Editorials
[13 Days Of Horror] Day 10: 12 Upcoming Zombie Games To Be Excited About, Part 2
The countdown continues! Yesterday, we took a look at six upcoming (and a few that are already out) zombie games that you should definitely be excited about, and today, I have even more. If you ever needed proof that the zombie isn’t just alive, but thriving, this should do the trick. Looking back, this year was actually pretty incredible for horror fans, with Amy, four episodes of Telltale’s The Walking Dead, and three Resident Evils (Revelations, Raccoon City, RE6) — but I think there’s a very good chance that things will only be getting better over the coming year. More after the jump.
6. Dead Island: Riptide
The first Dead Island got all our attention with its deeply depressing trailer, but when it released, many fans weren’t terribly happy. The stiff characters and dull story betrayed the trailer that had gotten many of us so pumped for the game. Deep Silver and developer Techland are hoping for a redo with Dead Island: Riptide, which promises new features, including a focus on finding, clearing, and barricading your own safe house, and a dynamic weather system that should add some unpredictability to the gameplay. Unfortunately, we’re stuck with the same four characters (and one new entry) from the original game, but on the plus side, you will be able to bring over your progress from the first game into the sequel.
5. Human Element
Human Element is definitely the more mysterious game on this list, because we still don’t know much about it. Developed by Robert Bowling, who’s best known for his work on the Call of Duty series, and his new Robotoki startup, it will focus on how “Unreasonable fear that leads us to do unreasonable things to survive.” You’ll be able to choose between three different classes: action, stealth, and intelligence, and you’ll have to choose whether you want to survive alone, survive with a partner, or survive with a child. Sounds intriguing.
We’ll get a taste of what this game will be about when and episode prequel releases exclusively on the upcoming Ouya console, early next year. Hopefully it’ll be enough to tide us over until Human Element’s painfully distant 2015 release window. Ouch.
4. No More Room in Hell
This awesome indie horror game was included in the first batch of games to get greenlit for distribution on Steam, and rightfully so, because with eight-player co-op, dynamic objectives that make every experience different from the last, multiple modes, and dozens of weapons, this is one ambitious game. It’s also highly addicting, as its multiple Mod of the Year awards can attest to. Look for it on Steam later this year.
3. The Walking Dead – Episode 5
Telltale’s episodic game based on The Walking Dead has quickly become a serious contender for my personal game of the year. It manages the impressive feat of packing more emotionally draining moments in a two hour episode than most retail games do in 10-20. If you haven’t experienced the first four episodes, I suggest you do so now, because they’re all incredible. Hopefully, the fifth and final episode, dubbed No Time Left will cap things off nicely, otherwise Telltale could have a horde of angry gamers to deal with.
2. The Walking Dead
Okay, I lied, because it’s entirely possible that we know less about Activision’s stab at The Walking Dead than we know about Bowling’s Human Element. What we do know, is it will be a first person shooter that follows brothers Daryl and Merle Dixon on a “haunting, unforgiving quest to make their way to the supposed safety of Atlanta.” You’ll have to avoid detection from zombies, who use sight, sound, and smell to find their prey. Thankfully, Daryl’s a bit of a stealthy badass, thanks to that handy crossbow he seems to have with him during every episode of the TV series. I hope this will be good, especially now that Telltale has set the bar so high with their game.
1. World War Z
World War Z is one of my all-time favorite books. It has everything a solid piece of zombie fiction should have, including a fantastic story, plenty of scares, and it’s crazy fun to read. The movie adaptation has run into a few obstacles, but that hasn’t stopped Paramount Pictures from considering a video game. There’s obviously some stiff competition here, but with such incredible source material, I can see this being a real winner.
Missed a day? Check out the rest of the 13 Days of Horror:
Day 1: The 12 Best Weapons In Horror Games, Part 1
Day 2: The 12 Best Weapons In Horror Games, Part 2
Day 3: Our Premature Evaluation Of Black Ops II Zombies
Day 4: Why 2012 Has Been The Best (And Worst) Year For Horror
Day 5: 12 Horror Games To Look Forward To Next Year, Part 1
Day 6: 12 Horror Games To Look Forward To Next Year, Part 2
Day 7: Eight Games You Should Play This Halloween
Day 8: Dear Capcom, This Is What I Want In Resident Evil 7
Day 9: 12 Upcoming Zombie Games To Be Excited About, Part 1
Day 11: Why We Love Zombie Games
Day 11: Why We Love Zombie Games
Day 12: Comment To Win A Copy Of Resident Evil 6 And Other Awesome Swag
Day 13: Don’t Be Scared, It’s Just A Dead Pixels Halloween Podcast
Feel free to ever-so-gently toss Adam an email, or follow him on Twitter and Bloody Disgusting
The trailer for Ti West’s upcoming adaptation of A Christmas Carol raised a lot of eyebrows when it dropped earlier this week. While plenty of folks initially dismissed Ebenezer as a derivative project meant to cash in on the recent wave of unnecessary prequels that expand the backstory of beloved characters (such as 2023’s Wonka), Charles Dickens’ original novel already made a point of exploring Ebenezer Scrooge’s origins in detail – meaning that this new film is likely just a particularly faithful adaptation of the source material under a different name.
Couple that with the fact that the movie is being helmed by a genuine horror auteur and I think it’s safe to say that the latest iteration of the first modern ghost story is in good hands.
That being said, one detail that immediately jumped out at me during the brief teaser (other than a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it nod to Johnny Depp’s iconic bedroom death scene from the original A Nightmare on Elm Street) is the fact that many of Ebenezer’s ghosts appear to have been directly lifted from the iconic John Leech illustrations that accompanied the first edition of Dickens’ novel.
Here are a couple of stills from the trailer compared to the original artwork:
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in ‘Ebenezer’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’
The Phantoms in ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘Ebenezer’
Marley’s Ghost in ‘Ebenezer’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’
Mainly working with old-school wood and steel engravings that would later be transferred to print, Leech was instrumental in crafting the iconic look of history’s most influential phantoms – especially since Dickens is said to have been deeply involved with the creation of these so-called “comic illustrations.”
And since the novel is commonly said to have popularized spiritualism in Victorian England, much of the ghostly iconography that we still see in genre media to this very day (including some of Ti West’s previous films) can be traced back to the author’s partnership with Leech.
Ebenezer won’t be the first A Christmas Carol adaptation to borrow heavily from these designs, but I can appreciate how Ti West is incorporating an important part of horror history into his latest film.
Ebenezer will be available in theaters starting November 13.
You must be logged in to post a comment.