411 Games Top 5 9.09.10: Week 79 - AHHH Zombies!
Posted by Todd Vote on 09.09.2010
From the many games int the Resident Evil franchise and Dead Rising to Silent Hill, House of the Dead, the Left 4 Dead games and more, the 411 Staff lists their Top 5 games with zombies in them! Check out the full article to see which games made the lists and why!
Comment Time with Toddo!
Crystal Flash
Posted By: The Great Capt. Smooth (Guest) on September 02, 2010 at 05:56 AM
As I am not a Metroid guy, I have no idea what you are talking about. But, I am willing to take your word for it. That concludes the feedback from our Metroid Edition. Do you guys not like Metroid?
Oh my god, run! Zombies!!! That's the subject this week for the Top 5. The Top 5 games to feature zombies. Now let me explain the criteria I threw at the writers for this one. The rule was anything zombie related is includable. If Rob Zombie did a track for one of the rhythm games and you wanted to include it, I allowed them in. Also for the purpose of this column, the creatures in Resident Evil 4, and 5 were considered zombies. I know; we can debate till the cows come home on whether or not they actually were. Let me put it this way, the zombies in the early games were created by the T-Virus. In Resident Evil 5, the zombies are created by Uro Boros, or whatever the hell it is called. Is it different because the creatures are smarter? Possibly, but for the sake of the column, they are zombies. Cool? Alright let's get this zombie apocalypse started. For your reading pleasure, we have also added a second Reader Voice. Please welcome the return of Drew Robbins!
READER VOICE Dominic Holley
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Michael Jackson Moonwalker (Genesis) - Any game where you can use a dance routine as a fatality is fine by me...and defeating a gang of zombies doing the thriller routine is just the shit, for realz.
5.Dead Rising (X360) - I really didn't think a whole lot of it before I played it because it took me a while to get over that PS2 hump, so at first I just thought, "why the hell would Capcom make a zombie game that is NOT Resident Evil?" Almost completely blowing it off in disgust at them not bringing RE back to zombies (although I guess las plagas isn't horrible but it's just not the same, unless they bring back that freaky cult from RE4, those muhfuckas freak me out), I got it right away when I finally got my 360, and I quickly became attached to it as a RE placeholder until RE 5 comes...and AFTER RE5 came, but the Gold edition DLC saved it all for me really. It wasn't really that I didn't like it, because it is a pretty good game, but I felt a little under-whelmed by the final boss battle/game ending.
4.Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (PSX) - I could truthfully just put 5 RE games on this list and feel totally justified by that decision easily, but I am going to try and show some range, because I have played other great zombie games, But I didn't love them like I did RE. Babbling aside, I have probably never been more on edge with any RE game than I was with Nemesis. I mean, sure after you've played it about three times (different decisions, different positions) you know where he's going to show up and you are well prepared most of the times so it'll be an easy kill, but the first time when you play through it, and you don't know when he will strike next, you NEVER get comfortable while you're playing, at least I didn't, especially not knowing when he will have that damn rocket launcher. If there is any REmake in the works, this one should be a no brainer; even though it is not the best one, Nemesis needs a HD makeover since we won't have him in MvC3. That doesn't mean I wouldn't love to settle for William Birkin, but still.
3.Silent Hill 2 (PS2) - As much as I love RE, this game was TRUE survival horror. You were not ever armed to the teeth with anything, and even if you were armed, you savored every last shot you took. But what I really want to stress, to no one's surprise, is fucking Pyramid Head! Also, hearing that damn static but not knowing where the trouble is coming from will always get my goat. There are many moments in SH where your best bet is to haul ass and you can't haul ass when you aren't even sure that you about not running right into harm's way. Couple that with fucking Pyramid Head, and you got a game that keeps you on the edge of your seat all game, because you definitely aren't about to just relax.
2.Resident Evil REmake (Gamecube) - The story of Lisa Trevor is pretty damn frightening, which only can be surpassed in overall creepiness by the appearance of Lisa Trevor herself. I probably could have also gone with RE 0, but I was creeped out more by the mutated cockroaches and giant crustaceans than any undead monster. Crimson heads, being followed around by kamikaze Forest, Lisa Trevor, AND hunters! Combine that with my embarrassed-to-be-a-man paralyzing arachnophobia and that makes a great zombie game for yours truly. What puts this at number two however is because it takes a lot to beat anything with Jill Valentine in it...period.
