The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct

[Jim di Griz]

With Dead Island: Riptide still almost a month away, and being in need of some zombie bashing action, I went and got this when it came out.

Now this isn't the QTE espisode game set at the same time as the TV series The Walking Dead - this is the prequel to events in Atlanta during that same series. More specifically it's Daryl and Merle's story leading upto that.

Well, I knew about it a while ago and whilst the graphics didn't look like they'd be that brilliant, there was something about the game that called. I'm glad that I did. I also got Spaceboy interested and because it got release two days earlier in the US he got to play it before me.

We've been having fun discovering it together (though not in a co-op sense) ever since.

Basically it's a fairly simple survival horror. You get choices along the way and need to manage your supplies, also you will face the consequences of your choices. A simple example would be whether or not to shoot a walker with a gun - if you do so, a mob will be attracted by the noise. In this way, your method of approaching any situation will have an effect on how well you survive.

The walkers move quite slowly in traditional zombie fashion, there are also no weird mutations, which is good - I never really got the rationale behind that part of zombie games.

You will also need to play through the game several times to experience all of the routes available and to earn improved health/stealth options for subsequent playthroughs, as these are dependant on keeping certain characters alive in your group.

Naturally the game has been met with a load of bad reviews - though I feel a lot of that negativity, apart from being endemic to reviewers in gaming lately, is down to the CoD mentality: if you can't blast your way through with lots of guns, it isn't worth playing. Those types of course end up dying a lot.

There are some shonky bits, especially when being grappled by walkers - though even then there is a good mechanic in place which requires you to stab them in the head whilst being battered about the place.

More to follow (I have to be off for the moment)...sorry  :)

[JRD]

I started watching the TV series a few weeks ago. First season was crap... only six or seven episodes though, so I thought I would give second season a try. Happy-farm-away-from-zombie-apocalypse wasn't actually my idea of a horror survival TV show either and I have tons of points to citicize and loose ends to point... won't bother doing so here.

And so came season three... now things became truly horrible and scary as the group lost several important members and can't get any rest... specially having to worry about humans on top of zombies!

I read really bad reviews of that game. Some said the zombies were not scary or chalenging... I can say the same for the TV show. But having Daryl and Merle as main characters add a lot to the game... those two re some of the best characters on the show and most of the action and tension goes arounbd them. If the game makes any justice to those two characters... then it should be fun to play!

Hope you enjoy it Jim... keep us posted!  :-X

[Fiach]

I played it for a short while, but couldnt get into it, glad you are enjoying it Jimi :)

[Jim di Griz]

Cheers Fiach - yeah, it's not for everyone.

Quite surprised that you didn't like series one JRD - that was the strongest so far. Mind you, I've not seen any of series three yet.

I just liked the non sensationalist aspect, the not all-guns ablazin' approach also a lack of music and the small details as mentioned in the TV show thread. Another thing to add to that is the walker herd idea - it seems logical, seeing as we are herd animals anyway.

There is also a DLC for the game called Herd Mode, so I can imagine how tough that's going to be.

[Fiach]

Cheers Fiach - yeah, it's not for everyone.

I didnt like it as the zombies appeared to be....lifeless...I know that seems odd, its the best way I can describe the lacklustre animations, but when you consider, that, Dead Island would be one of my favourite games and it was also a FPS melee shooter game, well WDSI just doesnt cut it in comparison for me. The controls just didnt seem to gel either for me.

Played an interesting (2002) game called Nosferatu : Wrath of Malachi, last week and even that seemed more innovative with better controls and it was also a FPS shooter melee game.

The first series was pretty good I think, but it lost direction and seemed to wander aimlessly after that, I'm not too sure, but I seem to recall that the original writer left and it also may have got embroiled in the TV scriptwriter strikes that were prevalent back then.

Check out the UK TV series, three parter, In the Flesh Jimi, you may like it :)

[Jim di Griz]

Hmm, that does look interesting - cheers  :-X

[JRD]

I read your comments on the TV show, Jim, and I was about to post something there but since we are on the subject here...

I didn't like the first season because the zombies are all but scary. The characters literally have time to approach a zombie, think about it first, then aim for the head, think about it a little longer and then shoot and the zombie would still be at a safe distance... so what's scary about that? They are only dangerous when in packs on an enclosed area. The beginning of season one is just like the beginning of 28 days later but I don't know which came first, if the comic book that originated The Walking Dead or that movie, so I'm not sure who ripped who!

All characters are also very stereotyped... the father on a search for his family, the alpha male, the two sisters, the red neck bros, the black dude, the old wiseman... why do they keep on riding that crappy RV on a post apocalyptic, zombie infested world for crying out loud... get yourself a decent double cabin, 4 x 4 pickup truck... shielded preferably! Also Laurie keeps playing house all the time, just like all other women... they all have submissive roles, always washing and cooking while men provide safety and food! Then ending on season one is also the same in LOST... when the hatch lights up in the end!

