Not only am I currently addicted to Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, but I get to come home to an interesting blog by Dangle on zombie possibilities in reality.

Personally, I think it's fucking retarded the CDC has to issue a statement 'cuz too many fools watch far too much TV. You'd think these people read papers, study real killers, or at least watch the X-Files and try to make more educated speculations. Cult activity, famous cannibal killers, schizophrenia... no - it MUST be the start of a zombie viral outbreak.

And none (that we know of so far) exists in reality. Even so, what would one expect from the CDC? Confession on some government conspiracy? If it were, you really think they'd dish out definitive answers? On the other hand, if a new reanimation virus were concocted or naturally developed and erupted, a study and vaccine synthesis would take time, seeing as how such an outbreak would be new to humanity. In the meantime, all you could do would be to sit on your ass, watch the news, and wait for similar face-eating behavior to grow significantly - but by then it would be too late for you, regardless of how much you bug the CDC. But I digress...


The zombie idea certainly isn't anything new, and thanks to a shit ton of it being ripped in some way from the Biohazard/ RE game series, recent media has made it a bit too mainstream these days. Now anytime the subject of a zombie apocalypse/ virus/ government experiment gone awry comes up, everyone and their mother claims to have the know-how on survival.

Of course, it's all tantamount to utter specious reasoning; someone's sure-fire strategy is only ripped from TV and (always) in perfect order with the usual Hollywood hero formula.

In other words, in such a case, they'd probably be the first ones dead.

The "zombie attack" danger is usually what the bragging is all about. Everyone goes on about how great they'd be at blasting creatures, but seem to forget those important aspects of apocalyptic-grade tragedy that goes along with the main enemy, be it alive or dead: riots, loss of communications, citizens with weapons, car accidents, loss of police, fire, and EMT personnel, cordoned-off sections and debris areas making passage impossible, quarantine zones, looting, martial law, and of course, considering real life isn't a game, the fact that you won't start your adventure with a mess of guns, radar, armor, and instant-heal sprays might be note-worthy.


Thus, when the conversation turns to zombies, apocalypse events, and survival, I always turn to the video game challenge, of course. As survival horror is one of my choice genres, I've played it all. Yeah, others are familiar with the genre, but shooters and whatnot aren't what I'm talking about here. Usually not too many are familiar with titles in the flash category. As such, given the conversation has turned to the subject, I present to bloggers like Dangle a survival challenge:

These are a few excellently-made flash games designed to test your knowledge, instincts, and survival abilities specifically in the case of a zombie-related apocalypse! It's surprising how many people are always completely unaware such text-based flash projects exist, but everyone loves them nonetheless.

I won't go expecting honest ranking to be posted here, of course - I'm pretty confident the majority of people get pretty horrible scores overall. But they're still great fun and can teach you a lot about your own inclinations in desperate situations. Have fun!!



1.  Urban Dead      http://urbandead.com

   

Urban Dead has been around for awhile, completely text-based and influenced by not only your decisions, but the actions of thousands of others online. You have the option to choose a character class, although for the most realistic results, I'd stick with the Consumer or Scout.




2.   Dead Frontier: Outbreak     http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/511685

   

One of the best text-based survival games out there, Dead Frontier: Outbreak has you, an ordinary citizen, stuck smack dab in downtown at the moment of major zombie incursion. What decisions you make may surprise you in this choose-your-own-adventure game!




3.   Dead Frontier: Outbreak II     http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/530338



Picking up where the first left off, Outbreak II has you continuing on your way to salvation in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Do you have the wit and bravery to survive?



Of course, as a bonus, a great site for practically all zombie flash games known online is http://zombiegames.net. There you can find these titles, as well as much more zombie fun, ranging from the survival horror, to platform, action, and rpg genres.