Game Preview: 5 Things You're Gonna Love About "The Walking Dead"

Written By Chuck Moran

The Walking Dead are everywhere! Since 2003, Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead comic has been chronicling the lives of Rick Grimes, a southern lawman, and a group of zombie-apocalypse survivors.

Over the years, The Walking Dead has spread like a virus to amass a large and committed following. Last October fans of the comic were treated with a six episode season of a Frank Darabont-helmed The Walking Dead as part of AMC's expanding television lineup. The comic shows no signs of stopping and the second season of the show starts this October.

This fall, fans will be happy to know The Walking Dead will also be a video game, courtesy of the folks at Telltale Games. We've seen it and here are the five reasons you'll be screaming for brains.

Two new characters will be introduced in this game: Lee Everett and Clementine. Lee Everett is a convict who's been displaced during the early stages of the outbreak. While being moved, his prison transport vehicle is involved in an accident and he's knocked unconscious. When he wakes, he escapes the police truck, and is joined by Clementine, who is an orphaned girl that Lee finds along the way. She gives him the moral balance that is needed to survive in an inhuman world. Other characters from the comic will also show up as well; it's confirmed that Glenn and Lily will appear in the game.

The Walking Dead game follows events in the comic book so readers get a more in-depth view of the events that occured immediately after the outbreak. The comic begins after Rick wakes up in a hospital to find that he has survived the beginning of a zombie outbreak. The story in the game shows a different side of the events we're already familiar with and it give fans some insight into what happened on the day of the outbreak. Rick Grimes' story began with him trying to get into Atlanta—Lee Everett and Clementine's starts with trying to escape it.

Telltale Games is noted for their award-winning excellence in the point and click style of adventure games. If you grew up with Sierra Online and LucasArts games this one will bring back fond memories of this style of gaming. The Walking Dead is not a first person shooter. Instead, Telltale uses a modified version of their standard point and click mechanic. The tension is built through the use of pacing, events, camera angles and the overall dramatic scenario. Death is the final consequence.

Whatever kind of gamer you are, you'll be able to play this game. The Walking Dead will have a simultaneous release on PC, Mac, iOS, Xbox 360 and PS3. True to the Telltale Games tradition, the game will be released as episodic content. We're excited to play this game on the train with our iPad—rude talkers will slip into the back ground as we fantasize about them having their brains eaten for obnoxious behavior. Just like the comic book, there are sacrifices and hard choices to make. These factors paint the backdrop for this dark adventure.

Writer and creator Robert Kirkman had direct involvement in the making of the game. This isn't like the old days when a video game tie-in for a movie was something like Street Fighter: The Movie: The Card Game. True craftsmanship goes into every game at Telltale Games. They've set the bar high for how to make a solid adventure game without embarrassing a franchise. We're positive there won't be anything cute, cuddly or watered down about this game, either.