Season two features that farm... what on earth is that place? The world has come to an end and they doesn't even bother covering the windows! How come the place is never attacked by zombies? On season one, when Ricky and Glenn try to reach a truck to escape the building they are trapped at, they close a gate behind them to get to the truck but one zombie manages to climb over the fence... also one zombie gets a rock a tries to break the window on the shopping mall they are... so they are not so stupid... how come none of them ever gets to the farm?? And how come Hershey's family doesn't bother being surrounded all the time?? They claim to be very worried with safety but Glenn is used as zombie bait to reach the zombie that fell down the well... also he drives the car with the alarm off all the way to their camp on season one... WTF??

In the end of season two they learn they are all infested with the virus, regardless of having been bitten or not but before that they just don't seem to care as they keep fighting zombies in bare hands and carrying corpses without any protection... hell, they even cover themselves in zombie guts in season one, second episode!!!

There are so many loose ends too... in one episode, there's a flashback when Shane and Laurie are leaving Atlanta and they see helicopters bombing the city with napalm but when Ricky wanders through the city he sees no sign of such attack.... the place is just dirty with abandoned cars and tanks but nothing destroyed!  :D

But on season three.... oh boy, season three changed the whole show to me. No spoilers here but they really created a tense and feasome atmosphere... there's no safe place in season three and a propper enemy is presented... not a zombie, they became only the background for the season... now things are really different, darker and the drama between characters is more on the edge!

Looking forward to the rest of season three now!  8)

[Jim di Griz]

Am I sensing some anger at the TV series here?  ^-^ I'll try to clear up the loose ends from seasons one and two, plus some general commentary that might help. I didn't read the comments on season three as I've not watched that.

...I didn't like the first season because the zombies are all but scary. The characters literally have time to approach a zombie, think about it first, then aim for the head, think about it a little longer and then shoot and the zombie would still be at a safe distance... so what's scary about that? They are only dangerous when in packs on an enclosed area. The beginning of season one is just like the beginning of 28 days later but I don't know which came first, if the comic book that originated The Walking Dead or that movie, so I'm not sure who ripped who!

Technically both ripped off John Wyndhams' novel The Day of the Triffids with regard to the waking up in hospital.

That was rather the point of the classical zombie - slow, awkward and only a threat in larger numbers. These creatures are after all impaired by having already been dead for some while, along with all of the muscle atrophy associated with not having moved much for a while. Then there'd be the ones with missing limbs, further reducing any capacity to achieve their prime need, to feed. The whole zombie myth is a mish-mash of voodoo and ancient tribal mysticism where bits from both sources were used to create a scary scenario. There is of course the Church's involvement, but I'll leave that out for now.

All characters are also very stereotyped...just like all other women...they all have submissive roles, always washing and cooking while men provide safety and food!

It's just TV which borrows from literature in that stereotypes will get used in apocalyptical situations - non-alphas tend to get ploughed under so they stick with that I think. The women at least did make it plain that they weren't happy with the continuation of the old ways, though true, that wasn't pushed through.

Season two features that farm... what on earth is that place?...How come the place is never attacked by zombies?...one zombie manages to climb over the fence...so they are not so stupid...also he [Glen] drives the car with the alarm off all the way to their camp on season one... WTF??

The farm is surrounded by boggy creeks that the walkers get stuck in. Personally I'd have boarded up the place myself, but due to the natural defences they never felt the need. Some zombies would be 'fresher' less impaired and so more mobile. Season one at the CIC shows how the virus reboots the nervous system and instinct draws them to what their partially functioning brain recalls. Romero did this with the original Dawn of the Dead. Glen couldn't disable the car alarm, just didn't know how to - he got a lot of grief for that.

...In the end of season two they learn they are all infested with the virus, regardless of having been bitten or not but before that they just don't seem to care as they keep fighting zombies in bare hands and carrying corpses without any protection... hell, they even cover themselves in zombie guts in season one, second episode!!!

That's not a new theory, but yes, a virus can affect everyone to varying degrees and possibly this one is a manufactured strain of something that already exists - something explored in Dead Island. The people would be carriers until they die at which point the virus takes over.

...There are so many loose ends too... in one episode, there's a flashback when Shane and Laurie are leaving Atlanta and they see helicopters bombing the city with napalm but when Ricky wanders through the city he sees no sign of such attack.... the place is just dirty with abandoned cars and tanks but nothing destroyed!  :D

As far as I remember, Atlanta was the safe haven - I know it's called the quarantine zone but that word can swing both ways  ;) quarantined to keep things untouched, or quarantined because it's infected. Atlanta is a pretty big city - I'm just guessing, but a napalm strike could hit an area and not be seen elsewhere, wasn't it also at night and why use helicopters? That's normally a strike plane's payload. Anyway, it would look a lot more damaging than a strike during the day is what I'm getting at. I'll have to watch that scene again to be sure though...

[JRD]

Jim, good points. I had that same conversation with a friend who is a fan of the TV show. He seems to try to explain each and every down point I raise.  ^-^

Anyway, there is something about the show that kept me going on up to season three, episode 13. I do like the show, it only actually became a series I'm interested in during this season though.

Maybe I heard so much about the show I had my expectations a bit too high.

