AMC's The Walking Dead: Survival Instict

First thing's first: this is not the game that won Video Game of the Year at the VGA, nor is it the one with the adorable Clementine and yada yada.

No, this game is based off the show, AMC's The Walking Dead. Here's a blurb courtesy of IGN:

This first-person action game allows players to assume the role of the crossbow-wielding survivor Daryl Dixon, alongside his brother Merle, on a haunting, unforgiving quest to make their way to the supposed safety of Atlanta.

The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct takes the undead and brings them out of the TV show and into console gaming systems in a 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.

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We all know the original episodic Walking Dead stole our hearts, so what do you expect of this game? They're not directly related, as, iirc, the man who penned the Walking Dead comic said it himself that he's not 100% affiliated with Survival Instinct. I'll try to confirm that. But what are you opinions? We all know how awesome the show is (I'm biased).

Thoughts?

Wow, this is actually what I wanted to hear. Ever since they released the other Walking Dead games I was disappointed to see that no actual FPS' of the game was released, or an RPG. It's interesting it's only with Daryl and Merle, but I guess kinda understandable. Daryl is an amazing character and playing him in this game will be very interesting as he normally wields a crossbow opposed to a gun and the way he tracks things using footprints and marks and whatnot. I am very eager to see what kind of graphics they have used for this game, hopefully something realistic and high quality that makes it looks like the amazing TV series. My only worry is that it might get to repetitive; sneak and kill or jump in and kill over and over again. Obviously, not having seen any gameplay or screenshots, I have no idea what to expect.

It's published by Activision, so at the very least I expect lots of DLC, and the cover seems to make like a Call of Duty game mixed with some licensed show...plus Terminal Reality made Star Wars Kinect...and...well, it's a Walking Dead FPS...so from all that, I normally would have little to no hope for the game.

Buuut, Terminal Reality, other than SWK, created games like BloodyRayne and Ghostbusters, and has been in charge of a number of collections and sequels, and have dipped their hands in a number of genres. These guys aren't exactly "reputable", but they know how to handle licensed material better than a bunch of other companies. I can't completely disagree with most of the initial reception for this game's announcement, but I do have hope.

I have to have hope for this game, because I miss the days where FPS could have good stories (which was many, many years ago), and if ANYTHING could make that happen, it's The Walking Dead. It could fail, it could be mediocre, or it could be good...it's open game with this one, but I'll be watching this one. If it is good, it could send a shock through the FPS genre...or it could simply be "that TWD game with the good multiplayer and the story most people didn't play".

Looking forward to this, I didn't like the other rpg ones.

Holofoil said:

Looking forward to this, I didn't like the other rpg ones.

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There are no The Walking Dead RPGs, though that might be interesting.

Holofoil said:

Looking forward to this, I didn't like the other rpg ones.

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I hope you aren't talking about the 5 episode Walking Dead (which is not an RPG, ftr).

Might as well put my own input, I'm excited about the game, but also cautious. Excited for numerous reasons, mainly cause this is the Walking Dead, and you get to play as Daryl, who's my favorite character hands down the passion he had for Sophia and has for Carol is admirable. Cautious because of basically what Pave said, it might get a little repetitive and such. But I have my fingers crossed.

One thing I really would like is for the gameplay to be similar to the TV series in the fact that you actually find yourself in sticky situations that you have to try and get yourself out of, so some brain is required as well as doing something that the players' have learned from watching the series. It just needs to seem like a Walking Dead game, not 2 familiar people just going round and killing Zombies yada yada yada.

Pave Low said:

One thing I really would like is for the gameplay to be similar to the TV series in the fact that you actually find yourself in sticky situations that you have to try and get yourself out of, so some brain is required as well as doing something that the players' have learned from watching the series. It just needs to seem like a Walking Dead game, not 2 familiar people just going round and killing Zombies yada yada yada.

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I dunno if it's a good idea to make the player watch or recall the show to play the game. If one does that, then it excludes those who want to experience The Walking Dead but don't want to watch the show. I would be included in that. Granted, I doubt this game will fulfill that, in the case that it does, it should be something that appeals to everyone, rather than just fans of the series.

machomuu said:

I dunno if it's a good idea to make the player watch or recall the show to play the game. If one does that, then it excludes those who want to experience The Walking Dead but don't want to watch the show. I would be included in that. Granted, I doubt this game will fulfill that, in the case that it does, it should be something that appeals to everyone, rather than just fans of the series.

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I meant to use ideas from the actual series and implement them into the game so players are familiar with it more, and are more comfortable playing the game. What I mean by this is by maybe having the Zombies act the same as they do in the series or something of the kind. I don't mean anything major, but just give the watchers' a slight advantage for being part of the series, but still make very completable by the people who don't watch it. Of course, since it's using Daryl, that the watchers' already have a slight advantage because they know how to use him and what to do, and that could be it.

Pave Low said:

I meant to use ideas from the actual series and implement them into the game so players are familiar with it more, and are more comfortable playing the game. What I mean by this is by maybe having the Zombies act the same as they do in the series or something of the kind. I don't mean anything major, but just give the watchers' a slight advantage for being part of the series, but still make very completable by the people who don't watch it. Of course, since it's using Daryl, that the watchers' already have a slight advantage because they know how to use him and what to do, and that could be it.

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Ah, that makes sense; then I agree with you. It would be something of a love letter to the fans...well, more like a cupcake that they sent to you though the mail. It's been processed, and since it took so long to get there that the icing is kind of hard...but it's still a darn tasty cupcake.

...Where was I going with this? Oh, right. It's like a cupcake to the fans while still not excluding or alienating those who are just coming fresh into the series with TV dependent material.