Review: "The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct" (2013) "Not All Dixon's Are D***s."

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Let me just start off by saying I play all television and movie based games, everything deserves a chance.

When Telltale released The Walking Dead Season 1 game I thought what could be better, then when Activison announced this game I thought this could be!

BOY! Was I wrong.

This game starts out great with the normal Walking Dead television show eerie music! They show clips of the towns just like the show. The opening credits and music was a warning of eeriness just like the show's except I want to still want the show after. This should have been a warning not to play.

Right off the back I thought I was playing THQ's Homefront, which like Homefront felt just like a PS2 game.

This is 2013 why are games still producing mediocre graphics? This shouldn't be a surprise seeing as very little of the graphics of the game where shown until now. Everything just blends into one unappealing image. Even the walkers, I think I saw 4 different walkers and the rest are the same. The backgrounds and environments where horrendous!

At least with  Telltales' game the background didn't have a lot to do with the game, just were borders. BUT because the AMC version is the way it is, it makes a  lot of the game not IMPOSSIBLE but difficult. I also found myself glitching a lot in favor of me somethings or in favor of the walkers. I would be running along a hill THEN bam I'd be free failing in a graphic cyber space FOREVER then the game told me I was dead? I don't understand this..

Control wise this game is decent at best. Daryl is only human so running causes him to get tired. Leaving the option of sneaking up on Walkers your best bet. Stealth is key, otherwise you'll find yourself meeling every walker. Granted three of four shots to the head with a blunt object will kill a walker. You can't fatal stab them unless your grappling to save your life.

This game tries so hard to be like many games rolled in one. Such as, Dead Island with the attacking, Splinter Cell with stealth, Assassin Creed by sending out your friends to find supplies, and of course Call of Duty for the first person shooter feel.

A trade off feature I might as well throw in here is the game itself is about 5GB, not not a lot leaving much space on your console! HOWEVER 5GB leaves you to believe this game may not be all that stellar. I guess in this case the trade off is, bigger is better... Which also is suprising seeing as this game has sometimes unbearbale load times!

Another feature of the game that is difficult to digest is the auto save. It clearly marks when it is saving however it is so far and few that it does this. I found myself doing a entire mission and dying and having to restart BECAUSE it only auto saved when I began NOT when I finished my checkpoints.

For other gameplay the object of most of the missions is getting fuel to travel. You'll have the ability to change vehicles, which routes to travel etc. The routes you take will let you know whether or not you'll break down, find items or how dangerous it is to send out your campaigns. A great concept but hard to implement! However this is probably the only comparison between the two walking dead games.

Now for the one thing I truly enjoyed from this game came from pre-ordering it! This one feature is the same as it was in Call of Duty World At War. Know what it is?

Give up?

Nazi Zombies! You get to play Herd mode where each round you'll fight more and more zombies running at you like Dawn of the Dead remake. You'll find just the right about of ammunication and weapons to fight. Head shoots are easy seeing as they run in a straight line.

I found this the best because it was scary, surprising and addicting. I kept getting cornered by zombies, this made melee easier and also took away being attacked form behind. 

The story of this game is probably the only redeeming thing, seeing as it bridges the gap between Daryl and Merle and the time before the show starts. I won't give spoilers or ruin it BUT besides a few SMALL features, Michael Rooker and Norman Reedus' performances were the only reason I played through this game.


Our Honest View gives Walking Dead Survival Instinct 1/5. This game tries so hard to play like blockbuster titles but ends up being just another Homefront. With a great concept such as stealth survivor horror you feel maybe Activison set the bar TO high. Don't get me wrong story wise this is a great game but story alone can't survive the walkers!


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Replay Value: Moderately Low 

By: Gabriel Roderick