Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series

Marvel's intergalactic band of merry misfits and miscreants are back, and fans should be thrilled. Much like Telltale's earlier take on Batman, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series makes its mark by existing in its own world, blending the best elements from the Guardians comic books and movies with completely original elements. Since the story isn't restricted to following established canon, it opens itself up to all sorts of fresh new possibilities. The characters feel instantly familiar, and yet there are still plenty of surprise twists and turns. The presentation is top-notch, too, with fantastic visuals and spot-on voice acting that breathes life and emotion into the overall story. In fact, some of the flashback scenes between Peter Quill and his mother are among the most emotional moments ever in a Telltale game and some of the best in gaming today. It tugs hard at the heartstrings, and you forget for a moment that this is just a game.

Telltale games have never really been about fast-paced action, and Guardians of the Galaxy is no different. You'll spend most of your time watching the story unfold around you as you wait for a key choice, an investigative moment, or an occasional quick bit of combat. Investigating certain scenes just means walking around and finding the right items to click on. And while the combat feels a lot more fluid and natural than that in most other Telltale games, it's still pretty much just getting a rhythm down and punching the right commands at the right time. It doesn't make the game any less fun, but it's also not exactly a test of your keen reflexes either. As for those key plot choices, some of these seem to carry a little less weight in Guardians than they have in other games … at least so far. Like in other Telltale games, a choice you make early on in the story might come back to bite you hard in the buildup to the finale. But at the moment you have to make the choice, there's rarely that real sense of dread or anxiety that comes with trying to choose the lesser of two evils. Still, much like the Guardians of the Galaxy themselves, when you bring all the pieces together, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series somehow manages to gel into an amazing story you just don't want to end.