I am playing the PC version of this, but it is also available on PS3 and XBLA. Before we get
started on the review, I’ll give you a little info on my rig:
- AMD FX-4170 4.2Ghz CPU
- 8GB 1600Mhz DDR3
- 500GB WD SATA II HDD
- Radeon HD 6670 2GB video card
Okay, details out of the way, time to play the game. You get the same menu as the original game, and to get to 400 Days you have to flip through the episodes until you get to it. I turned on FRAPS and set all the graphics to their highest settings, then proceeded to the poster board to pick my story. I went with Russell for this review.
The story picks up with Russell walking down the road carrying a backpack. When a truck appears on the road behind him, you have to make the choice of hiding from it or standing your ground. Either way, you will have to interact with the jackass behind the wheel, Nate, who even in the apocalypse still only has women on his mind.
You and Nate make your way to a seemingly abandoned truck stop off the side of a Georgia highway to fill up on gas and take whatever supplies you can find. But before you even get out of the truck someone starts shooting from the truck stop’s window. You and Nate make your way out of the gunman’s line of fire and around to the rear of the building to find a way in and put the gunman out of commission.
As the story goes along, Nate gets more unstable and Russell gets more and more nervous around him. Eventually you get the choice to leave Nate and go off on your own or stay with him and see the game through by his side. Personally, I found him to be more of a hinderance than an asset and left his ass. But, this is a game of choices, and you get to make that choice yourself when you get to it.
Each of the other four stories also gives you the option of leaving whatever companion you’re with at the time. The storyline in 400 Days seems to rely heavily on trust in your fellow wanderer, leading up to the ultimate decision of whether you want to continue the game with them or not. I have no doubt that many of you will want to leave Nate almost as soon as you encounter him. He’s a few bricks shy of a load.
If you played any of the first five episodes, then you pretty much know what the gameplay is like in 400 Days. There’s no distinguisable difference between this and any of the other episodes. The choices you make as you go impact the game later on, but the thing I like is that if you make a decision that has a huge impact on the story, you will see stills of this impact in the closing credits of each character’s storyline.
Really, it’s nothing more than a spin-off of the game itself. A little extra something to keep us Walking Dead gamers going until the new season starts. What really matters is that they didn’t skimp on story for 400 Days just because it’s an “in-between” DLC. It’s fun, it’s playable, and when it’s over you’re enticed to stick around for Season 2 when it drops. Yeah, there are hints for Season 2 in 400 Days. Whether you’re a die-hard fan of WD or simply play the games
because you’re bored, 400 Days is worth the money.