1.Resident Evil: Code Veronica X (PS2) - I was really going back and forth on picking this one and RE 2, but the inclusion of Wesker gave this game the boost it needed to get that number one spot. If I am right (and if I'm not, who are we kidding? I'll be set straight), this is the first time we get true Wesker, and the story in this game to me is as good as you can ask for in a RE game. I mean I like a lot of the things going on, but even I realize that it gets ridiculous at times. Anyway, this game also had the return of my favorite monsters, the hunters! It's hard to go bad with that, especially since they had those disgusting ass new spiders here too. But I was truly disturbed by the Ashford's and that creepiness alone probably trumps anything alone on this list. Not to mention it was an awesome game eight out of ten, had to dock two points since there is no Jill Valentine, but besides that, it is lovely. I really wish Alexia could be brought back for another game or something in that humanoid form, seems like she would work pretty good in HD too. What's even worse is that somehow I was disgustingly attracted to her...just nasty.
Lee Price
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Resident Evil: Remake - This game was a superb display of the Gamecube's power and breathed new life into a much loved classic in the process.
5.House of the Dead - I love a good light gun game at the best of times. Hell I'm currently debating whether I should splash out on a copy of Point Blank with the Ge-Force gun as we speak. Combine Zombies with the light gun genre and you have a sure fire winner. Enemies slow enough to provide convincing enough gaps to fire in, while also being versatile enough to create a whole range of enemies. The House of the Dead and its sequels are some of my favorite rail shooters. Bar none.
4.Left 4 Dead 1/2 - I've lumped both of these in together as they are much the same game bar the odd different enemy and gameplay mechanic. Left 4 Dead is a brilliant concept. The idea of forcing players to co-operate and punishing those who fail to act as a team is superb. Couple that with the way the game randomly generates zombies based on your position and what you are doing and you are going the right way. No two games of L4D are the same and it is a great way to kill some time.
3.Dead Rising - Sure the game had issues. Controls were occasionally awkward, especially in boss fights. The save system was screwy. Survivors were idiots. The text was ridiculously small on a standard definition TV. None of that seemed to matter when you chopping a zombies head off with a scythe while dressed as a Lego man. The single best stress relieving game involving zombies.
2.Zombies! Ate My Neighbors - This is a definite personal favorite of mine. It has its own Retronomicon entry from a few months back and, for my money, is the best Zombie game of the 16 Bit era. Its just full of constant shout outs to monster flicks and B-Movies. It has a bit of everything and is supremely challenging. I love this game.
1.Resident Evil 2 - A recent session with this reminded me of why I love it so much. Another Retronomicon entry, Resident Evil 2 defined the zombie based survival horror genre after the first title established it. While the outbreak was contained in Resident Evil 1, it had spread city wide by the time the second game came out. Granted you were still confined for much of the game, but the whole thing still felt bigger and grander. Couple this with gameplay and graphical improvements and you have one of the most influential titles on the PlayStation.
Trace Aber
HONORABLE MENTIONS
I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1 - Though it might be simplistic in nature, there's a wide variety of weapons to use as well as four player co-op. Well, and the greatest song ever recorded, of course.
5.Siren - Siren takes place in the Japanese mountain village of Hanuda, a xenophobic area, and also the location where the dead are being brought back to life. The main reason the game is on the list is its ability to sightjack other things in the game, be them alive or dead. It's been approved in Siren: Blood Curse, but it's still interesting to see things from the dead. The virtual dead, at least.
4.Dead Rising - Take a classic movie plot, make it a video game, and give me thousands of zombies to kill. Capcom's zombie spree stuck you inside of a mall filled with infected and the only thing you can do is fight. I rarely played the game's storyline and never finished it...but I did slay plenty of dead. And, really, isn't that all the world wanted?
3.Resident Evil (Series) - The Resident Evil series has seen its zombies change throughout the games, but one thing always remains the same - these people aren't normal, and thus, need to die. Ahh, video game logic. It doesn't matter if they're zombies or just "infected," each RE game provides some good old fashioned, dead-killing fun!
2.Call of Duty World at War: Zombies - While I enjoyed WaW multiplayer as much as the next guy, it was the Nazi Zombies that really got the game noticed between my friends and I. When we first heard there was a Nazi zombie map, we did our best to beat the game (which I believe was the original condition for playing it) and fell in love. With three map packs and thus, three new zombie maps, each map added a different element of gameplay that built off the previous map as well. It was a great balance of strategy and violence, and one of the best experiences a man can have murdering zombies.
1.Left 4 Dead - While zombie games have been around far longer than L4D (or Valve, for that matter), few have had an impact like my number one choice. Pretty much responsible for the current zombie craze going around (good or bad), having to work together to survive is a simple, yet highly effective system. Sure, it's been played to death by now, but at the time it was a breath of fresh air. Of fresh, zombie-infected air.
Adam Larck
HONORABLE MENTIONS
House of the Dead - I always love playing this series when I can get to an arcade. They still offer some good light game fun.
5.Resident Evil - This series has always had some good zombie action. Whether it's the zombies in the original games, or the mutated people in the newer games, taking these zombies out are always a good time. However, it would still be nice to see RE 6 go back to actually zombies, and not these mutated people.
