Posts Tagged ‘Games’
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While doing my searching for awesome things to bring to you I found a website called Nerd Trek. I immediately tagged it as a favorite because it has things relative to my interests as I am a huge nerd. I recommend you do the same.
One article in particular I want to bring to your attention about a zombie based card game that looks like it might be a lot of fun. Based off a regular 52 card deck, this game is made by Blaise Sewell of Feel Right Design. He has a Kickstarter campaign that can really use your help in getting finished. With 7 days left to go it looks like he only needs $350 to help him make his goal.
Visit the Kickstarter for rules on making this game into a drinking game! Be Safe. Don’t drink and Drive, fight zombies, or operate firearms. {1}
The game is called Zombie Shuffle and because it’s based off of a 52 card deck, you can feel free to play at home without buying the deck itself. In fact Blaise is so generous, he is giving the rules to the game away for free. But take a look at his Kickstarter anyway. You will see that in addition to some really cool bonuses for funding the game, that the card design is pretty sweet. After looking everything over I can see that there are definite advantages of getting a premade deck.
1) The Illustrations are nice and well done.
2) You have a deck already marked up so you don’t have to ruin a deck you have at home.
3) The graphics will make the game so much more fun to play.
I like the back of the card design, but I don’t know that I would have chosen red and yellow. Just my opinion. Buy the game anyway! {2}
Thank you Nerd Trek for bringing this well designed and easy to play game to our attention. Thank you Blaise Sewell for putting in the time and effort and we hope your game is a big success! I did my part and made a donation. Please look into helping his cause.
If you have something you would like me to talk about in a post, email me at penguinprince@grimcrew.com, or leave comments in the comment section below. Don’t forget to check out our Facebook, and Google + pages for more zombie goodness. As always be safe and I’ll see you Wednesday for more zombie goodness!
Till Fate brings our Future…
Penguin Prince
Image Sources
{1} & {2}, http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1380678895/zombie-shuffle
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It’s that time of year again! Santa is coming! And if you don’t know what to put on your holiday list yet, let me help you with that. I have searched Amazon.com to come up with the most popular zombie gift ideas this holiday season! Every Monday from now until Christmas, I’ll be putting up some gift ideas from toys, to books, to video games, and even decorum.
So this week I figured I would bring you the most popular of the zombie toys. The toys category includes board games, but not video games. Video games will be a separate post.
To find my results, I went to the specific department, and searched “Zombies.” I then selected “New and Popular” in the Sort by Field. If you try this yourself, be warned, some things that come up are not zombie related. So to come up with this list I had to do some clean up. I’ve removed anything from the results that does not seem to fit (for example aliens instead of zombies), and even grouped like items together so that we weren’t coming up with 3 Walking Dead action figures on our list. Instead I’ll just mention the group as a set. I also removed anything with less than 4 stars from this list.
10. Last Night On Earth – The Zombie Game:
Last Night On Earth is a board game that pits you against the undead masses in an epic fight for your lives. For 2 to 6 players this game has gotten great reviews and will will entertain you and a small party! Play as either human survivors, or play as the zombies and try to wipe your friends off this earth! With several scenarios that drastically change the game, this modular board game will make it hard to get board of.
9. McFarlane Toys The Walking Dead TV Series 2
What Walking Dead fan would get caught without these on their Christmas list? McFarlane makes the best action figures. Pair that up with the number 1 zombie TV show ever, and you have one must have this holiday season. Collect them all for display or for play. Now you can reenact your favorite scenes from the hit TV show!
8. Munchkin Zombies
This is one of my personal favorite games. Building of the insanely popular mechanics of the Steve Jackson Games Munchkin, Muchkin Zombies brings you into a whole new world where you always start off as a Level 1 Character with no class, disagreements on the rules are always settled by loud arguments (according to the rule book), and the silly and insane are just another flip of the cards.
7. Bowling Zombies
This is a novelty game with a zombie twist. With 10 hand crafted zombie pins, you use your wooden bowling ball to knock over as many as you can without knocking over the king-pin. This table top game will be loads of fun for two players who want to have a ball.
Get it? “have a ball?” Bowling? Ah everyone’s a critic.
6. ThinkGeek – Zombie Plush Slippers
If you’re looking for a way to keep your feet warm this winter, why not employ some zombies to help you with that. This clever design for slippers will not only keep you warm but also be a great conversation piece. So if you dare, stick your feet into the zombie mouths. They won’t bite… promise.
