So...Zombies.
The Walking Dead.
If you haven't watched the show yet, you should.
If you haven’t read the comic yet, you should.
If you haven’t read the comic yet, you should.
That said, I just read the first two Hard Cover Volumes of
the comic (24 total issues). The third
season of the show seems to be picking up where the 2nd volume (Issue 13)
starts. But there are some very
important things that I should point out.
First: The Comic and the Series have the same premise, some
of the same characters, some of the same set pieces, and some of the same big
plot points. But What the characters do,
who dies and who lives, and how it all goes down are so different that it is entirely
worth reading/watching both if you like one or the other. They are almost two completely
different stories.
Second…and Third and Forth Probably: The narrative focus of both differs.
Second…and Third and Forth Probably: The narrative focus of both differs.
My comic nerd side is
ashamed to admit that I watched the show before I read the comic.
The show focuses much more on the
interpersonal relationships and the Drama of the situation. He said-she said,
who’s on who’s side, and the like. It is
after all a “Television Drama” Don’t get
me wrong, there’s plenty of walking rotting corpses, people getting eaten, action,
and interesting survival situations to keep things moving and engagin but,
especially in the second season, the show slows down from time to time to
examine peoples feelings
On the comic side of the coin it is a Survival Horror
comic. And it is very firmly grounded in
that, the Survival and the Horror. This
gives the comic a more frenetic pacing and characters thinking more about where
their next meal will come from than making sure that someone’s feelings aren’t
hurt. But don’t think that the characters are any less developed or emotional
than those on television. I’m simply trying to highlight that each of the two
focuses more on one aspect than it’s counterpart, not that these things fail to
exist in the other. If they weren't there neither would be the
amazing stories that keep fans clambering for more.
Last bit is about the Walking Dead Video game...no, not the Facebook
social game that is providing your information to people who want to pay for it…that’s
a rant for another time.
I’m talking about the Point & Click Adventure game
released by Telltale Games. Most Tie-In
games for something from another media have a habit of being well…awful. Typically they are made for the sole purpose
of having fans of the series shell out more money because it has their
interests stamp on it and are rushed through development to get them out while
the “Iron is still Hot”. This one
though, is one of the exceptions. It
ties almost directly into the television continuity; so when television characters
cameo their actual actor is the one you hear talking. But that’s not what makes this a delightful
bit of gaming, that’s more of a cherry on top of this sundae.
The game, or games if you prefer, since it was released in “Episodes”
is more like an interactive movie mixed with puzzles. The interactive part has you taking on the
roll of the protagonists and helping him make decisions on what to say and what
to do when snap decisions need made. Who
lives and who dies being the biggies.
The cool part about this is that they are not decisions between “Good or
Bad”. Most of the time there is no “right”
choice and they do pack a bit of emotional punch if you connect with the
characters at all.
The puzzles are all
pretty logical, and in some cases almost ingenious. Example: find batteries for
a universal remote to turn the t.v. at the electronics shop across the street on
to distract the zombies. The dialogue is
well written and preformed and the art direction tying it to its comic roots. Short
(a couple of hours or so per episode) but replay able if you want to see how
different decisions effect the outcome…they do carry over from episode to
episode for the curious.
Am I fanboying over the whole Walking Dead phenom here? Yeah, kinda.
But that’s what I do. I write
about the things that bring out strong emotion from me. Good and bad.
Fanboying aside and looking at this through the eyes of a
30ish gent who grew up with monster movies and scary stories: Each of these incarnations are solid entries
into the Zombie field. For being scary,
for being zombies, but most importantly for having a well developed narrative
and character depth that most horror movies and games tend to forget about in
favor of shock and gore. Don’t worry
though, there’s plenty of that too.
