The Sitting Dead

There's no denying that we are within the Zombie decade.

The undead have permeated pop culture in so many ways, from movies, to TV, to books, they're everywhere - kind of like a zombie infection itself spreading to all mediums.

A lot of that is thanks to Robert Kirkman's incredible The Walking Dead series, now both in graphic novel and television form, grabbing a huge horde of fans.

The latest chapter in the character-driven zombie saga is in the form of a video game - The Walking Dead by Telltale Games.

You can't find this game at your local EB Games or Wal-mart, nope this is an online only, episodic game series available exclusively on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Marketplace.

And guess what, it's pretty rad.



The first episode - A New Day came out between April 25 and 27th on most platforms.

The game centres on Lee Everett, a new character in the franchise who finds himself in the back of a police car leaving Atlanta on his way to prison when the zombie apocalypse begins.

Your character is suddenly thrust into the crisis with few friends and fewer answers.

The game focuses heavily on story and character, much like the comics do and the game is better for that. As Lee, you will have to make some tough choices, sometimes deciding who lives and who dies. All of those choices you make within the game have an impact on the story and carry on throughout the following episodes as they are released over the course of the year, with 5 in total. In this sense almost everyone experiences the game differently.

In my attempt to avoid spoilers, I'll just say that you will find some familiar faces and places, if you've watched the show or read the comics or both.

If this is your first foray into The Walking Dead universe, it serves as a great introduction to the story and look and feel (that the comics especially is know for). The animation style is very 'comic booky' with heavy lines and a hand-drawn cell-shaded look.

The game has a few hiccups with some animations and a few voice overs feel forced or humorous, but overall this is an easy game to recommend for fans of The Walking Dead and noobs alike.

IGN sums up the pricing better than I could here:

How Much Does Walking Dead Cost? Release Date?As it's coming to so many platforms, keeping track of how much The Walking Dead: The Game will cost you has been tough. If you're buying it on the PC or Mac, you get a five-episode season pass for $24.99 on Tuesday, April 24th. (EU gets the PC/Mac version for 24.99 Euros on Tuesday, too.) If you buy on PlayStation 3, you can grab each episode for $4.99 or buy the five-episode season pass for $19.99 on Tuesday, April 24th. (EU gets the PS3 episodes one by one for 4.99 Euros and the season pass for 19.99 Euros starting on Wednesday, April 25th.) If you get it on Xbox 360, there is no season pass so you'll have to pay 400 Microsoft Points per episode sometime this month.


I highly recommend checking out The Walking Dead game if you are a fan of horror, character-driven stories, or other aspects of the series.

Not recommended for people who play COD all day and have no life.