The gang’s all here in Guardians’ game

Guardians of the Galaxy Episode 1: Rated T for Teen (XBox One,PS4): The masters of story telling, TellTale games are back again; this time lending their talents to the Guardians of the Galaxy license. Players will be pleased to see Groot, Rocket, Star Lord, Drax and Gamora through the games episodes, and the characters have the same visual punch whether in cinematic or in player controlled sequences.

The sound design packs the audio punch that you would expect from a TellTale title, and the voice acting and sound effects are both well done. If you have played a Telltale game you know you're in for a great story and some solid action sequences.

The game starts out with a great soundtrack that you would expect from a Guardians of the Galaxy game or movie. As in the past, players select objects in the environment with the right thumbstick and interact them with the button shown on screen, and take control of the character with the left thumbstick of the controller. Players still have the timed interactions in dialog sections. Players must select the response they want to make within the time limit. The different characters will remember the choices you made and it will effect later story sections.

There are, however, some new elements added to the tried and true formula. One new addition is the exploration with Star Lord's rocket boots. Players can use the 'd' pad to go to different levels of the environment to explore. This added element feels organic and well-placed like it naturally fits in the story. Telltale has always been known for a fantastic story and Guardians is no different. Telltale manages to bring together all the humour and fun that made the comics and movies such a hit, while also managing to stay true to the source materials, whether the title has dark and tragic undertones like the Walking Dead series or the humour from Guardians of the Galaxy.

All the action sequences and exploration are fun with enough interaction from the player to make it feel like a game and not just a story you watch playout. If the action and storytelling from the first episode is an precursor of what is waiting for gamers we are in for a treat. Guardians of the Galaxy Episode 1 gets 9/10.

Sascha Heist is a Penticton gamer. This column appears Fridays. Feel free to contact Sascha below with review requests or for play sessions on consoles. sggall@telus.net XBox One acehardy13 PS4 acehardy13