Ok so my buddy popped around this morning with The Walking Dead Survival Instinct for PS3 so we gave it a go.
You have to take into account that this was never going to be a AAA game. So there are certain things you should be prepared to overlook and of course others that is simply impossible to.
For starters, the graphics – it's really bad and the first thing you will notice on starting up the game. See some pictures I took directly off my TV with a camera below.
It's especially shocking if you just come off playing a game like Bioshock Infinite which I did – I just finished it this morning (PS3).
The Title Screen already tells you - this is not going to be pretty! The story follows the brothers Merle and Derryl from the TV series as they work their way to Atlanta.
So it's a prequel to the TV series but you can only play as Derryl and there is no MP. We were kinda expecting some Split Screen action, but there is none of that.
Bland washed out colors + flat grass and leaves textures You travel between towns and places on the map to find clues and things you need to ultimately make it to Atlanta. Along the way you meet other survivors who you can then choose to take with you – if you have enough space in your car that is – you can find different cars in towns with some having more space but then also using more fuel.
The ones you take with you can help you look for supplies in towns, but not with you, so they will go off on their own and you won't see them again until the end of the mission. A bit strange.
You use up fuel – depending on which route you chose to go, Highways – which have less chance of breakdown but also less chance of stopping for supplies and if you run out you will have to pull over at the closest town to search for more. Back roads use more fuel but you have more opportunities to stop for supplies.
A nice idea but the same towns recycle over and over. So if you pulled over to a town 3 missions back, you will be shocked to find the another town much further down the map that looks EXACLTLY like the town you visited earlier in the game. This really feels cheap and is extremely repetitive.
Only really the main missions have brand new maps and areas. The rest recycle between about 4 areas over and over, making little sense at all.
Dont play this game directly after Bioshock Infinite like I did! This pic has some screen glare from my window, thus that washed out whiteness at the bottom This is a survival horror game. You can hardly handle more than 1 zombie at a time and when 3 or more surround you, you are dead for sure. Ammo is highly limited and you really don't want to use guns anyway as gunfire attracts more zombies.
The gameplay is not too bad (feels kinda like Dead Island) but little irritating things like zombies appearing out of thin air can be frustrating as ****. You just cleared an area and out of nowhere a zombie appears right behind you. WTF!
If only I could kill the bad graphics! So is this game worth playing, sure. But is it worth buying, no. I cannot recommend that anyone buy this game new, but in a bargain bin for R100 maybe – if you love anything zombie like me that is. I would probably play anything with zombies in it.
Overall it is a bad game. But zombie fans may get a little enjoyment out of it. Just don't have high expectations, or any expectations for that matter. There is a reason why Activision did not release review copies to sites and why sites like GT have not and are not reviewing it.
DARE TO COMPARE?: Here we have a screen shot also taken with a camera directly from my TV of Bioshock Infinite… Its hard to believe its on the same console as Walking Dead Survival Instincts!
