Many have speculated that the whole zombie phenomenon was going to peak last year, but The Walking Dead is one of the biggest shows in the world, proving the undead are still going strong.
While there are some danger signs with the future of zombies, The Walking Dead just lost their show runner, and the zombie genre could also take a hit if World War Z doesn’t deliver, but for right now, they’re doing just great on TV, and with video games as well.
Last year, The Walking Dead was the big winner at the 10th Annual Video Game Awards, and it also made several top ten game lists. In fact, USA Today just hailed it the best video game of the year. USA columnists Brett Molina, Mike Snider and Marc Saltzman write, “Next time anyone questions the video game industry’s ability to tell stories akin to movies and television, point them to Telltale Games’ brilliant interactive adventure.”
As USA Today continues, “The five-episode [game] series is an emotionally gripping journey, and the best video game offered in 2012,” and the L.A. Times also feels that The Walking Dead game “has revived the point and click adventure.”
The Times wrote that if there’s anything at fault with the Dead games, they’re short. At the same time, “Our lives are cluttered enough as it is, so iPhone-friendly games can fit into our day rather than demand a portion of it.”
While Entertainment Weekly didn’t put the Walking Dead game in their #1 slot (that went to Journey), it did get ranked #4. As EW notes, “This dark episodic adventure game was every bit as nail – (and arm-) biting as AMC’s hit, only here you’re the one forced to make impossible decisions, which affects how the story unfolds and who survives.” EW also felt that the game is “a gripping choose-your-own-adventure where each choice leads to blood and an ending as bleak, disturbing, and satisfying as anything on the series.”
On CNN’s year-end list, Walking Dead didn’t make the top ten, but Zombie U did, and as Larry Frum reports, “This dark tale of survival during a zombie outbreak in London captured my attention for its unique style of gameplay and gritty scenarios. It’s very twisted – and a nice change of pace for a Nintendo console.”
So however zombies do this year, even if there’s an undead recession in movies and on TV, they should still continue to be great video game targets for some time to come.
