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Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 9 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 153 Ratings

  • Summary: Terminal Reality’s The Walking Dead video game takes the undead and brings them out of the TV show and into console gaming systems in a new, terrifying way. The iconic walkers will relentlessly hunt down players like their television counterparts, using a combination of sight, sound and smemell. As Daryl, players will need to tread carefully throughout each new area they explore. Once discovered, it doesn’t take much to attract an unstoppable horde of undead walkers, so every threat needs to be assessed, and every situation analyzed. Players will have to choose between whether to stay and fight while risking a gruesome death or using stealth to avoid the undead. No place is truly safe for Daryl as he makes his way through the Georgia countryside in this new, post-apocalyptic world. Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 9
  2. Negative: 8 out of 9
  1. Mar 22, 2013
    55
    Survival Instinct left me feeling empty. It’s less of a story arc and more of a montage of “Here’s what Daryl and Merle did before Season One.” Unfortunately, technical problems and frustrating design decisions prevent its one redeeming feature — the survival gameplay — from reaching its potential.
  2. Mar 21, 2013
    45
    It’s boilerplate first-person shooter mechanics paired with dated visuals and cool ideas that never develop into cool experiences.
  3. Mar 20, 2013
    40
    I don’t care who dies or survives. In the beginning my curiosity was sparked by stealth mechanics as well as team and resource management. But in the end this is an outdated, very generic, very boring and often very ugly zombie action that certainly fails to live up to the big name it carries.
  4. Apr 21, 2013
    40
    Survival Instinct focuses on the less interesting part of a zombie apocalypse and does not follows the quality of writing we have come to expect after the series, the game from Telltale and especially the comic books of Image Comics.

See all 9 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 38
  2. Negative: 19 out of 38
  1. 10
    This game is amazing. I have never played a game that made me actually feel like I was surviving the zombie apocalypse like this game does! Yes, the graphics are outdated but the gameplay delivers. Plus, its only 50 bucks so its not like they tried to make it appear to be some huge blockbuster...it is what it is and that is zombie apocalypse gameplay superior to any seen yet on consoles! Expand
  2. Ok... I've been playing this game for a day now. Yes. It is a rushed licensed game. There is no doubt about that. But I feel as though Terminal Reality chose to focus less on graphics and more on gameplay which is where the game shines. You absolutely have to play the game stealthily. If you fire your gun, Walkers will just make your day very bad. It has great atmosphere. The sound is great too. But I feel as though Terminal Reality could of tried harder with the dialogue. Still, Norman Reedus and Michael Rooker both deliver their line with that redneckish gusto that we have come to enjoy from the show. The game falls apart in the graphics department. The graphics would be excusable if the framerate was fine, but it is not. The game chugs in places (mostly in darker areas). But I honestly enjoy this game so I will give it a 8. Expand
  3. I picked this game up this morning as soon as game stop was open. So that means i have spent about 2.5 hours with it. I will say that i was a little surprised. To to a tv tie in it was much better then i thought. All the cries about the graphics are not wrong, but maybe thats why they knocked 10buck off its price. All the cries about the game play however are wrong, I find it very good. Gun play is tight, and movement is on par with any other FPS with a little peeking around walls to make the sneaking a little better. Now the melee is not half bad you have a quick kill from behind a grapple if you get grabbed and a light/heavy attack. Different weapons will swing faster/slower but also push zombies back different distances. I would put the melee a cut about games like skyrim and fallout because of the grapple and quick kills. Voice acting is nice also, but the NPC fall a little flat when compared to the voice of Daryle and his brother.

    Over all i would give it an 8
    but this is from a huge walking dead fan, so if i step back and act like its just another game that might drop to a 7
    Expand
  4. Let's just say that because this game isn't as bad as we thought, doesn't give us an excuse to fool ourselves into thinking this game is decent. We all know the graphics were lackluster in this game, so I will move through that point fast. The graphics are a little better than a ps2 game, maybe early this generation of consoles. The backgrounds looks better than the walkers(only 3 different types) and humans in the game. However, the locations in this game are very generic and boring. Here a few points that I want to hit in this review: As you will notice early on in the game is the combat. While using the knife, you basically have to slap the zombie in the face 4 times causing them to fly backwards as stiff as a board. Later on in the game some melee weapons will allow you to one-hit kill a walker in mediocre style. The knife stealth kill animation is nice at first when you sneak up on walkers, however it gets boring and actually hinders your ability to fight in some aspects. While this animation unfolds, there is no way to stop it, so walkers from all sides of you can hit you while you perform this move. Nevertheless, it would have been nice if they created animations for stealth kills with other weapons, but they didn't. Other weapons can been found such as shotguns, rifles, pistols, a crossbow(of course), axes, bats and other weapons. However, guns usually are the secondary weapon of choice and all guns act the same(since you can only shoot the zombies in the head to kill them). Creating too much noise will cause zombies to come find you(sometimes). That brings me to my next point...the zombie AI. In some situations, the AI is spot on. If you make a noise, they will find you, investigate or they will see you from yards away and confront you. Other times, you can shoot their friend right next to them and they might walk the other way. Also, they cannot reach you if you stand on top of a car or in a train car, giving you the chance to pick them off one by one. This unpredictable nature of the zombies can make the game too easy. Other times, zombies will spawn behind you and overrun you quickly. In this case, there is a real-time event when a zombie grabs you, where you have to line the button up to the zombies head(while pressing it), this in turn puts you one on one with a zombie(in a crowd) and allows you to kill them in one hit. In many cases, it is easier to use this real-time event to your advantage and pick zombies off one by one while fighting a horde. Another way in which this game disappoints is the traveling sequences(staring at a map much of the time), it all gets too predictable over the course of the game. I really wish they allowed you actually drive the vehicle. You can choose three routes(text based choices), which include highways(conserves the most gas). Each of the three choices gives you the chances of finding supplies and breaking down. If you break down, the game will bring you on a side mission to fight a horde of zombies and receive gas and supplies. Again, this gets old after a while. I agree that the inventory works pretty well, where you only have a set amount of space for weapons and supplies. However, collecting the same weapons and supplies over and over(such as energy drinks for health), drags the game down. The voice acting in this game is actually one of the things that shines. Norman and Mike really seem like they put a lot into these roles and make the game bearable. Without those two, the game wouldn't even be worth mentioning. The other survivors do a pretty good job at supporting them, albeit the story is lackluster. One other positive about this game are the survivors. The aspect of having a team and allowing survivors to help you find supplies is a great idea. However, a lot of times the survivors only find 1/3 of what you would find on your own. In most cases the reward isn't that great, but might make a difference when your close to running out of bullets. My final point has to do with the reason many people have bought the game. As a prequel to TWD show, explaining how Daryl got his crossbow. To tell you the truth, I expected an Excalibur moment. Yet, I was very underwhelmed at the point he received his crossbow. I will not go into too much depth, but it was basically like "Oh, ok that's how he got it...that sucked." I feel as though the walking dead's name was sold out here. There was so much source material to make this game great, but it just seems rushed. Also, Merle and Daryl without co-op? What a waste! I really wanted to like this game, since I am a big Walking Dead fan, but it was a 6-7 hour let down. I would say this game is not worth more than $20, if that. There is no game ending glitches that I have noticed yet, but there is nothing special about this game. This game is nothing more than a half-finished disappointment. Expand

See all 38 User Reviews