5. Zombie Dice
Another Steve Jackson game making the list this year! And another personal favorite of mine. You play as a zombie to see how many brains you can eat! Save your brains to eat all at once! Collect as many as you can get your undead hands on. Be careful of the shotguns however. Three of these and you loose all your brains. Eat the brains before getting shot up and you can save your score for the next round. First to reach the predetermined score wins! Another fun party game where it’s just as fun to watch as it is to play!
4. E5000 Auto Fire Blaster with Zombie Target
Want to teach your kids about firearm safety and techniques without handing over a real gun? This may be your solution. The E5000 Auto Fire Blaster uses BlasterPro Ammo that disintegrates on impact, leaving little mess for you to clean up and making it safe(r) to play indoors, unlike paintball. Using the Zombie target you can teach your kids the basics of firearm safety and shooting accuracy without the danger of real guns! The design gives you a rifle feel for accurate handling training.
3. Monster High Dolls
Think what Barbie would be like if her and her friends were monsters instead of, well everything else that Barbie is. These cute dolls are popular with little girls who want just a little bit of creepy with their play. With characters based off of werewolves, yettie’s, vampires, Mummies/Egyptian rulers, gorgons, and yes, even zombies, there’s a wide variety of dolls to choose from as well as lots of different cloths, accessories, and playsets.
2. The Walking Dead Board Game
This is one game on the list I have not gotten a chance to play. But being based off the hit television show The Walking Dead, this board game is getting a lot of attention. Play as your favorite characters from the TV Show and see how well you would survive a zombie apocalypse! If you happen to get bit, don’t worry, your new objective is to turn against you former allies to help the zombies wipe out humanity.
1. Lego Monster Fighters Sets
Lego has been delighting children for generations with their toys that are only as limited as your imagination. This new Monster Fighters set tells the story of one brave adventurer who’s on a mission to stop the monsters from obtaining 6 magical moonstones. With the power to turn day into permanent night where vampires, werewolves, mummies, and zombies will be free to roam around the world forever, these moonstones must be protected at all costs! Build castles, dungeons, and other playsets to go on your own journey and fight back the evil that lurks in the night!
There you have it! The top 10 zombie toys of the season. Get some for your kids, get some for your friends, get some for yourself! Just call me so we can play together!
Till Fate brings our future…
Penguin Prince
Image Sources
Are all from Amazon.com under the respective product link embedded in the item name.
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You want to have some fun with the Grim Crew? Well, the Southern Maryland Comic Con is having another convention coming up on July 7th and the Grim Crew is going to be sponsoring a very special event.
Do you think you have what it takes to survive a zombie apocalypse? You think you have the know how to save you and your friends from the undead? Well I invite you to test your survival knowledge in the first ever Grim Crew Zombie Survival Quiz! Here’s how it works 4 contestants will get to stand in front of a panel of zombies or “special guest judges” and answer 3 rounds of questions. After each round the zombies will collaborate on the best and worst answers. The best answers, will gain you survival to the next round. The worst, will get you eaten.
At the third round only two survivors will remain. After their last question, the zombies will consider the answers for all questions asked and will determine who will be Grim Crews Zombie Survivor!
So do you think you have what it takes to be a survivor? Find out on July 7th. The contestants will all receive fabulous prizes, still to be determined. Even if your not chosen as a contestant you can still get the chance to win as we pick members of the audiance out at random to answer trivia questions, and preform dares to win.
Lots of prizes and good times will be had by all! So be sure to join us for all the fun on Saturday July 7th from 10 AM to 5 PM at 3033 Waldorf Market Place,
Waldorf, MD!
Till Fate brings our Future…
Penguin Prince
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In the news of the last week, there were some interesting stories on zombies, even if I did have to dig a bit to pull them out.
First and foremost I would like to announce that the epic Star Wars RPG, Star Wars: The Old Republic, took no more than 2 months to jump the shark. Well not really but I’ve always wanted to use that term. It was announced in a recent patch update that players will now be able to face the Rakghouls. Now if your like my cousin, you might know exactly what this obscure reference is, and be able to tell me exactly when if first appeared, what they are and what characters have encountered them. He would also be able to tell me their sleeping patterns and mating rituals, I tell you he’s a little scary when it comes to this stuff. But if your a little more like me and only a normal fan of Star Wars (read watched the movies quite a few times but still can’t repeat lines word for word) then you may need to do some research on these fascinating creatures.
picture taken from http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Rakghoul
According to Wookieepedia, the Rakghouls are mutants transformed by the talisman of the Sith Lord Karness Muur. The talisman gave the Sith Lord the power to control these mutants as well but he found that it was ineffective on force sensitive beings as well as a few alien life forms. So in addtion to the talisman he gave his creatures a poison in their saliva that would allow thier bites to transform their victims into Rakghouls as well.
