Tom's Hardware Giveaway - Dying Light!

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Time for a pointless anecdote. Yesterday, I was at Six Flags, a theme park that happens to have an October after-dark event titled ‘Fright Fest’. One of the key selling points of this is that they have people dressed up as zombies and ghouls roaming the park at night, scaring the bejebus out of men, women, and children alike. One of those ghouls had a shovel that he would scrape against the ground—loudly—as he ran up behind you. It’s scarier than it sounds.

Now, the point of that pointless anecdote was to set up the reveal for this week’s zombie giveaway: Dying Light! Two things though. Good news: this will come with the season pass! Bad news: we only have one copy. Resources are scarce in a zombie apocalypse.

Let’s talk zombies this week. Of all the zombie-themed games out there, which one had your favorite zombies and what made those zombies better than the others?

Personally, my favorite is the Witch from Left 4 Dead. The quiet weeping followed by the frenzied rush and shrieking made it very memorable. First time my friends and I came across one, the Vent channel was filled with screams and people falling out of their chairs. Classic.




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My favorite zombie game from recent memory is Zombie Army Trilogy.

It features Zombie Hitler.

It's Zombie Hitler!!!! No other zombies top THE Hitler for ultimate evil and fear.
 
Headcrab zombies from Half-Life 2. Specifically the Ravenholm level. For a zombie-type character they were interesting to fight since if you didn't shoot them in the head, the headcrab could detach and attack you afterward. Also, killing them with the gravity gun and saw blades was pretty great.
 
The undead Hollows in the Dark Souls series come to mind first. It feels less like hack and slash, and more like a noble deed, putting them to rest. The torch bearing Hollows can still catch you and nearly end you, even at higher levels. The games' creators really went above and beyond the norm here in my opinion, to set the mood and tone.
 
Slow moving, moaning zombies from Resident Evil 2, only because it was my first zombie game. It was the music and the expectation of whats ahead what was actually scary.

Also the witch from Left 4 Dead, she reminds me of the zombie girl from the movie "REC" :S
 
I would say all the zombies that can paralyze you from Left 4 Dead 2. I say this because I always get attacked by these, especially Hunters and Jockeys, and then spend this next minute screaming at my friends "Guys! Shoot the thing! SHOOT THE THING BEFORE I DIE YOU IGNORANT PINECONES!" And then they leave it to kill me, because it's the fifth time that's happened and we started the game about three minutes ago.

And that's why I now only play with computer controlled team mates.
 
Fast zombies from Half Life 2 (Ravenholm). Just hearing the rattle rattle of the drainpipe as they climbed up to get you...

And an honourable mention to the Michael Jackson zombie (later changed to generic Dancing Zombie) from Plants vs Zombies.

I guess the question asked about which game had the best zombies and what made them better, so Half Life 2 and the fast zombies were unexpectedly fast and had the ominous "they're coming for you" noises. And honourable mention is PvZ, since the MJ zombie danced and raised backup dancer zombies.
 
I'll go with Dead Space, the reanimated shambles were distorted monstrosities and I like the whole anti-headshot dismemberment aspect. I felt like that was more believable as I never understood why zombies only took a headshot to put down, but severed body parts could still independently function.
 
Definitely the jockey from Left 4 Dead 2! Me and my friends had so much fun trying to get it off, or trying to get on another friend whilst playing as the jockey. Those were great memories!
 
Half Life 2. Maybe not the best. Maybe not the scarriest. Maybe nobody else even remembers them all that much. But in my gaming infancy, they were the worst. Ravenholm in particular was the most terrifying thing I'd ever experienced. It gave me nightmares, made me panic, and borderline made me avoid playing the game at all till it was over.
 
For me it has to be Wolfenstein: Old Blood. When I game I normally do so for an hour here or an hour there and since I had already played Wolfenstein: The New Order not to long ago I really wasn't expecting zombies at all. My son was watching me play and when I jumped it caused him to jump and fall out of his seat lol OMG that was funny.
 
Plants vs Zombies, no question about it. A very addictive game, something I soon discovered, but by the time I realized it, it was already too late for me, the zombies ate my brains!... 🙁

So what made those zombies so special? Just take a look at this:

[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N1_0SUGlDQ"][/video]

Further comments are futile.

Brainz!
 
Left 4 Dead 1 - Valve blew away all previous zombie games when this released. The first time your team left you for dead, you never cussed more......
 
The zombies of Dead Space. The lonely setting in space combined with the gruesome creatures and dismemberment make it stand out.
 
Melchiah and his zombie vampires from Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1. Masterfully designed, creepy as hell and slightly MORE undying than the rest of the vampire variants in Soul Reaver 1.

And Melchiah himself? My god.
 
Painkiller, by far !

it has an uniquie type of zombies unseen in other games, bonuses from tarot cards, alot of secret areas, objectives on every level. it has a pretty nice story too. you need to think a litte to play this game unlike other zombie games where you just kill and nothing more. Painkiller has this too !
the music, ah THE MUSIC was friggin awesome ! fuleing my body with adrenaline on every zombie fight i had.

Necrogiant is the most impressive zombie for me because, as the other bosses from painkiller series, you cant just throw ammo at it and kill it. it has a secret which you must find.

since i played it i was excited by every zombie game out there becasue i was hoping to 'feel' again but i was disappointed... but, i haven't tried Dying Light yet :)
 
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