400 Days of Zombie Summer

Zombies are never dead for long are they?

They may be defeated, cured, or locked outside the walls for a time, but they are the underworlds underdogs, the necrotic Rocky Balboa. Always taking a beating and coming back to kill Apollo Creed in the fourth round.

The latest zombie to pick itself off the stained concrete is Telltale's The Walking Dead video game.

Between April and November of 2012 Walking Dead fans were treated to 5 episodes set in the comic book world created by Robert Kirkman that spawned the AMC hit T.V show "The Walking Dead".

Instead of an action packed shooting game like Left 4 Dead where hundreds of zombies fell before your shotgun and machete, the Walking Dead video game felt more like the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books you read in third grade on rainy days.

You hear someone screaming outside and banging on the door. 

If you open the door to help your fellow man turn to page 52.

 If you shoot your pistol three times through the door at head height turn to page 23.

The gameplay is in a typical Telltale style, you control a character and walk around various rooms clicking on objects and talking to people. Then the Walking Dead aspect of the game would crash through a window, and a quick time event occurs and a zombie becomes the narrow center of your world.

You would see a button on screen that you needed to press in order to get away from the corpse that was chomping where your feet were moments ago. At that moment all knowledge of what a controller was would leave you, your memory would be sucked clean, and you would start flailing around.

"B BUTTON? What's the b button, it's red, I can't find red, SHIT it's getting closer. WHERE THE FUCK IS THIS FUCKING BUTTON. Is this it? Nope, it's almost here, OH THERE IS NO GOD"

Then your mind would either assert itself and your thumbs would do the job they have been trained to do or you would get to see your new friend die a agonizing death.

Even though the zombies were the constant threat of the game, they were not thing that was always on your mind. Between attacks from the hordes of rotting corpses, you had shit to worry about. Were you safe where you were held up? Did you have enough food? Was the little girl you picked up along the way emotionally ok? Was there tensions that would flare up and end in a bloody mess?

Telltale relegated the zombies to the something that scared you, but the group of people that you were with and the choices you made were what kept you agonizing hours after you put down the controller.

And now the game is scrabbling at the walls again.

Zombies are mindless monstes, humans are mindful monsters.

Being released onthe following dates is the new DLC called The Walking dead: 400 days.

• Tuesday, July 2nd – PlayStation Network (North America)
• Wednesday, July 3rd – PC/Mac (Steam, Telltale Games Store)
• Friday, July 5th – Xbox Live (Worldwide)
• Wednesday, July 10th – PlayStation Network (Europe)
• Thursday, July 11th – iOS (Worldwide)

This is a brand new story bridging point between Season 1 and the forthcoming Season 2. The new DLC, which will be on Xbox, Pc, PS3, and even PS Vita will feature the stories of 5 all new playable characters. For those of you who played Season 1 of The Walking Dead, the events in the DLC will be occurring geographically near the same place, so the developers have said that choice and decisions you made in the first game may affect situations in this DLC. Check out the trailer below for a glimpse of what to expect.