I wish I had come across this earlier when I was doing my blog on the Korriban Sith Zombies as I would have covered these guys too. But the long and the short of it is you will now get to fight zombies in SWTOR. Some may argue that these are ghouls not zombies but seriously, their bite turns you into them, they come from a magic talisman, and they live only to feed their hunger for flesh. These are zombies. In a loose sense of the term at least. I’m calling it a win for zombie fans anyway. Original Source http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/17/hyperspace-beacon-star-wars-zombies/
Next I have news that has been released about the much anticipated Resident Evil 6. Fans of the series have probably already found the trailer released for the game last week. I have seen the trailer on YouTube… and well take a look.
The big hub bub about this is hard core fans of the series are a little up in arms about this game being too actiony. Yes I just made that word up. Complaints about the game are that it look like it will rely too heavily on fighting the zombies instead solving the puzzle or what not. Fans of the early games reminisce about a time when resources were limited and the game scared you with it’s dark levels and hidden surprises. Resident Evil 6 looks like it’s going back to darker levels, but not pitch-black-with-just-a-flashlight-and-fresh-set-of-drawers dark.
It shows signs of the original zombies, but much like RE5 is throwing in some zombies with advanced mutations like tentacles that try to suck you up. The trailer also shows some running and sliding scenes as well as some kick ass fight scenes. This too has fans in an out rage. Concern that this game is turning too far in the action direction has been resonating on message boards.
My personal thoughts about this are that the Resident Evil guys are allowed to experiment a bit. Keep up your complaining. It gives developers an idea of what you want. But at the same time be a bit open to the creativity of the designers. Maybe it will be a sweet game. Maybe it will suck. But the developers will have at least tried it and if you don’t like it, RE7 will go back a bit further to the roots. But keep in mind as well that the original RE games were made when the system’s resources were a bit constraining. In order to make games with as much detail as these had, they had to limit things like resources and the special effects and seriously sweet graphics you see in the trailer. Now that we have better systems to use, it should be expected for the games to evolve and be more action packed to take advantage of the better graphics processing and faster memory speeds.
I should also say that I have never finished a Resident Evil game. These games to me have been intense to the point that I want to throw my controller across the room and stomp on it. Now that RE6 will allow you to do more and be a bit creative with survival strategy, maybe I’ll be able to get past the first 2 levels. Original source, http://www.computerandvideogames.com/332878/resident-evil-6-return-to-form-or-gears-with-zombies-pt-2/
If you have heard of the zombie flick entitled “The Dead” and have seen the movie, consider yourself lucky. Up until now it has only appeared in minor runs in the US, at film festivals, and in other countries. But happy days for all zombie fans, another film is becoming available for all to enjoy as it hits DVD and Blue ray just in time for Valentines day. Release date it Feb 14th, and this has me excited. Many reviews for this movie are positive, and I’ve read a not so positive “review” (see the source). This looks like it’s going to be filled with the things many zombie movie fans will enjoy. Action, Zombies, and more action. Taking place in Africa, the place many people believe the zombie outbreaks will start, this film boasts beautiful locations and what I hope to be some good examples of surviving a zombie outbreak in the desert. The trailer can be seen in the source link. Original source, http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/zombies-in-africa-feature-film-the-dead-heading-to-dvd-blu-ray-2-14-new-release-trailer
My next bit of news has me trilled to death. I am trying to get a small group of people together to do a 5k zombie run called Run for Your Lives (featured a few months ago). Problem is I’m not so much a runner as that asthmatic couch potato. So I need to get in shape and learn how to run effectively. Well as it turns out, there’s an app for that. Zombies, Run! is a fitness training app that utilizes my one motivation to get into shape. Zombies. As you run you get chased by zombies. Pick up items along your run and when you get home, distribute them as you see fit to best prepare for the zombie attacks. It has training for every runner from couch potato on up. For $12 you can pre-order the first season, and according the the source a second season is already in the works. Yes I will shell out the $12. Then I’ll review it for a future blog for you guys.
Original source, http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2012/02/play/on-your-marks
If you come across any news worthy tid bits for stories in these weekly segments, please email them to me at penguinprince@grimcrew.com. You will get source credit and fame! You should also follow Dead Future on Facebook and Google +. If you want more from me feel free to join me on Twitter and Google +!
