Review of The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct

While, the Walking Dead, the TV show is awesome and well-made. Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, the single-player first-person shooter video game developed by Terminal Reality and published by Activision wasn't. It was a P.O.S. It was a lousy cash-in. This license game really disappointed me. This game is really below average, and its shows. Based on and canon to The Walking Dead television series, in contrast to the video game by Telltale Games, which is based on and canon to the comics. The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct acts as a prequel to the TV series; set in the Georgia countryside and focuses on Daryl Dixon (Voiced by TV regular, Norman Reedus) making his way to find his brother, Merle Dixon (Voiced by Michael Rooker) whom went missing, weeks earlier. The player assumes the role of Daryl Dixon by a first-person perspective who can either fight the walkers or stealthily sneak past them. As he travels, he meets other survivors, who can either help or leave. In my opinion, they are rarely useful or good personalities, they will become more a burden than any good. You can take as many in your group, but just note, that it's better off, to leave them behind. It's get annoying, how much people need help, but rather helps you in this game. The game also supposedly challenge the gamer to be cautious of how much fuel, ammo and food he has, and map out, the best routes by either choose to take the highway, and save fuel but break down a lot, or take the small roads, where he will be able to scavenge from small villages and chance of breaking down is low. Sometimes, you just don't have a choice. The game would choose for you. It's mostly an illusion of free will. You can choice what vehicle save the most gas, but most of the time, it will break down on you, before long. The game is so repetitious with the same levels design and gameplay that it get boring at times. Lots of box-in locations, with doors that don't open, and windows that you can't break. The environments are plain, linear, and tiresome to look at. The enemies AI are really dumb even for Walker zombies standards. The whole idea of this game being a stealth-shoot it up game is funny. You can pass a large horde of Walkers, without being notice, even if you're not being stealth like. It's astounding how easily you can wrestle your way out of a swarm of zombies if you do get catch, using nothing more than a series of QTEs (quick time event). You can hop onto a table or vehicle and mow them down, like grass. There is no challenge. The zombie respawn rates is really annoying. The undead reappear in areas constantly, no matter how many you killed. Remind me of Whac-A-Mole with the repeat kills. For a game that bears the word "survival" in its title, there's nothing really life-threatening. Its way too predictable and you see reused of the 5 total zombie skins, way too often. It's feel like you're killing the same two zombies time after time, again. The game is really easy, even in the hardest game settling. The control are sluggish as hell. You would think the game would had CO-OP, seeing how they promote the game like that, but no. NO cooperative gameplay at all. Nobody gets to play as Meryl Dixon. Meryl Dixon is barely in the game in the first place. The game does have some good. I do like the backstory of Daryl, even if the story has a weak plot. Story telling add nothing new to the Walking Dead lore. The game designers hares his likeness and voice for the game counterpart, and his performance is actually spot. The ending to this game is weak as hell. Game end abruptly, and doesn't tied one bit to the show. There's not much else to say about The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct because there's not much of a game there. The campaign can be finished in 4 or 5 hours flat with the best gamers, and 6 to 7 for the worst. Like I said, it's pretty easy to beat this game. Not a lot of replay value, as the game has nothing to keep us, playing again. Overall: If you want to play a good Zombie game. Play 2012's Telltales: Walking Dead or 2013's Last of Us. Even older games like 2011's Dead Island and 2008's Left for Dead is better than this. If you see this game, don't bother. Don't open, dead inside.