You said you didn't get to season three yet so maybe when you get there you'll see what I was missing from the first two seasons. You can read my comments on the previous post, they are spoiler free  ;D . The whole feeling about the post apocalyptic world seems to strike harder on that season. And the characters became more interesting than before.  8)



I edited your post as one quote wasn't showing as a quote... no changes in content were made though  ;)

[Fiach]

I think the actual "scary" part of season one was the fact that they are a group of survivors, pretty much all alone in a world full of zombies, its not that the zombies are scary, but the amount of them is so overwhelming, that you wouldnt have enough bullets to shoot them all and one bite kinda screws things up for you.

Havent seen season 3 as i'm not a great fan of the series, but I will check it out as you seem to think its a cut above the previous ones :)

[JRD]

I sure do... and if you want some spoilers...

Spoiler

Season 3 begins several months after the end of season 2. The group still wandering the region searching for a place to stay as Laurie is about to deliver her baby. They find a prison overrun by walkers but that can be a good place to stay if they manage to get a hold on one cell block. They end up fighting their way through one block and establlish their new home. The place isn't safe at all because even having a cell block with locked doors to keep walkers away they still have to check the rest of the place after supplies and ammo and the place is a walker hive. Meanwhile, on the outside world, we get introduced to another group of people led by a man known as The Governor, who runs a walled city named Woodbury. He is not what he seems to be and soon enough you realize what he is up to

Season 3, in my opinion, brings the prison as an element which is both a place they can call home and a place full of walkers, so the threat is always around the corner. Everytime they go from cell block to cell block on their chores you will get a glimpse of how scary and dangerous the place is... something the happy farm could never be. The second element is The Governor and Woodbury. It is an enemy with a face and a name as opposed to the legion of faceless, nameless walkers they kill every episode. Better than that, as a good anthagonist, he has a very solid logic behind his actions. He is not simply a bad man, sometimes you can almost agree with him. You know a hero is only as good as his enemies so having Shane fighting for the alpha male role and Laurie's afection was just too shallow for a series with that potential.

As for the characters, some quite important members of the group are lost, which adds to the overall sense of danger. The remaining ones also are more mature than ever, showing that the life of a survivor is not for the weak.

Finally, both Woodbury and prison groups gets to migle in a nice braided way. So they cannot just leave or destroy each other.

Now there's more than walkers versus survivors going on.... which I found is the best thing that could happen to the show.

Unlike LOST, this show is getting better every season. I hope they manage to create a nice end at some point.  :-X

[Fiach]

No thanks, no spoilers for me :)

[Art Blade]

you heard the man (or rather, read his words), JRD, just post again but this time without spoiler tags. :-D

[Jim di Griz]

...but before that they just don't seem to care as they keep fighting zombies in bare hands and carrying corpses without any protection... hell, they even cover themselves in zombie guts in season one, second episode!!!

In addition to what I mentioned in my last post (all a bit rushed, sorry about that) there is one charater that I am surprised hasn't become a zombie as she always has her mouth wide, and I mean wide open when being attacked by one - yes, Andrea. It would only take a small splash of blood.

Maybe it's because she's my least favourite character in the series I sort of hope she gets infected...miserable, self-centred and thoroughly loathsome.

Yeah, I do get enthusiastic about things I like - my bad  :-D

[JRD]

... she's my least favourite character in the series I sort of hope she gets infected...miserable, self-centred and thoroughly loathsome.

Am I sensing some anger at the character here?  ^-^  ;)

Yes, she is quite annoying indeed. I'm glad they had Daryl in the game. Michael Rooker is doing a superb job as the despicable Merle in the show and I hope he's doing the same in the game!  :-X

[Fiach]

I always liked Rooker in movies :) Shame he never got any really big ones :(

[JRD]

Yeah, he always plays the jerk. He deserves more.

If it wasn't for him Merle would be just an expendable character but he is the one keeping the tension level high!

Spoiler

Oh yeah, watch season 3!  8-X

[Fiach]

Spoiler

Oh yeah, watch season 3!  8-X

Spoiler

OK, OK, OK!!!

:P

[Art Blade]

Spoiler

[Jim di Griz]

Am I sensing some anger at the character here?  ^-^  ;)

Absolutely - she plays a top of the class-bitch who is only interested in herself.

Merle is definitely on form in the game and has some good lines.

Game just completed by the way. I'm back in for a second playthrough now to catch the alternative routes and side missions. Nice that I get to keep the cross-bow which has made life early on a lot simpler. I also have an assault rifle, but haven't used it yet. The end was quite gratifying after sneaking around and not getting noticed - full on .50cal retribution  ^-^

I don't think I've seen Michael Rooker in anything else - I'll have to go and check IMDB...EDIT: Actually there have been three films I've seen with him in - Slither, Jumper and of course Mall Rats...how could I have forgotten the chocolate pretzels  ^-^

[JRD]

I recently saw him on The Bone Collector with Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie!

Can you choose which character you play with? Or is Merle a NPC?

Too bad you are on PS3, Jim, or I'd ask for some screen captures!  ;D . I will check some gameplay footage tonight on YT!

[Jim di Griz]

Yeah, far too few devs think of using the screen shot function on the PS3. Merle unfortunately is a NPC though Daryl is fun enough.