4.Borderlands - An odd choice for my list, but, seeing how big of a Borderlands fan I am, it's no surprise. The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned expansion adds hordes of zombies to kill, along with zombified Rakks, Corpse birds, Loot Goons and more. The content was fun to go through, and included an interesting (and long) quest line in Braaaaaaaaaaaaains!
3.Call of Duty: World at War - Who can forget Nazi Zombies. This simple mode is why many people come back to this game. You'll never win in this mode; you'll just survive as long as you can until you get overrun. Still, seeing how long you can survive with three friends and limited ammo is what made this mode so great.
2.Dead Rising - I'll be honest, I barely touched the story in this game. Most of the time, I just ran around finding whatever items I could to destroy zombies with until my time ran out, then repeated this again and again. If they had just made an unlimited mode available from the start to do this, I would've been set. Still, Dead Rising offers some of the best and original ways to take zombies out.
1.Left 4 Dead - Left 4 Dead seems to have perfected the zombie onslaught. Waves of zombies constantly come at you, and the AI director then mixes in special infected and the occasional tank. Going through with four friends trying to find a safe house is hectic, full of tension and extremely fun. Even though there are not many maps to go through, the gameplay never gets old due to how the game changes each time.
READER VOICE Drew Robbins
HONORABLE MENTIONS
None - As a general rule, I do not like the undead. I do not like them here or there, I do not like them anywhere. Except for in these top five games, in which case I relish my opportunity to screw them over.
5. Zombies Ate My Neighbors! (Gen) - If you don't love this game just by the name, then take a gander at the cover. And if you still don't love it by that point, then there just isn't much hope out there for you. To summarize the game in short: Zombies Ate My Neighbors is a game in which a spiky-haired, 3D glasses wearing deadbeat shoots a giant baby apparition in the mall. Every part of that screams incredible.
4. Left 4 Dead - A biker, an African American in a suit, and old guy, and some girl. The makings of a stellar adult film, but I suppose a pretty decent video game will have to do until such a piece exists. I'm led to believe that a lot of great times can be had in Left 4 Dead given the ability to link up with three of your friends and take down endless hordes of undead. Of course I've never experienced this myself (insert loser jokes here), but even in the single player campaign I conjured up some fun. Maybe my partners couldn't aim, and kept running off in weird directions...well that actually sounds pretty similar to Xbox Live.
3. Zombie Revenge (DC) - Now here is a piece of work! Zombie Revenge is a game so foul, so unapologetically terrible that I can't help but savor every moment of it. Everything about the game felt cheap and all sorts of wonky, but when you and another friend were blasting up zombies taking in the soothing sounds of early Millennium voice acting, everything felt right in the world.
2. House of the Dead: Overkill (Wii) - Looking up the term ironic would likely warrant you a trip into the world of House of the Dead: Overkill. This game featured gore, incest, and more F-bombs than even a preteen just fathoming up the word's power could handle. It is also on the Wii, which largely features carnival games, wholesome family activities, and even more F-bombs. "F" in this case standing for fun! (and family, and fitness, and FIFA 10) I must say that it wears its irony cap well because Overkill is possibly the most fun I've ever had on the system. The game plays alright, but when you get to the cinematic bits, you just know that business is about to pick up.
1. Resident Evil 4 (GCN) - For all of those about to start filling the comment section with what I'm sure are large, reasonably thought-out rants about how Resident Evil 4 does not have zombies, I must clarify that this choice was Toddo approved! All I can say about Resident Evil 4 is that, well, its perfect. This isn't a term I throw around all too often, and I surely didn't think that a Resident Evil game would earn it, but RE4 made me think twice. I'd go as far as to say that no game has yet to match up to the intensity of the action presented here, whether it be a pack of rabid villagers or token goliath boss El Gigante. It was, and still is, the pinnacle of the action genre.
Todd Vote
Honorable Mentions
Dead Rising - Dead Rising would definitely have ranked higher on my list if I had been able to play the game on a hi-def TV. Playing on a standard television set really soured the game for me. The text was barely legible, and that left me running around a lot wondering what I was supposed to be doing.
5.Area 51 (Arcade) - I know everyone is screaming right now "That was about aliens!" I agree. But if you look at the arcade game, the old light gun shooter, the first several levels have you exclusively battling some sort of zombies. I win.
4.Mortal Kombat: Deception - Ha! Bet you were wondering how I could fit this franchise into this list. Very easy, zombie Liu Kang. Raiden had reanimated Liu's corpse to go on a rampage. Eventually Kang's soul is able to regain control of his body, but I'll be damned if zombie Liu Kang wasn't awesome after no Kang at all in Deadly Alliance.
