Play The Walking Dead In Real Time

There really is a zombie invasion. Independent film, interactive gaming, and literature are all overrun with them. And why not? Zombies are fun. They provide a challenge but are easy enough to beat if you're fast on your feet.

But there is a downside that comes with popularity. Not all zombie offerings are equal. Even people who have a passion for them eventually lose patience if they try to sample everything (much like vampires). I try to be cautious despite being curious, looking for things that pay off like Call Of Duty: Zombies, World War Z, and The Walking Dead. 

It was the tie-in to the series that convinced me to give the latest interactive offering a chance. I'm glad I did. The Walking Dead game for the iPad rocks despite the price point that has some people shaking their heads. 

The Walking Dead from Telltale Games rocks.

Based on the comic book by Robert Kirkman, the Walking Dead game from Telltale is an immersive, choice-based adventure that represents an evolution from its other cinematic story lines. The art is sharper, the interface improved, the pacing more fluid, and the experience feels different.

The choices you make matter. Not all them were inset into the game just to carry the story froward. They change things. If you lie to a character or choose to save one person over another, there are consequences, nuances, and subtle changes forever. Some are more important than others.

Some choices that are more visceral than real make the game surprisingly immersive. But even those that don't change an outcome will change how various characters react to and interact with you later.

The storyline is as rich as the comic or television series. 

The story exists in the same universe as the one many people are familiar with. While this game is based on a different group of survivors, they are geographically close enough to each other to allow for cameo appearances.



The primary perspective is provided by Lee Everett. Everett, a university professor convicted of murder, is being transported out of Atlanta to prison when the epidemic starts. From the backseat of the police car, a few exchanges between the police officer and Everett provide some back story.

It also enables you to set the early tone of the experience. You, as Everett, can be reasonably regretful and cooperative or more callous and disinterested. Depending on how you act will dictate what you learn. And then, bam. 

The police officer is too engaged in chatter to notice the first zombie in the game as it ambles across the highway. The impact causes the car to veer off the road. Everett is left dazed, drifting in and out of consciousness. When he comes to, the world is a very different place. Soon, he meets survivors.

Some are new. Some are old friends. Most notably in Episode 1, Everett meets Hershel Greene and his son before Shawn becomes one of the walking dead. He also runs into the always resourceful and likable Glenn, who is traveling to Atlanta in this timeline. Glenn has yet to meet up with what will become the Rick Grimes group.

The Walking Dead game is more story and less kinetic.

If you are familiar with other games by Telltale, like Back To The Future or Jurassic Park, you'll have some sense of the Quick Time event (QTE) environment. The Walking Dead is better, and delivers what seems to be the right amount of length for each episode. Expect about two hours of playtime each.

The story itself is strong enough for anyone feeling starved for the series between season breaks. It has stood on its own as a digital comic. Anyone who plays, however, will be glad there is more. The sense of controlling some character's destiny is entertaining, even if it is limited.

There are a smattering of forgivable setbacks. For instance, if you see a dead police officer, you really want the ability to search for his side arm. You can't unless it's in the script. Weapons and useful items are relatively constricted.

The next most common critique is how the game is being released. Across all platforms, players are anxiously awaiting installments. Episode 2 was just recently released (but not for the iPhone or iPad). Episode 3 might arrive by mid-August.

More troublesome for many iPad and iPhone owners is pricing. The Walking Dead doesn't distinguish between platforms, charging $4.99 for Episode 1 and $14.99 for the bundled preorder, Episodes 2-5. I don't personally have a problem with it given this isn't a stripped down game, but iOS customers are becoming increasingly frustrated by price creep. This one nearly eliminates portable platform savings.

The Walking Dead Game By Telltale Survives 7.2 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

The most fascinating aspect of the Walking Dead is it is among early entrants in the evolving cinematic game concept. This kind of gaming — balancing an interactive comic, light action, easy puzzles, and psychological depth — seems like this would be a natural fit for the future. It could be especially be great for games based around James Bond or Star Trek.

For portable iOS, The Walking Dead is only compatible with iPad 2 and up or iPhone 3 and up from iTunes. It is also available for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC/MAC platforms. The Walking Dead [Online Game Codes] can be found on Amazon. My review is based exclusively on the iPhone and iPad experience where it feels natural despite being the last platform.

The Walking Dead Rises On AMC

Initially, there were rumors that The Walking Dead made some AMC executives uncomfortable, leaving them to question whether or not zombies could be sustainable. (Of course they're sustainable, they are undead.) Those rumors have reversed.

After the Halloween premiere, most whispers suggest the series will earn a 13-episode second season (maybe more). And, if the first episode installment is any indication of what is to come, there is plenty of life in the unexpected adaption.

The credit belongs in part to Image Comics for publishing The Walking Dead, originally created by writer Robert Kirkman, artist Tony Moore (issues 1-6 and covers), and Charlie Adlard. The rest belongs to AMC for pairing the idea with three-time Oscar nominee Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile), Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss), and Kirkman (of course).

Together, their combined talents, and what appears to be a near perfect cast at the start, have managed to find the sweet spot for fantastical stories. It's not about zombies. It's about people, who happen to be placed in an extreme circumstances.

The story is gritty, suspenseful, and unmistakably adult.

Wounded in the opening segments of the series, sheriff's Deputy Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) wakes up in the hospital to a very different world than the one he left. Everyone has since evacuated, leaving the dead where they lay. He slowly makes his way home, finding his house abandoned and being unable to process the danger all around him.

Fortunately, Grimes is stumbled upon by Morgan (Lennie James), a father dealing with the loss of his wife and protecting his son, Duane, in a very off-kilter world. The two have secured a nearby house, a refuge they made while evacuating the city after Morgan's wife had been infected.


What works is that while the show is violent, it never beats you over the head with gore or dread. It's balanced, with enough hope and motion to carry it forward. You want to know what happens next.

The only hold back in the first episode is the intense focus on Grimes, leaving us to wonder whether or not we'll feel the same about the extended cast. There is no question about Morgan. Jericho veteran James looks remarkably at home in his role. It's his second outing with AMC, lending another powerful presence in a supporting role for the mini-series The Prisoner.

While Grimes provides a glimpse of a character setting his moral boundaries amidst the confusion, Morgan demonstrates the difficulty of knowing what is right without the willpower to do it. And more than anything else, this is the hook. Many people are surprised how emotional the story can be.

The Walking Dead might capitalize on zombies as a backdrop, but only in that they allow for suspense, metaphor, and a canvas to vet the human experience. That is the secret to fantastic stories. They work best when they bring out humanity rather than bury it. And unless there is an unexpected departure from this general premise, I anticipate The Walking Dead will live for some time.

The Walking Dead Episode 1 Rises To A 8.2 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

If you missed The Walking Dead because you assumed it might border on the absurd, you can still find episode one on iTunes. In addition to episode one, there are two free downloads: a motion comic and extended sneak peak.

Unless you have an aversion to zombies, it's one of the best new additions to AMC. Unlike Rubicon, which finally found its momentum by episode 8, The Walking Dead delivers with episode one. The best comparison doesn't even come from the abundance of zombie movies as much as something cut from the shorts that make up World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks, a book worthy of review some time in the future.