Till Fate brings our Future…
Penguin Prince
One thing I wanted to point out to my readers before I dive into the current events for the week is that you must keep in mind that the things I post here arn’t current events as in happening now. Usually they are things that have happened about a week and a halve ago as I take my headlines from the headlines of other articles written durring last week. I usually write these current event posts some time durring the weekend before the post. So unless something is so pressing and exciting that I must “stop the presses” so to speak, please keep in mind that this stuff may not be as current as other websites. My job is not to be the most up to date, just to inform you all in one place.Also that being said, if you find something zombie related happening, send me an email at penguinprince@grimcrew.com. If I put it in the current event post I will give you credit for the find and we all will get a better post each week.And now the zombie news in the last week.
I wanted to start out on a peace I found on www.ottawacitizen.com. Tom Spears writes about a new book that was published by a University of Ottawa professor Robert Smith? called BRAAAIIINNNSSS! From Academics to Zombies. No I didn’t type any of that wrong Robert Smith? does use the question mark behind his name (to distinguish himself from all the other Robert Smiths) and BRAAAIIINNNSSS! does have all those repeated letters (three of each repeated letter because Robert Smith? is a math professor). The book is published by the University of Ottowa press and you can purchase it for $24.95.
Mathematical model for the spread of a zombie infection according to http://mysite.science.uottawa.ca/rsmith43/Zombies.pdf
According to Tom Spears, BRAAIIINNNSSS! From Academics to Zombies takes a variety of academics and applies them to the zombie situation. Not only has Professor Smith? come up with a mathematical model for the spread of the zombie virus (shown above, from his paper WHEN ZOMBIES ATTACK!: MATHEMATICAL MODELLING OF AN OUTBREAK OF ZOMBIE INFECTION) but in his new book he and his fellow co-authors take a look at the zombie condition from many different academics. Whether it’s an explanation of how zombies walk, their effect on consumerism or disability law, or analysis on zombie attacks, there is a little bit of something from an array of disciplines that have been tasked on the zombie.
Used as a great way to introduce people to a variety of different fields of academics, this book will be a great tool indeed. It’s a different kind of zombie book and one that I am drawn to. Robert Smith?, you are my hero and you are now the third person on my list of people to meet, right next to George Romero and Max Brooks.
This book however leads me to conclude that zombies are the most researched threat we may never even face. Like the Y2K bug, we spend loads of money and time on researching a fictional monster. Just these past few months I showed examples of where people design zombie proof dwellings, and form entire societies based on the research of zombies. Is it really necessary to bring our fandom of a fictional creature to these levels?
Well my next article says yes. Yes it is.
It seems that zombies are just as much a part of nature as they are in our imaginations, just not the undead kind. I have reported on how different parasites effect hosts giving them zombie like tendencies, or at least altering the habits of their hosts in ways that harm the host but benefit the parasite. Well a professor who teaches at the San Fransisco State University, Professor John Hafernik, has found a bee that exhibits zombie like habits after being attacked by the phorid fly.
If this picture doesn't make you squirm, your a better man than I. Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/picturesoftheday/8994344/Pictures-of-the-day-5-January-2012.html?image=26
Apocephalus borealis, attacks the bees by injecting their eggs into the abdomen of the bee. As the eggs hatch and turn into larvae the bees abandon their hives and become attracted to lights, similar to moths. They begin to twitch and walk around in circles aimlessly. After about a week or so, the bee finally dies and the larvae exit the bee from it’s neck area to continue it’s life cycle to infect other bees. Holding aside the implications this has for the beekeeping industry, think of the implications to the zombie situation. As more and more of these zombie examples are found in real life it has to lead you to wonder if there was anything to those Voodoo tales. (source: www.theregister.co.uk)
In gaming news, www.mmocrunch.com has reported that Undead Labs has released some footage on their new zombie MMO that is currently in development. The video only shows snippets of the game play to be expected, but otherwise is an excellent look behind the scenes of the studio and gives you a brief glimpse on how these video games are made. Either follow the link above to see their article on this, or go strait to Mmocrunch’s source, the Undead Labs Blog. Seeing this video makes me excited for this game and I’m intrigued by a zombie MMO.
Finally I would like to announce the Dead Future Google + page. For all you who have abandoned Facebook for Google + (and I can’t really blame you), you can now follow us on your new preferred social network addiction. See pictures of the Grim Crew at work at our conventions and get updates on the new blogs coming out. Not to mention it will be the first place you will see any new news about your favorite zombie comics.
