I wasn't sure what to expect really. I've dabbled in some of the more robust tablet games, but hadn't yet fully dived into a gaming experience at the level The Wolf Among Us had been hyped out to be.

 

 

To say the game blew my mind would be an understatement. 

If you're not familiar with the storyline of Fables, you'll catch on pretty quick. The premise is that all the fairy tale characters have been driven from their homeland and now form a hidden community in New York City known as Fabletown. 

 

If you're not able to blend in as a human, for example, say you're one of the three little pigs, you are forced to live in a place known as "The Farm," which is located in upstate New York. 

 

In The Wolf Among Us, you play Bigby Wolf... known in his former life as the one and only Big Bad Wolf. He's Fabletown's sheriff, policing the inhabitants of Fabletown and keeping them in line. 

 

He's a foul-mouth, cigarette smoking, trench-coat wearing bad ass who doesn't put up with anyone's crap. In other words... he's awesome. 

 

During the game, you get to jump into his life, solving crimes and keeping the peace, even if peacekeeping means busting up a few troublemakers who can't keep their mouth shut or who can't follow the rules of Fabletown. 

 

Your partner in crime is none other than Snow White, who seems to have wormed her way into the heart of our hero, even though she seems to be unaware of his feelings for her. 

 

As you play, you'll come into contact with many of your favorite characters from your childhood stories, but don't expect them to act all cute and cuddly. And don't expect this game to be something you can share with your children just because it has a fairytale theme. 

 

The Wolf Among Us is a VERY adult game, with adult themes, violence, and adult language. They swear more than my NJ mother after a few glasses of wine, so keep that in mind if you're sensitive to gratuitous F-bombs.   

In a word, gorgeous. If you like that dark and sultry style of illustration that casts shadows and grime on everything. Which I do. And which is totally appropriate for the world you find yourself in here in Fabletown. 

 

 

Everything is so well done, from the background scenes of New York, to Bigby's apartment to character depiction.... it's not easy to make a pig look disgusted and sad. 

 

At times, I felt less like I was playing a game and more like I was a leading star in a beautifully animated film. It was a totally immersive experience and the graphics were just so superior to anything I've seen on the tablet market lately. 

The Gameplay of The Wolf Among Us

Because you're involved in a running story, the gameplay plays a huge role in your overall gaming experience. Normally when you play an RPG you tend to have long moments where you can agonize over your decisions and how you want to interact with the characters and environment around you. 

 

Here, everything is a running story with no time to stop and smell the roses. If a character asks you a question, you have a limited amount of time to answer before they are going to assume you're not going to talk and continue on with the conversation. 

 

You need to absorb the information quickly and keep up with the conversations as they happen. With this in mind, you kind of have to decide what kind of Big Bad Wolf you're going to play. Are you mean and ruthless? Are you honorable? Are you kind and lenient? 

 

Fight scenes are also fast-paced and as close to real time as they can get it. You'll see options as you fight that you'll need to react to. Will you throw the Woodsman over to the sink or at the cabinet? Each decision you make affects the story. And the things you say to characters will also affect they way they treat you later on in the game. 

They recommend playing with headphones on to enhance your overall experience, and I definitely agree with this one. Having the stereo affects in your ears and being able to close off all distractions levels the gaming experience up a few notches. 

 

 

The music and sound affects in The Wolf Among Us were superb. Clearly a lot of time and effort went into selecting the right score fore each scene. The music was dark and sultry, creating the perfect atmosphere for a gritty and violent detective story. 

 

The voice acting was amazing. So spot on and professional, true to emotions, with a script that was to die for. 

 

When you're dealing with characters we're all familiar with, although to be fair, this reincarnation is like nothing we've ever seen before, it's so important to really get the characters right. 

 

I could listen to Bigby Wolf talk all day long... 

If it wasn't evident by my shameless gushing, I was bowled over by this game. It was a revolutionary gaming experience, and I can only hope that other game developers take note at what they've done here because The Wolf Among Us is truly the future of tablet gaming.