a little bit exhilarating, too.
How is Episode 2: The Lost Lords?
The Lost Lords is decidedly more optimistic than Iron from Ice, if that word and Game of Thrones even make sense together. Things are still hardly roses and sunshine for the Forrester clan, but their meteoric descent into ruin plateaus a bit here. The episode opens on a battle you’re actually expected to win, and rumors of a particular death have been greatly exaggerated. That’s good, because two more hours with no hint of victory in sight would have made the game much easier to put down. Why keep going when defeat is basically certain?
Lost Lords is a welcome reprieve in that sense, letting the Forresters (and therefore you) step out of damage control mode to go on the offensive and start executing on critical battle plans. Though things will absolutely, definitely, 100% go wrong in future episodes, this one feels a lot more productive, balancing out the previous chapter and giving you a reason to keep playing.
Episode 2 also beefs up the cast with two new player characters, one of whom is an ocean away from where the other protagonists are making their stand. There’s a lot of variety in Lost Lords’ settings as a result, with intrigue and action from the icy north to dangerous desert cities. That means more distinct gameplay variety as well. The Forresters all deal with fairly similar situations in Iron From Ice (sequences starring Mira in King’s Landing and Ethan in the Forrester manor of Ironrath both focus on talking your way out of bad situations, for instance), but each locale in Lost Lords has its own set of politics and means of confronting them.
While scenes starring Mira still focus on deciding who to trust and when to make a move, second-born son Asher spends most of his time fighting tense quick-time battles (which you can lose if you’re not quick enough on the draw), and the folks clustered at Ironrath try to keep their neighboring rivals at bay while bolstering their resources and keeping the family together. However, even as you make decent forward progress, there’s a sense that none of those things will be easy, and the anticipation for Episode 3 only gets stronger.
Supply Gamesradar
Game of Thrones Episode 2: The Lost Lords review - App Review 4u
Post a Comment