Which is the problem with "Iron from Ice": We have no idea how these decisions will pay off or punish us down the road. More point-of-view characters are set to be introduced in later episodes. "Iron from Ice's" POV moves between three members of House Forrester, and you'll sometimes be asked to make impossible decisions, or at least to act knowing that it will likely lead to terrible things down the road. This can be horrific, as in the scene where you have to square off against a sociopathic Ramsay Snow, or it can be incredibly boring, as in the scene where you have to pick a close adviser. You'll meet some of the better-known characters from the show, individuals who could put you to death for saying the wrong thing, and you're forced to react to them knowing that you have very little real power. On the other hand, Game of Thrones' frequent "sexposition," where characters deliver background information to the viewer while others have sex, is so far nowhere to be found. You'll hold a button to spread open a terrible wound while another character sprinkles in maggots. The gruesome, nearly pornographic violence of the show is intact. You'll be taking part in quick-time events during action scenes and picking from dialog trees to guide conversations with other characters. These politics are viewed through the now-typical Telltale Games lens. It's not enough to control the land on which the trees live if you don't know what to do with them. The craftsmen have mastered the art of working with the trees, and indeed their skill with the raw material is its own bargaining chip. It's nearly immune to fire and impervious to blades. They control the supply of ironwood, a tree that is used to make sailing ships, shields and buildings. House Forrester is in a precarious situation. To wit, "Iron from Ice's" premise rests on Westeros' war economy and its politics. "Iron from Ice" isn't a game for casual fans. If you're already lost, it would take me pages to explain who these people are and what's going on. If those names and that sequence of events means something to you, you're in luck and will probably enjoy the rest of the story. The young Ethan Forrester is named Lord of the house and is forced to kneel before Roose Bolton, the new Warden of the North. The Forresters have long been bannermen of House Stark, and when Robb Stark is murdered during the wedding, the Forrester patriarch is also cut down outside. "Iron from Ice's" story begins at the infamous Red Wedding from the HBO series' third season, as members of House Forrester are enjoying the festivities outside the castle of House Frey. Just in case you need to be beaten over the head with this fact, the game, just like the show, begins by showing you Westeros laid out like a giant game of Risk as the camera flies from location to location. The meat of these stories, no matter the medium, can be found in the political maneuvering of these great houses. All the table-setting drags 'Iron from Ice' to a halt It's a wonderful setting for an adventure game, but "Iron from Ice" spends a significant amount of time on conversations about very important things that are about to happen - and all that table-setting drags the pace of the episode to a near halt. Power, or at least the appearance of power, is everything. It all boils down to the land you control, and the swords you command.