Top 5: Zombie Video Games
In UK cinemas from today, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter continues the long-running story of Alice (Milla Jovovich), the only survivor of what was meant to be humanity’s final stand against the undead. Now, she must return to where the nightmare began – The Hive in Raccoon City, where the Umbrella Corporation is gathering its forces for a final strike against the only remaining survivors of the apocalypse.
With that in mind, here’s a list of the top 5 video games featuring zombies:
LEFT 4 DEAD (2008, PC/Mac/XBox 360)
Cooperation is the name of the game in Valve’s 2008 first person zombie epic and its concurrent 2009 sequel imaginatively titled Left For Dead 2. Your team of four survivors have to battle zombie hordes by utilising their unique strengths. Playable as single player or multiplayer cooperative, and even with eight players in a four on four survival match, Left 4 Dead is the most sociable game on our list.
THE TYPING OF THE DEAD (1999, PC/Dreamcast/PS2)
Who says killing zombies can’t be educational? Based on arcade game The House Of The Dead, The Typing of The Dead differs from your average zombie slasher game – you guessed it, you literally type the undead to death. With your keyboard locked and loaded you have type the displayed word as fast as you can before the zombie gets too close. Success is rewarded with gruesome zombie kills, with a deft touch of comedy.
RESIDENT EVIL (1996, PSOne/Saturn/PC)
Where would zombie games be without ‘one of the most important games of all time’ (Game Informer)? You all know the story as played out across the seven main titles and some 28 variations of the series: Umbrella Corporation unleashes mutants on Racoon City, and you’ve got the biggest gun. Zombies as we understand them only make up part of the enemy – we’re introduced to other zombie creatures – but killing them all in a huge creepy mansion has never been this much fun.
DEAD RISING (2006, XBox 360/Xbox One/PS4)
This zombie sandbox game takes a leaf out of zombie grandfather George A. Romero’s book. Set in a sprawling shopping mall, the game sees the protagonist ‘Frank West’ fight off a zombie horde while rescuing survivors and trying to get to the bottom of the infection. Sounds like pretty standard fare, but did we haven’t yet mentioned YOU CAN USE ALMOST ANYTHING as a weapon! So if bludgeoning zombies with children’s toys or flat screen TVs is your kind of thing Dead Rising and its sequel are right for you. And for those that haven’t played any of the Dead Rising series – they’re all available now on current gen consoles!
ZOMBIES ATE MY NEIGHBOURS (1993, MegaDrive/SNES)
The oldest game on our list, Zombies (as it had to be known in Europe and Australia because apparently ‘Ate My Neighbours’ was a bit too strong in 1993), arrived as a comical tribute at a time when advances in special effects pushed cinema away from the classic horror themes of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Fifty-five top down 2D levels saw Zeke and Julie battle zombies with a selection of nasty weapons (but no chainsaws thanks again to the censors). The aim of the game was to save your neighbours from impending zombie doom in exchange for points and the opportunity to save more neighbours. Sounds a bit crazy I know, but this was 1993 and it did have George Lucas’ name on it.
