The exciting journey in The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct focuses on the Dixon brothers, and you'll learn plenty of new information on these two characters that the television show may never reveal about the characters before teeth or bullets tear them apart. Daryl and Merle are voiced by the real life actors Norman Reedus and Michael Rooker, and both give pretty stellar voice acting performances here, although Rooker is clearly more comfortable in a video game after his work with Activision in the Call of Duty series. The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct gives some insight on how these characters tick from their crummy childhoods and poor living conditions even before the zombie apocalypse began, and though it is some time into the game before you get your hands on Daryl's iconic bow, you can be sure the wait is worth it, and it's cool that the game includes a bonus mode where the bow can be equipped from the start of the game. Watching the Dixons interact with other survivors along the way is a thrill and often pretty hilarious, just as it is in the television show, so this is a game that is definitely for fans of the series.
Players will control Daryl during the game while completing various quests for other survivors that can net some nice loot and scavenging for your own supplies Vehicles can be found during gameplay that will allow you to quickly travel between locations and carry along a survivor or two in addition, but these can break down if not maintained properly. Much of the game is spent hiding and sneaking past zombies, so Daryl will have many techniques at his disposal to distract zombies such as throwing noisy objects in the opposite direction or setting off car alarms. Clearing a whole area of zombies is discouraged, as Daryl can easily be overwhelmed by a horde of zombies, and the enemies will quickly be replaced by more zombies even when defeated. Melee weapons are the weapon of choice for a majority of the game and allow you to perform stealth kills from behind with little danger. Silenced pistols, rifles, shotguns and the crossbow will be found later in the game, but shooting in the game feels a bit clumsy and attracts more attention to the area, so it is often times better to think before you shoot. You can send out survivors on runs to pick you up some items, but neat mechanic only adds so much depth to the gameplay and lends nearly nothing to the storyline before becoming zombie chow. It was nice knowing you Jimmy Blake!
While Daryl and Merle sound fine throughout the game, the voice acting of the game's other characters definitely leaves something to be desired. Some sound effects seem very unrealistic as well, although you have got to love the sound of a crossbow bolt firing through a biter's skull. The graphics in the game aren't as horrendous as some people would try to tell you either. They are easily comparable to the Telltale version of the world without the cool, comic aesthetic but also without the constant chopping, pausing and graphical pop-ins too. Many animations aren't as smooth as we'd like either, but the frequency at which they appear is fairly low. A haunting soundtrack rounds out the game's presentation and makes playing the game, especially during the night levels, quite a scary experience. All in all, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct is a fun game that fans of The Walking Dead series will want to check out. The game isn't the most polished game around, as it seems the developers were put under a pretty tight deadline with the finale of Season 3 quickly approaching, but it has a narrative that fits in nicely with the story of the show and some solid gameplay that is fun to play even if a bit rough around the edges. Pick up a copy of The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct today and unleash the Little Asskicker inside of you!