The Wolf Among Us

Ever since I was a kid, I've been a huge fans of the adventure-game genre and I've spent many hours playing the classic adventure-games such as Gabriel Knight, Day of the Tentacle and The Last Express, to name just a few gems that this genre has to offer.

The Wolf Among Us, is the latest adventure-game from Telltale Games and like most of the games in Telltale's stable, it's based on pre-existing property: Namely, Bill Willingham's comic-book Fables. Now, before we go any further I should point out that I've never actually read Fables, I've been aware of it's existence for many years and I've been meaning to read it, but haven't got around to it yet. That said, you don't really need any previous knowledge of Fables in order to play The Wolf Among Us, since the plot of the game takes place before the first issue of the comic.

For those of you who are completely unfamiliar with Fables, the concept behind the comic is that (almost) all the fairy-tale characters (called Fables) have been driven out of their own world by a mysterious enemy known only by the ominous moniker, The Adversary. The refugees now live in a part of New York called Fabletown, with the non-human Fables using a magic known as glamour to hide their true appearance (those who can't afford glamour are exiled place called The Farm).

In The Wolf Among Us, you take on the role of Bigby, formerly known as The Big Bad Wolf, who serves as Fabletown's sheriff in order to make up for his unsavory past. The game begins with you rescuing a prostitute from The Woodsman (of Red Riding Hood fame). Your actions are in vain however, because it's not long after that the girl's head literary appears on your doorstep. Naturally, it's up to you to track down the killer, before he/she strikes again and of course, what starts out as a fairly straight-forward murder-mystery soon evolves into something far more complex and sinister.

Gameplay-wise, The Wolf Among Us is similar to another comic-based game from Telltale; The Walking Dead. Much like that game, The Wolf Among Us focuses mainly on the interaction between characters as well as what choices you make in order to progress further into the game. Each choice you make has a consequence, as it should be. Try as you might it's impossible to make everyone happy and I guarantee that you'll piss off at least a few characters before your search for the killer has come to an end.

Aside from gathering clues and interrogating suspects, the game also contains several action-sequences (what you just heard was the sound of several adventure-game fans moaning and gritting their teeth). However, these are all fairly easy (whether that's a good or bad thing, I leave up to you to decide) and trust me, this is coming from someone who is not exactly quick on his reflexes.

I'm not going to write much about the graphics in the game, since the screen-caps pretty much speak for themselves. Suffice to say that I found the graphics to be excellent; being very detailed and making great use of color to make the game more atmospheric.

The game's voice-acting is also very good. I can't say I've heard about any of the voice-actors (though a quick check revealed that they have portrayed characters in other games from Telltale), but they all do a good job. Adam Warrington, who voices Bigby deserves special mention; I got a bit of an Eastwood -vibe from his performance, which fits Bigby's character perfectly.

To sum it up: If you're looking for a good adventure-game, with great graphics and superb voice-acting, I highly recommend giving The Wolf Among Us a shot.