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Can Games Help You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse?

Rating: 4 votes, 5.00 average.


Okay, this is going to be a one-off. I've been busy with other things and haven't had time for a Battlegrounds. I wrote this for my website on Friday. I don't want to be a douche and plug my own site to read this, so I'll copy what I have and if you want to throw me a hit, you can. Any who, this article is perfect for this community, and it's quite a long one... so make sure you have a few minutes. Here it is:

Yeah yeah, we're all the biggest badasses when it comes to zombie killing. Let's face it, when the dead rise from their graves, who else is going to shove them down faster than the gamers and movie buffs? Well… that is… if you have been playing the right games.

There is no definitive lore of zombies. They've expanded so vastly that we can't say in particular which games could help us most. Let's break down what may be the most basic of zombie contamination though:

- You probably shouldn't get blood on you.
- The amount of zombies is going to overwhelm everyone.
- Breaking off a limb doesn't mean death to them.

Recently in games, we've had plenty of zombies literally invading our games. Who the hell DID get zombies in my Red Dead? Some may find this annoying. I think this is a perfect way to practice your way through the apocalypse.

Though, if you're reading this, let it be known: I'm taking these games in as literal as I can. Zombies are no joke.

So without further adieu, let's break down these games. Also, caution, there ARE spoilers here.

Left 4 Dead:



Left 4 Dead is the biggest zombie game out now, I'd say (unless you count CoD zombies, but more on that later). L4D takes the regular zombies you'd expect with special types and adds a bunch of speed on them. If the world was infested in a L4D world, more than likely, none of us are going to survive. Why? Well…

Cons:

1) You're constantly covered in filth.
No one has played a Left 4 Dead game and not been covered by either bile or what-not. When you get downed, you're getting attacked like crazy. More so, zombies, once they get you, you're done. Simple. Left 4 Dead gives you many tries to get back up. These zombies are more concerned with harming you rather than making you one of them or eating you. This is by far the biggest fault if you're using L4D as zombie training.

2) Grabbin' pills!
C'mon! Even in the apocalypse you wouldn't be chugging random pills or using syringes. In the game they are such a heavy need at times, especially in Realism. So why put emphasis on this? To keep this short, this is such a no-no in a zombie world. You don't need more problems on top of zombies.

3) Where are they staying?
Besides the safe room, there doesn't seem to be a place that the group stays to sleep or what-not. They are constantly moving. In an zombie world, you'd want to focus on places to stay rather than where to move. You need to focus on where to eat, sleep, drink, keep all your human necessities in check. At the end of L4D2, they obviously find a place to stay, but who's to say that'll last?

Pros:

4) Coordination!
Left 4 Dead does the best when it comes to keeping your eye our and being alert. You can hear every shamble of a special as soon as they're in the vicinity. This is excellent use for the end of the world. When you find your group, you'll need this to last at least one day, that's a given. The bigger the group is, the more prone you are to attack, but you also have much more firepower. Use this double-edged sword to your advantage.

Verdict: While Left 4 Dead helps with various types of zombies, you should only use this game as a reflex test and group coordination. If you're depending on the L4D lifestyle to survive, you won't last long.

Dead Rising:



Dead Rising is an interesting game. The focus is on Romero type zombies, rather than more creative ones. With that said, Frank West and Chuck Greene are killing machines. Would we be in that world?

Cons:

1) Too quirky.
You can kill zombies with anything in here. Some weapons are much better than others. This is reflected in the game, but with the amount of zombies, you won't have time to throw trash cans around. The game shows this when you meet the special infected zombies in overtime on the second Dead Rising. You can't mess around as much. You have to utilize your stronger arsenal. I do like that at least you can't take things too lightly at the end.

2) Errands.
While it's a good deed that will end with some awesome benefits for you, you won't be able to stick your neck out for everyone. You need to keep main focus on the people you can trust and not give everyone the helpful hand. Humans are the biggest enemy when zombies come around. The game shows this with the psycho battles or looters though. So once again, Dead Rising can fix a flaw.

