“Zombie Apocalypse” are the words on everyone’s lips ever since the “Miami Zombie” Rudy Eugene hit the news. Eugene gnawed off more than 80% of homeless man Ronald Poppo’s face on the side of a Florida freeway. Poppo continued to feast even after police shot him. Police suspect that Eugene may have been high on an LSD derivative called “bath salts,” though it will be weeks before toxicology reports are available
Adding fuel to the fire is Hackensack, New Jersey man, Wayne Carter, who boarded himself up inside his apartment, threatening to hurt himself. Police responded to a neighbor’s phone call, and when they arrived, Carter began stabbing himself in the stomach several times. The stab wounds were so severe that his intestines began to seep through the wounds. Carter then actually threw his intestines at police. He threw his OWN intestines, and didn’t stop even after police sprayed two cans of pepper spray. He was eventually subdued after a SWAT team shot him with bean bags.
UPDATE - And then there's this guy, who ate part of his roommate's brain and heart after killing him, and another man who cut off his wife's lips and ate them.
In honor of the zombie apocalypse that’s steadily approaching, let’s look back fondly at some of the best video games that fiction has to offer before we’re all eaten alive. GamenGuide brings you the top 5 best zombie games!
5. Zombies Ate My Neighbors
If only the approaching undead horde were as easily felled as the recently deceased brought to us in this LucasArts run n’ gunner. Today your best bets for survival against the walking dead are steady aim and a cool head. But to take care of the ghouls on this 1993 game for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo, all you needed was your trusty water pistol. You play as pals Zeke and Julie, and must save your neighbors from becoming dinner. But it’s more than just zombies that hunger for your next door dwellers, all manner of creatures inspired from various horror films make appearances: Murderous mermen and Martians, vampires, werewolves, blobs, living dolls, pod people, chainsaw wielding psychos, and even a giant baby or two. The armaments vary as much as the enemies, you can throw silver cutlery at werewolves, and encase aliens in bubbles, using their own ray guns against them. If you’ve never played this before, grab a friend and give it a shot on Wii's virtual console.
4. Dead Island
Dead Island puts you smack dab in the middle of the fictional island paradise Banoi during a zombie outbreak. Whereas many zombie and first person games alike are shooters, Dead Island’s focus was on melee combat, and gave players an interesting option to move the controllers’ analog sticks like the arms of their player. But it took some getting used to. The trailer introducing us to Dead Island went viral, and grabbed HUGE buzz on the internet. On the strength of the trailer alone, Lionsgate grabbed film rights before the game, or even gameplay, was available.
3. Plants VS Zombies
Vegan zombies may not be as scary, but they’re certainly more dedicated. This tower defense game puts you in command over a legion of plants and fungi to defend yourself from increasingly ridiculous varieties of undead. Originally developed for Windows and Mac, it has since spread to the iPad, Nintendo DS, PS3, and Xbox360. Far from the grisly nature of the majority games on this list, Plants VS Zombies is sickeningly cute, which definitely adds to its appeal as well as its availability to younger players. To date, it is PopCap’s fastest selling game.
2. Left for Dead
Set two weeks after “green flu” has ravaged the local populace, you and teammates control your choice of four survivors against the infected hordes. Gameplay was based on cooperative play, and was necessary for survival. You weren’t alone; you were part of a team. Courtesy of an AI in charge of challenges, object and enemy placement called “The Director” no two playthroughs are exactly alike.
1. Resident Evil
Cliché, sure, but you have to give credit where credit is due. The MOST influential zombie game to date, Resident Evil single handedly defined the survival horror genre, and spawned numerous sequels, prequels, and side-stories on almost a dozen platforms, books, and CGI and live action movies. The first of the franchise saw special police task force STARS investigating the Arklay mansion after hearing reports of groups of cannibals attacking people in the area (sound familiar?). After a lot of scares and monstrous encounters, the team uncovers a massive conspiracy by the pharmaceutical corporation Umbrella. 15 years later, the franchise is still going strong with the fifth live action film and the sixth videogame addition to the main storyline both underway.