3.Evil Dead games - Do Deadites count as zombies? I think if we are counting RE 4 & 5 as Zombie games, why not the deadites? Anyway, battling the undead in an Evil Dead game is always fun, especially when you have the legendary Bruce Campbell spouting off one liners at the nasty puss buckets.
2.Left 4 Dead - It was very close between this game and my #1 choice. Left 4 Dead was an awesome experience from start to finish. Add in the ability to play as the special infected during the competitive multi-player and this game had something for everybody.
1.Resident Evil Series - I don't care which of the games are your favorite, there is no denying the influence that Resident Evil has had on the video game world. You can keep your Silent Hills, and your Left 4 Dead's. For me, the ultimate zombie games will always be the Resident Evil franchise.
Bonus Video:
Resident Evil: Afterlife is this weekend!
Posted By: Guest#3430 (Guest) on September 08, 2010 at 11:54 PM
Oversaturated on Metroid last week Todd.
Top 5
5. Resident Evil 1 on PS1 - that's where my fear of zombies started and still haunts me to this day
4. House of the dead - great replay value once you knew that if you shot certain things in stage or saved certain people you could take different paths to the end boss.
3. Left 4 Dead - great game that really did require teamwork to survive the zombie apocalypse. Getting jumped by a hunter from out of nowhere or getting tongue from a smoker. Not to mention the feeling of "Oh crap!" when the Tanks music started to play
2. Plants VS Zombies - It's got the Michael Jackson zombie doing the Thriller dance. Enough said
1. Dead Rising - Once I had the Megabuster and the Z-saber, 50,000 kills, NO PROBLEM. Plus, who doesn't enjoy throwing a queen into a crowd of 100 zombies and watching all thier heads explode?
Posted By: 80's kid (Guest) on September 09, 2010 at 01:41 AM
Timesplitters. Zombie with a minigun > all
Posted By: Morne (Guest) on September 09, 2010 at 02:58 AM
It's been approved in Siren: Blood Curse
.......................................
Um...."Improved" maybe, dumbass?
Posted By: The Ser Drake(real one) (Guest) on September 09, 2010 at 03:12 AM
Your opinions are bad and you should feel bad.
Posted By: Merge (Guest) on September 09, 2010 at 04:34 AM
Todd, they might've been busy playing Metroid.
Posted By: The Great Capt. Smooth (Guest) on September 09, 2010 at 06:04 AM
No "Plants vs Zombies"? Some gamers you folks are to ignore what is probably the best selling zombie game in history. :)
Posted By: The Ogre (Guest) on September 09, 2010 at 07:05 AM
Disappointed not to see any love for Plants vs Zombies!
Posted By: Weng (Guest) on September 09, 2010 at 08:05 AM
no "typing of the dead"?
anyway, pretty solid lists
Posted By: Guest#9335 (Guest) on September 09, 2010 at 10:12 AM
No Onechanbara = No Buys!
Posted By: Guest#7279 (Guest) on September 09, 2010 at 11:58 AM
VERY VERY happy RE4 only got 1 #1 spot. I hate that game.
RE2, on the other hand, is awesome
Posted By: Guest#4737 (Guest) on September 09, 2010 at 12:26 PM
No 'Typing of the Dead'??! Forget Mavis Beacon, this is what typists should be using.
This might be cheating a bit but I would've mentioned Fallout 3; hunting for a Bobblehead in the Dunwich ruins can get pretty intense. But it is fun to wear the ghoul mask and wander around at your leisure before seperating a few Glowing Ones from their heads.
Posted By: Steve B (Guest) on September 09, 2010 at 12:32 PM
Really? No Stubbs the Zombie?!
Posted By: Sanchez (Guest) on September 09, 2010 at 01:32 PM
Zombies ate my neighbors was one of the first games I ever played and it was amazing! That's all!
Posted By: Gamer Girl (Guest) on September 09, 2010 at 01:50 PM
Nazi motherfucken Zombies.... ps3, 2 player, nach der untoten (i think thats the name of the original map), level 26...god bless the ray gun, but fuck trying to spin for it.
Posted By: KMaC (Guest) on September 09, 2010 at 03:17 PM
No Onechanbara = No Buys!
Posted By: Guest#7279 (Guest) on September 09, 2010 at 11:58 AM
That's cause it was rotten.
On a different note, how does one become a readers voice? I would love to do one of these top 5 lists.
Posted By: el_pieablo (Guest) on September 09, 2010 at 04:46 PM
Fallout 3?
Posted By: DH (Guest) on September 09, 2010 at 06:46 PM
El Pieablo - Pester Todd and you'll get in.
Gamer Girl - I readily endorse that statement.
Posted By: Drew Robbins (Guest) on September 10, 2010 at 09:23 AM
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