Zombies have been lurching around on the big screen for over 80 years now; an enduring enemy with all the right ingredients for long-term staying power. Theyre human enough for it to be relatable when theyre hurt and theyre motivated solely by our most primal instincts - hunger and, in a bitey sort of way, reproduction. A single zombies dangerous enough to be a threat, but even a horde of them are sufficiently slow and stupid that they can still be outwitted or outpaced. While zombies over the years have represented fear of foreign lands, consumerism and even science, to gamers they represent something else: the last acceptable target. Theres a reason that Germany, famous for its decades of video game censorship, has so many of its baddies switched for zombies. No politician ever got angry about gamers mowing down a city full of the undead. And theyre ideal video game targets they even move slowly and predictably, like 3D Space Invaders for the Unreal age. They even squish nicely. Weve dreamt up big zombies, regenerating zombies, fast zombies, fire zombies, zombies that can climb on walls, zombies that react to sound but as far as stories go, we havent been nearly as imaginative. Look at the most well-received zombie stories in recent years - The Walking Dead, DayZ and The Last of Us. Theyre less about the novelty of the undead and more about the apocalypse itself; making tough choices, foraging and dealing with each other in a lawless world. Zombies are rapidly becoming little more than a background nuisance so why not let them rest in peace for a while? Lets find other ways to ruin the world, and who knows maybe then well uncover new stories to tell. What plots and storylines are you sick of seeing? Let us know in the comments!
