Grim Crew Presents: Dead Future

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.

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