Review: Series Premiere of Fear the Walking Dead

SPOILERS
Yes I was one of the millions of people that watched the premier of Fear the Walking Dead. Yes, I am mildly obsessed.
Here’s the thing: a lot of people may be totally over the whole zombie thing. I get it: it’s been done. But this show is the first representation I’ve seen that really explores the growing panic that comes with an unknown virus situation. We see blurps on the news and experience the panic with Nick when he first sees Gloria feasting on another human being. (The first 5 minutes were done perfectly) But the TENSION!
I sat there thinking, “How well can this be done? We all know where it’s going!” But then it gets worse and every time you think you’re going to see a new zombie you don’t. Then there is a ton of traffic and it’s just annoying until you see the news coverage. Woah. That is terrifying!
This fear is so well created that you find yourself being as afraid as the characters in the show. When Nick is hardly able to say even fragments of what he saw-sure we know what he saw we saw it too-but that struggle that no one will understand him and not being able to find the words… too real.
Furthermore, we get a lot of background without it being spelled out for us. Every time the phone rings there is a side eye and a moment of hesitation. That one little thing tells us so much about this family. They really focused on the details with that. Not just the zombie make up but the people themselves. Where do they come from? What’s the history like? We get all of that without receiving wasted lines on information we already know.
That is something that has been consistent with The Walking Dead franchise in general. I remember small things we see Carol do in the first season, for instance, that tell us so much about her as a person and her relationship to her husband and her daughter.
Anyway… trying to keep this short and sweet. Whether you are into zombies or not, Fear the Walking Dead is something you want to watch. 5 out of 5 and I look forward to what the season brings.

Game Review: Killing Floor

I recently got into STEAM. Super cool. Especially when I have tons of money lying around (yes I’m being sarcastic I spend everything on food. duh). But seriously, some of these games are top notch. One of the first games I bought was the British zombie game Killing Floor. Prepare to spend hours perfecting the art of shooting Zombies in the head! With tons of maps to choose from and weapons you wish you actually knew how to use just cuz. Apart from the amount of DLC content you feel like you have to buy just to feel super into the game, this game freaking rocks! There are a few ways to play: Killing Floor, Objective Mode, or Multiplayer. Killing floor is by yourself (at least as far as I’ve experienced) and you get to choose a map and hone your skills without being super embarrassed. Multiplayer is the same thing but you’re on a team with anyone else who joins. You die right away, it’s super awkward and most people find a different map to play on just so they can shake off the bad moment. Objective Mode, though, is on three different maps and has goals you have to achieve. This is great if you are working between difficulty levels. For instance, if beginner is getting to easy, this gives you a chance to focus on multiple things. The maps are super cool and cater to every style of zombie killing. There are maps like Mountain Pass and Manor that have bigger open spaces so you don’t get boxed in so easily (and panic and die). There are also maps like Hellride that are much closer in proximity. Yes, I stick to the big open spaces, I’m not that great…yet. When you play, you can pick a character (who you never see, but on multiplayer other people see because duh) and you pick a specialty. These include (but are not limited to): Health Specialist, Sharpshooter, and Fire Bug. I personally love sharpshooter because of the crossbow (because Walking Dead’s Daryl Dixon). Sometimes things get glitchy and the aim on the crossbow doesn’t work. Guess what, shit happens. Anyway, you pick a specialty and as you play, you can level up the specialty which makes for faster shooting and reloading and stuff. Now for the fun part…the zombies. You want to learn all of the names. There is the Clot, the easiest to kill. But be careful, they surround you, you can’t get out, they grab on and don’t let go easily. The Gorefast is a zombie with a machete attached to it. When they see you they run towards you. Hence the “fast”. Bloats are gross but a headshot does the trick. They puke poison. A Husk looks worse than it is once you figure out how to kill it. The stalkers are annoying. Only their outlines show until they get up right next to you so keep your eyes peeled and listen for them. Crawlers are disgusting and worse than stalkers because they literally seem to show up anywhere. Siren. A lovely take on the myth. They scream and the screams hurt you. Scrakes. I hate these things. The first few times I played the way I died was by Scrake. Chainsaw on his hand. (Yes it is very satisfying to kill him with a chainsaw, I recommend). Fleshpounds are very nasty and get angry. Shoot to kill. Don’t mess around. And the patriarch (if you get that far, and if it takes you a while that’s okay) is vicious. That’s all I’m going to say. So that was a long chat about the game, hopefully I’ve gotten you interested. I’m not much a video game person but seriously, check this out. Worth every penny. Did I mention the zombie have circus form too? Creepy as hell.