Walking Dead Video Game

Monday, 26 September 2011 13:35 | by Richard Cosgrove

If you're in the mood for some mindless (!) entertainment...

'The Walking Dead' video game on the way

Having breathed new life (or should that be death) into the zombie genre since it appeared eight years ago, Robert Kirkman’s epic survival horror opus The Walking Dead has slowly but surely turned itself into quite a franchise. Encompassing comic books, t-shirts, action figures, an upcoming board game, beer steins and the critically acclaimed AMC television show which returns to American screens on October 16th, The Walking Dead has become synonymous with all things cadaverous - so it’s no surprise that the series is now making its way to the world of gaming.

Those expecting something along the lines of Left 4 Dead, Dead Rising, Dead Island or the granddaddy of zombie games, Resident Evil, though, are in for a hopefully pleasant surprise from developers Telltale Games. Having been lauded for their innovative reinvention of the iconic Monkey Island and Sam & Max franchises, Telltale Games recently hit 88mph once again with their episodic Back To The Future venture, and it is this gaming model that will form the basis of their upcoming Walking Dead offering on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

'The Walking Dead' video game on the way While the comic books and television series are all about the life and times of the grizzled Rick Grimes, Telltale's take on the zombie apocalypse is seen through the eyes of main character Lee Everett, who is handcuffed in the back seat of a cop car when hell decides to go walkabout. Why he's there, and whether he's guilty of whatever misdemeanor may or may not have put him there is a mystery, which will presumably be addressed as the story progresses, but what we do know about the game is that it will be focused on real-world puzzles (like how to get out of those handcuffs, and then out of the cop car) and on the (sometimes difficult and morally ambiguous) decisions that Everett makes as he interacts with the various people he meets along the way.

One of the characters who Telltale Games have revealed will play a major part in Everett's quest is a young girl by the name of Clementine who has been hiding out in her tree house for a number of days before their paths cross. With her parents missing, presumed undead, and an early encounter with her former babysitter, which is also Everett's first up close and personal dalliance with the mortally-challenged (an encounter in which Clementine shows her inventiveness with the contents of her absent father's toolbox), the decisions made by the player henceforth affect both of them.

'The Walking Dead' video game on the way Playing less like a George A. Romero zombie massacre and more like a traditional Lucas Arts adventure (think Day Of The Tentacle rather than Day Of The Dead), the Walking Dead game will reward careful observation of the various locales that Everett and Clementine discover. Click on a telephone answering machine in the Clementine household, for instance, and you will discover a series of messages from the girl's mother that grow increasingly ominous and desperate. Notice that a bookcase has been pushed up against the staircase to and it may cross your mind that it's there for a reason.....

Fans of the comic and show however, can rest assured that the game does bisect with the accepted mythology. Everett and Clementine run across a certain policeman at the Atlanta border, and future episodes will see them visit Hershel Greene's farm prior to Rick Grimes and his band of survivors showing up, treating long-time comic readers to some back story about his son Shawn before, well, if you've read the comics you know and if you haven't, then you can probably take a good guess.

Telltale believe that the episodic nature of the game – there are five currently planned, with more certain to follow if it's a success - will greatly benefit The Walking Dead's storyline, as the decisions that Everett makes will have repercussions later down the line. In the heat of a zombie attack, for instance, several people may need your help, but who do you save, and who do you leave to die? Do you go along with someone's flawed survival plan, or do you risk making them look like an idiot and alienating them by pointing out its shortcomings? These are decisions that Telltale confirm will have consequences down the line, perhaps even literally coming back to bite you in the ass, with people who die in one episode remaining dead, or alternatively staying alive and reappearing in later installments depending on the choices that you make.

Given Telltale Games' track record of hits, which is sure to continue with their imminent release of their take on Jurassic Park, as a fan of both the series and the old Lucas Film games I'm both excited and hopeful for The Walking Dead. Though the release date has yet to be finalized – sources suggest early next year but Telltale's Community Coordinator Jake Rodkin simply states it will come out “when it’s done” - the ever increasing popularity of The Walking Dead, which returns to our screens in the coming weeks for a 13-episode second season, ensures that it won't just be zombie hordes who will be beating a path in Telltale's direction.