Zombies are taking over the world!: Games
One of the oldest and most well known Zombie games of them all. The franchise, also known as Biohazard in Japan, began in 1996 when the game was released for Playstation. At the start of the game players choose between two protagonists, Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine; the two remaining members of an elite task-force known as S.T.A.R.S (Special Tactics and Rescue Service), who find themselves trapped in a zombie infested mansion on the edge of the fictional Raccoon City.
Players must survive the eerie corridors and spooky staircases of the mansion by solving puzzles whilst fighting off the living dead that appear when you least expect them.
The game has sold over 2.75 million copies and was included in Time magazine’s list of 100 greatest games of all time.
Resident Evil was followed by several sequels, prequels and spin-offs;
- Resident Evil 2 (1998) clip
- Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999) clip
- Resident Evil: Code Veronica (2000) clip
- Resident Evil Survivor (2000) clip
- Resident Evil Survivor 2: Code Veronica (2001) clip
- Resident Evil Zero: (2002) clip
- Resident Evil Dead Aim (2003) clip
- Resident Evil Outbreak (2003) clip
- Resident Evil Outbreak file #2 (2004) clip
- Resident Evil 4 (2005) clip
- Resident Evil Deadly Silence (2006) clip
- Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (2007) clip
- Resident Evil 5 (2009) clip
- Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles (2009) clip
- Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D (2011) clip
- Resident Evil: Revelations (2012) clip
- Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (2012) clip
- Resident Evil 6 (2012) clip
The game has been turned into a successful film franchise, spanning several releases and starring Milla Jovovich as the lead protagonist battling the evil Umbrella Corporation.
The 2009 video game that took the internet by storm sees the player defending their home from swarms of zombies by strategically placing plants with different capabilities in their path.
It swept across almost all platforms from Xbox to Blackberry smartphones.
The addictive gameplay, catchy soundtrack and great visuals has earned plants Vs. Zombies several awards nominations including “Best Download Game” by the Game Developers Choice Awards and is considered the top grossing I-Phone launch.
A sequel to the game, Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is set for release in June 2013.
Here’s the the official trailer for Plants Vs. Zombies.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHAbHz8iYHc[/youtube]
House of the Dead (1998)
First released as an arcade game in 1997, players fight zombies in first person with a ‘real’ hand-held gun for a more immersible experience. The game was also turned into a low-budget film in 2003, although it didn’t receive much attention or praise. Here’s some footage of House of the Dead gameplay:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5wCrCaVHiU[/youtube]
Left 4 Dead (2008)
Another first person zombie game, Left 4 Dead is packed with adrenaline surging action, with players taking down hordes of zombies that come running out of the darkness.
In the eerie atmosphere of each map, players can expect to be attacked by different types of zombies, each with their own attributes:
- The Boomer spits bile and blinds players and attracts other zombies to your position.
- The Hunter incapacitates players by jumping on them and can only be defeated when another player comes to help.
- The Smoker grabs players from a distance and blinds them with a cloud of smoke when it is killed.
- The Tank is a huge muscle-bound zombie that takes teamwork to take down quickly before it pulverises the players.
- The Witch is a female zombie who is usually heard crying before she is seen. She must be killed quickly before she can unleash her damaging blows.
There’s a huge selection of weapons to be used in the various maps, from axes to AK-47’s, pipe-bombs to petrol cans. The gameplay revolves around four separate characters, who are relied upon to give aid or help each other out when they get grabbed by a zombie. The game was so well received a sequel was released almost exactly a year later in 2009. It wasn’t popular everywhere though. It was banned in Australia for it’s graphic violence which some people found hard to stomach. Luckily it wasn’t banned where I live though! Watch Left 4 Dead gameplay here;
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVIdHPG0wYI[/youtube]