That’s all I have for you this week, but don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & Google + for more zombie goodness. You can also follow me on Twitter and Google + as well.
Till Fate brings our Future…
Penguin Prince
As we head into the Holiday season many of you may be thinking of what to buy for your loved ones. Many religious holidays have traditions of gift giving at this time of year so I thought I would go over some suggestions on what to buy that zombie enthusiast. I will be listing the top 10 zombie related products of various categories according to www.amazon.com. I have conducted my search by using the term “zombie” in the search function and then sorting them by category, and then by popularity. I will be removing like items (such as several dolls from the same series) and also removing items that don’t have a high relevance to the search. As I’m a kid at heart I thought my first category to review would be Toys and Games.
1. Doctor Dreadful Zombie Lab: As a kid I begged my mom to get me something like this, and as a dutiful mother of course she said no. But if you want to be a cool parent this is just a creepy gross good time. Your child can make gummy bugs, drink zombie barf puked from a zombie skull and learn at an early age that brains are the breakfast of every zombie champion. Don’t be a party pooper, eat your kids creations as well, if you can stomach it.
2. Monster High Dolls: Leave it to Mattel to find another way to sell a Barbie. For the creepy little girl who still wants to be stylish this may be a good alternative to hanging out in cemeteries, reading bad poetry, and cutting. To be honest these are cute and I like that they encourage girls to be who they want to be and to accept people and things that may be different. These dolls are based around the teenage children of the monsters we grew up to know and love. With names like Duce Gorgan, and Abbey Bominable, it can be a fun way to get your children into the old time horror you know and love.
3. The Walking Dead Board Game: You’ve seen the show, you’ve read the comics, and you’ve larped the story line (don’t lie I know you have), now play the board game! Play as zombies or as survivors with 2-4 players. You may never become Rick Grimes, but at least you can pretend to be him for a brief 60 minutes! Just do me a favor, make your friend play as Shane, then punch him in the junk for me.
4. Zombie Dice : Your going to see Steve Jackson’s games up here on this list a lot. And why not? The games are fun and zombie related. Hello! As a zombie your trying to eat more brains than your zombie friends. Do it before being blasted with a shot gun. Easy as that. Bought these for my friend last year and still haven’t gotten a chance to play it, but from the premise of it it sounds like a winner if you love dice games, zombies and a quick good time.
5. Munchkin Zombies: I wrote a blog about this before. I highly recommend this game. Interchangeable with other Munchkin games and loads of fun. If you like card games, and making enemies out of your friends this is the game for you. Lie, Cheat, and Steal your way to the top in this memorable card game.
6. Zombie Fluxx: Yet another Steve Jackson game. Zombie Fluxx is a spin off the original Steve Jackson card game Fluxx. In this game the rules to play change with every card you play, so getting board would be kind of hard. A good game worth playing over and over again.
7. Monopoly Nightmare Before Christmas: It’s Monopoly with possibly the best stop animation movie ever. Need I say more?
8. Plants vs. Zombies Collection Figures: Why? I don’t know. But Pop Cap Games raked in the bucks off this fun game on the computer, and these things are really kind of cool. Great for the big kid’s desk at the office.
9. Scientific Explorer Disgusting Special Effects Make Up Kit: This may be the most unique item on this list. A great start to teach your children (or yourself) zombie makeup and special effects. Make your next zombie walk the best one yet, or make your own zombie movie! Not only fun to experiment with, but educational as it teaches kids what happens when some of the wounds actually happen. Parental supervision is highly suggested on this one as some of the chemicals used can be harmful if misused. Fun for you and your kid!
10. Last Night on Earth – The Zombie Game: Just think of this as a zombie movie in a board game. Play as survivors or as zombies as you play out several scenarios that always change the way you play. The game is designed to give it a cinematic feel to what happens so you too can be in that zombie movie. Sounds like a cross between a board game and an RPG. Something I would like to try at least.
That’s it. The top 10 most popular zombie toys and games according to Amazon.com. You can find more items that may tickle your fancy, but maybe this list can get you started. Happy hunting and look for more blogs in the next week for more ideas for the holidays as I go over books, movies, and more.
If you have more ideas, include them in the comments below. If you have any questions or want to leave me feedback on my blogs email me at penguinprince@grimcrew.com (especially if you are that cute waitress from the Bob Evans this weekend). You should also follow us on Facebook for extra zombie goodness throughout the week. And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Google +.
-Till Fate brings our Future…
Penguin Prince
Scientific Explorer Disgusting Special Effects Make Up Kit
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