Activision Makes a First Person Shooter Based on "The Walking Dead."

I read this report earlier today, brought to my attention by one of our intrepid zombie wranglers, and ... well... here are my first thoughts.

Activision is still alive????  Didn't Activision die with Atari?  Well, it would appear, like the living dead, they have clawed their way out of their grave, dusted off their "Return to Castle Wolfenstein" game engine, and somehow managed to acquire the rights to stick "The Walking Dead" on the box cover.

Brain fart number 2 happened when I looked at the screen caps.  Despite the fact that none of the baddies look like zombies is one thing, but what in the hell is that giant brain-with-legs in the last one???

For the less cerebral of The Walking Dead fans, this might still be great news for fans of Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead. While millions of fans have been enjoying the episodic point-and-click adventure game from Telltale Games, console fans hungry for a little more action will be excited to learn that Activision is making a shooter based on the popular comic book, AMC television series, and live action role-playing game.

I am now paraphrasing from their promotional material...

Exclusive screenshots from the game are here!  In the first shot, you can see how Activision uses state-of-the-art graphics to present a realistic first person viewpoint as the player guns down zombies with a handgun, just like Rick and Shane in the TV show.

Zombies won't be the only enemies the player faces in the game. With the world in a state of chaos following the zombie apocalypse, nobody can be trusted, not even these military commandoes, armed with machine guns, whom the player must face in this dazzlingly realistic concrete bunker.

Could the videogame reveal upcoming plotlines in the comic or television show?   (Laughable question) This reporter has followed the Walking Dead comic for years now, and I don't remember Rick and the gang ever facing off against a giant zombie brain on a spider-robot. Perhaps this is the big secret in Walking Dead #100?!  (You know it's not bonehead)

The game is due out sometime in 2013 from Activision, and though other websites don't have the sweet exclusive screenshots like we do above, the trailer below has been making it's rounds on the web, and you can also check out the website for the game here.

So let's leave it this way.  If you wanna shoot baddies (no matter what 8-bit Image they are)-- this is the game for you!

Someone, somewhere is holding his hand over his mouth and snickering.

OK, OK.  Yeah, Activision is really making a "Walking Dead" game.

Read about it below....







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Activision Publishing And Terminal Reality Reveal The Walking Dead™ Video Game
All-New Game Features Daryl Dixon
Based on AMC's Emmy Award-Winning TV Series
PR Newswire

SANTA MONICA, Calif., July 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Think you're tough enough to survive a horde of undead walkers?  Gamers will be able to find out next year as Activision Publishing Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), and Terminal Reality announced today an all-new The Walking Dead™ video game. Based on AMC's Emmy-Award winning TV series, the do-whatever-you-need-to-survive first-person action game will allow players to assume the role of the mysterious, crossbow-wielding survivor Daryl Dixon, alongside his overbearing brother Merle, on a haunting, unforgiving quest to make their way to the supposed safety of Atlanta.



"The work AMC has done with the TV series has been amazing and we're ecstatic at the opportunity to be brought into the fold," said Drew Haworth, Creative Director at Terminal Reality.  "The studio is made up of fans of the show, and we think other fans will see that the situations and walkers featured in our game are every bit as gruesome and shocking as they are in the TV series – they look, move and react as expected with full authenticity – and they will surprise you.  The player's fight-or-flight survival instinct is constantly engaged.  'Flight' is usually a good bet."

Terminal Reality's The Walking Dead video game takes the undead and brings them out of the TV show and into console gaming systems in a new, terrifying way.  The iconic walkers will relentlessly hunt down players like their television counterparts, using a combination of sight, sound and smell.  As Daryl, players will need to tread carefully throughout each new area they explore.  Once discovered, it doesn't take much to attract an unstoppable horde of undead walkers, so every threat needs to be assessed, and every situation analyzed.  Players will have to choose between whether to stay and fight while risking a gruesome death or using stealth to avoid the undead.  No place is truly safe for Daryl as he makes his way through the Georgia countryside in this new, post-apocalyptic world.

"Activision and Terminal Reality are working to deliver a powerful combination of a deep, engrossing story with intense action," said Charlie Collier, AMC's president.  "Daryl is such a unique and complex character and we're excited to offer fans the opportunity to experience this new video game."

Resources are scarce and scattered in The Walking Dead video game, and gamers will have to not only ration supplies, but carefully consider their food, medical needs, ammunition, and other goods as survival in the game is based upon wit and intellect more so than simple, sheer skill.  In order to endure this constant state of danger, players will have to do all they can to silence the noises they make and avoid detection.  Throughout his journey, Daryl will encounter a slew of other characters that can help or hurt him in a variety of ways, and whether or not they accompany him is completely up to player choice and represents just some of the major decisions that will constantly be made while fighting to survive.

The Walking Dead video game is scheduled for release in 2013 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and Windows PC, and is currently rated "RP" (Rating Pending) by the ESRB.  For more information, visit www.TheWalkingDeadBegins.com or 'Like' The Walking Dead on Facebook (facebook.com/TheWalkingDeadAMC).