3) Bitten!
You get bitten pretty often in the game. There is no reflection of a consequence after this happens. When you get bitten in a zombie world, you are either dead or need some heavy quarantine. Frank/Chuck go about their day like nothing. Just. No. Granted, they do wave the idea about you needing a constant dose of medicine to help save yourself, but as a protagonist, you don't reflect trouble.

Pros:

1) Food.
This game knows that food is a necessity. You eat and drink to help your health. And for all the drinkers, just because death is always looming doesn't mean you can drink a ton and be fine. Repercussions are to be had. Small tangent, the fact that you always use bathrooms helps too. The game has the human necessities down.

2) Area knowledge.
Dead Rising requires you learn your environment early on. This is wonderful. The best thing this game has to show is that you can easily locate the gun shop, to the food court, etc. If you want to live, you can't go to places blindly.

Dead Rising may seem like the no-go game for zombie information, but it is in fact one of the most helpful. Some things are problems, but they are fixed in some way. Take note of the wrong and learn the right if learning from this game.

Resident Evil:



So the first couple of Resident Evil games are different from the rest. How? Well they are more like zombies rather than infections. We'll cover both though. I'm going to keep these brief though, since they span across a ton of games.

Cons:

1) The way you shoot.
No matter how scared you are, you need to keep moving. Sadly, you are confined in these games. Long story short, keep moving, people!

2) Area.
You're often confined to smaller areas in these games. In the span of things, you want to be in more open places. You are more aware of your surroundings and will be less prone to a surprise from another room. The later games fix this a bit, but still not as well done as you'd imagine.

3) Plants.
Whaaa? I do like how you're utilizing what you can for health, but this is still very sketchy. Unless you have someone in your group who knows plants well, do not use these as a way to keep strong, raise your health. Whatever.

4) Inventory.
You can't pull out your inventory whenever and hope you're okay. You can't hold that big of a case as it is. You need to keep it light, and even though there may be a hooded guy selling you weapons, you shouldn't be wasting your strength holding onto gems. Focus on your personal safety and only if you CAN, should you hold some kind of currency.

5) Purchasing weapons.
If you find a hooded being selling you weapons and you absolutely need them, be sure to check that they are full workable. Don't walk away without checking the ammo or firing off a shot to make sure it does well. People cannot be trusted. Especially people who are demented enough to give away their firearms in times like these.

Pros:

1) Melee.
I do like how there is always a melee weapon available. You should always have a last resort available. Guns, surprisingly, aren't that sufficient. You should always conserve ammo. If you can take out a lonely zombie with a crowbar, do it.

2) Variety of settings.
You do span across a few places in the Resident Evil series. For that, I can appreciate it. Just think of Resident Evil 4. Going from a village, to a castle, to an island. You'll have a knowledge of different areas when you're playing this series.

Verdict: I wouldn't personally recommend you learn from Resident Evil. There are some things to be encountered that can help, but in the long run, you won't last too long using a Leon method.

Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare:



Red Dead shoved zombies on my plate in an enjoyable way. Marston shot, lassoed, and rode his horse in the land of death. Did Rockstar give us a viable zombie simulator?

Cons:

1) Horses of the Apocalypse.
During the course of the game, you encounter the different horses of the apocalypse. Under no circumstance should you use them. This is self explanatory though. Why would you ride War? This, along with the fact that you can ride zombie horses is just bad, bad news.

2) Contamination.
Once again, the idea of being contaminated comes when you see the spitter type monsters attacking you. You can't tell me you can touch green slime and only get away with some physical damage.

3) Tying up your loves ones.
In the beginning, you tie up your wife and son in hopes that there is a cure. Sorry to break it to you. Once they're gone, don't risk your life, and potentially others trying to save your loved ones. Move on and kill them. They aren't the people you remember anyway.

