Dispatch’s weekly episodes continue, offering new layers to these eccentric bands of characters from AdHoc’s unique take on the superhero formula.
Fresh from our onboarding in Episodes 1 and 2, this second wave of episodes is already setting up big plans for what’s to come for Robert Robertson’s life. Keep in mind that this review will have minor spoilers if you haven’t played the first episodes yet.
A New Age of Heroes
Right off the bat, Episodes 3 and 4 contain changes that I wished for after playing the slow burn of Episodes 1 and 2. For starters, this second wave has a clearer story direction. This is still Robert Robertson’s game, but Episodes 3 and 4 greatly expand the scope of his character, extending to its adorable (and sometimes annoying) cast of heroes.
My favorite part of every Dispatch episode is seeing how my Z-Team of terrible superheroes handles themselves in the SDN office. Sure, they may be a rowdy bunch of antisocial weirdos, but it’s all we have. While each of the Phoenix Program’s characters has its own fanbase, I have a few personal favorites of my own, and I try my best not to get on their bad side.
Overall, as I grew to care about this unlikely bunch of losers, my anxieties have grown bigger as I dread the imminent ‘tough choices’ that will follow in the next few episodes. I worry for this ragtag group of heroes, and I feel the same amount of pressure as Robert Robertson managing this unlikely bunch.
An A-Team Voice Acting
Another major step-up from this batch of new episodes is its voice acting. Aaron Paul’s performance as Robert Robertson is perfect. His voice exudes a kind of “demanding yet depressed” personality similar to his Jesse Pinkman character from the hit show Breaking Bad. This completely surprised me, as his voice acting chops in Amazon’s Invincible weren’t that good.
The side-characters are also slowly taking the spotlight, especially with Laura Bailey as Invisigal. You can clearly hear the emotions spewing from their voices with each interaction they have with Robert. Even popular content creators like MoistCr1TiKaL and Jacksepticeye do a great job with their respective characters despite smaller lines. I don’t know why, but Sonar always steals every scene when he’s around.
Evolved Gameplay
Episodes 3 and 4 still have the same dispatching gameplay that makes up half of each episode’s length. This may or may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I found its dispatching gameplay refreshing. Unlike the first two episodes, the difficulty is ramped up, meaning the stakes are actually higher when picking which heroes to send. Most of the time, I was failing with the dice checks, with some of the task requirements being intentionally vague.
Even the once simple hacking minigame got a sizeable upgrade, where firewalls stop you at every track, starting your hacking process from the beginning. I feel like this is going to get very much harder in later episodes.
Weightier Choices
Perhaps my favorite thing in the second wave of episodes is how weightier the choices have become. In-between repairing his broken Iron Man-suit, Robert’s character arc is marred by tough choices involving career and personal relationships. These impact the later episodes, which also fuel my fears of what’s to come.
There are moments in Episodes 3 and 4 when I have to pause the game just for a few minutes and think of the repercussions from my actions. Sure, this is still Robert Robertson’s story, but as someone who has played a Telltale game before, I know that some of these choices accumulate over time, and I may or may not like the consequences.
Episode 4’s ending was the thing I’ve needed the most, while I won’t spoil it for you, it’s a fantastic way of setting up the possible paths Robert will take in his time in the SDN. There’s love in the air, and as a grown-ass man, I couldn’t help feeling the butterflies in my stomach after making THAT decision. And I damn hope it was worth it.