Pros:

1) Wide-open area.
Yes! Red Dead gives you a lot of room to look around. You can see stragglers from afar. Which is ideal in a zombie earth. Do what you want in a city, there's a lot more stuff to scavenge. If you want a long term life though, you want an open area to live in.

2) Coffin burning.
Also a great idea. Why only attack the living? Attack the army while they are down… literally! Same goes with bodies. If you want something to be dead for sure, burn them. Bodies may reanimate, char doesn't.

3) Saving towns.
This contradicts my errand point, but with towns the size they are in Red Dead, it's worth the help. Climb high and help. Extra areas to rest and eat are vital if you want to live with more peace of mind rather than stressing over the next safe area.

Verdict: Undead Nightmare offers you some new insight on how to fight off zombies. This is amazing. While the way the zombies came to be in UN isn't feasible in what may cause the certain uprising of the dead someday, a lot of little parts in the game are helpful.

Call of Duty Zombies:



Zombies are a little addition in Call of Duty. Being that it's not the main feature, I wouldn't normally count this. This is however, the biggest franchise out there right now. How does that game do when it comes to zombie teaching though?

Cons:

1) Reckless.
Just like in the game, people are reckless. You waste ammo, you run off, you don't keep coordinated as much as you should. Zombies can be attacking your teammate but the other three are too focused on racking up points to worry. Frankly, this is the sloppiest execution when it comes to taking care of the zombies.

2) No diverse areas.
We get it, we're stuck in the room that we have to fight in. Every other zombie game gives you more places to work with. Yeah, I know this is just a game mode, but remember we're learning about how to fight these creatures away.

3) Points.
Never should killing the most be an idea in your head when being attacked. You should focus on more effectively killing and scattering them. While the game does well by rewarding you for headshots or what-not. The points system as a whole is something that shouldn't even be reminisced about when dealing with the real deal.

Pros:

1) Representation.
I do like how the zombies act though. It's that middle ground from ruthlessly vicious to mindless normalcy. Call of Duty gives what I believe to be the more vivid depiction on what we'll be fighting. If the zombies are more dangerous than CoD's when the zombie uprising begins, then we're screwed. If they are less, we'll be a bit better off. If they are equal, then, well, it's 50/50 depending on your strategy.

Verdict: For a game mode, it's good that this will teach you something. You shouldn't take this as learning for the fight though. Call of Duty is a step, not the whole staircase.

Dead Nation:



A very different type of zombie game from the get-go, Dead Nation provides an overhead view of the action. This already kind of gives you a disadvantage when expecting the zombie attack, but does it redeem itself?

Cons:

1) Noise and light.
You make too much noise, and show too much light at times in the dark. If you were really doing this, you'd be zombie bait in no time, especially with only a few people with you. Refrain from doing this in real life and be safe.

2) Weaponry.
You won't have access to these many guns in the post-life world that Dead Nation sets you in unless you're damn lucky. While it's nice to try and see how the guns work, you shouldn't think for one second you'll be dealing with that stuff. So this can go con or pro seeing as you do get experience with the arsenal.

3) Zombie count.
Once again, a pro and con. The amount of zombies shown is definitely accurate, but to think you'll outrun or live when being attacked by a ton of them at once is laughable. If you want to live, you can't deal with a lot of zombies unless you are with a group. Alone and running will get you nowhere.

Pros:

1) Accurate setting.
Dead Nation offers a damn good look on how chaotic the streets will look after all is said and done. Most cars will be open and streets will be littered. While it may not help in the combat area, knowing the world will look like this will save you the emotion distraught right away.

Verdict: There aren't many super idealistic skills to be had from Dead Nation. The biggest plus it has is that it provides the best setting and outlook on the world as a whole. Don't study the actions, study the surroundings in this one.



So there you have it! A few zombie games and what you can learn from them. Remember, regardless of their realism, these zombie games only give us gamers more knowledge to outlive everyone. So, take care. Stay alive. Most importantly, don't get eaten!

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