Dr Dale’s Zombie Dictionary: The A-Z Guide To Staying Alive is the first book from How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse‘s head honcho (and titular) Dr Dale. In it Dr. Dale tries to cover everything you’ve ever wanted to know about how the zombocalypse and gives us a glimpse into one of the most brilliant zombie-focused minds of our generation*

As the title suggests, items and ideas in the Zombie Dictionary are organised by the letter they begin with (in case you’re unfamiliar with what a dictionary is), starting with Aardvark and ending with Zoos. Obviously it doesn’t cover every word beginning with each letter, but armed with the knowledge of a hundred zombie movies and unlimited access to Wikipedia, Dr Dale has covered a wide variety of things that will keep you alive when the zombies rise.

An example of the topics covered from the sublime

CURE
There is no cure. Once you are bitten you become a zombie. So stop thinking there is a cure, because there isn’t. Even if there is, you need to think there isn’t. Because thinking there’s a cure will give you hope and hope will make you weak and weakness will make you lose and losing means you die and dying means you rise and rising means you become a zombie – for which there is no cure. So stop thinking there’s a cure because that will give you hope and hope will make you weak and… You get the message – THERE IS NO CURE!

to the ridiculous

Kangaroo
For those who think it’s possible, you cannot hide in the pouch of a kangaroo. You won’t fit, the zombies will still get you and the kangaroo probably won’t be pleased either.

The pages are also accompanied with hundreds of illustrations to highlight Dr Dale’s points. And since you were wondering…

If I have any complaints about the book it would be that it is sometimes overly Anglo-centric; I’m not sure if many of non-UK readers have ever seen an episode of chav chat show, Jeremy Kyle or know who Lorraine Kelly is. That said with over 300 pages and at least as many entries there is a lot to learn here that anybody worried about zombies can enjoy.

Dr Dale’s Zombie Dictionary: The A-Z Guide To Staying Alive is available now from Amazon UK and Waterstones.

*A quote that proudly sits on the inside cover. We didn’t make the front :(

Readers of Zombie Command can get £3 off the list price of Dr Dale’s Zombie Dictionary: The A-Z Guide To Staying Alive at Waterstones by using code

BY9274

The aim of Cowboys Vs. Zombies is to protect your fledgling town against waves of zombies coming in across the desert. Cowboys take the place of ‘towers’ in traditional TD games and, while they can be placed anywhere along the path the zombies are coming down, putting them in specific places on buildings offers added protection from the zombie hordes.

Each zombie killed is worth a $1 bounty and cash can be used to promote cowboys to Deputies and Sheriffs, increasing their range and rate of fire. As you progress through each of the 6 levels shotguns, snipers and dynamite are all opened up to help in the zombie killing and you’ll have to balance retreating to save money for more cowboys versus repairing buildings.

CvZ differs slightly from usual tower defence games in a few ways but in general these aren’t improvements. The first change is the view. There is no traditional top down (or almost top down) view, unstead the view is almost 3rd person, not much higher than head height. Turning the screen pulls back and up but it’s still not far enough to be able to accurately grab and place your units.

Which leads us on to the second issue, the layout. Sacrifices have been made in order to fit onto the small iPhone screen, but with both sides and the top of the screen filled with icons it’s all to easy to grab one of them instead of a cowboy or vice versa. This happened far too often and almost made me give up half way through. Being able to move the camera a bit more may have helped but you’ll fail more often due to this than the actual zombies being a problem.

The whole game actually disregarded conventional wisdom when it comes to these kinds of games, there’s no indication of: damage to buildings/cowboys/zombies, where cowboys can be places, range of units, cost of units, type of damage, cost of units or cost to upgrade, when the next wave’s coming or what it consists of. While it eventually becomes reasonably clear it makes the whole affair far less strategical. Not helped by the fact that the zombies only ever come in a straight line towards you so you are always only guarding on one front.

It’s also a very short game, the 6 levels aren’t very difficult (control issues aside) and once you’ve completed the main game there’s little reason to go back with no endless mode or scores. This may change in future updates as the game does have space for x00 waves but never goes above 30.

For all it’s issues Cowboys Vs. Zombies isn’t without it’s charms, lots of zombies on screen with good looking cartoony characters and I imagine that future updates will go a long way to improving the experience and longevity. Until then if you’re the kind of person who likes to gamble then CvZ is available today only for $0.99 before going up to the normal price of $2.99.

You can keep track of future updates on the official site.

This tee pays homage to both the old school EC horror comics and original stereoscopic red and blue 3-D. While the image already messes with peoples vision, it is brought to life when you slap on the pair of the 3-D glasses that come with this insanely rad shirt! (YES! THE 3-D REALLY WORKS!)

It comes courtesy of Monster King Productions‘ Stephen Vincent who also produces exclusive canvas paintings of homages to famous zombie films and scenes.

This 3D Zombie Tee is available to buy for $20. Click the image to enbiggen.

Undead The Last Refuge is a first-person zombie shooter (FPZS?) for the iPhone which pits you against unrelenting waves of the Undead in an abandoned building armed with only a pistol for company.

The game is from BulkyPix who are alse responsible for Nun vs Zombie hack and slash Twin Blades, as well as an abundance of other games in a lot of genres for the iPhone.

Undead The Last Refuge plays almost identically to Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies. Players start in a run down room with only a pistol as zombies approach from various sides through the window. The windows have shutters which players can run up to and close to help slow down the zombie entry, which comes at the trade off of not being able to cover the other entrances.

As zombies are killed the score increases as does the amount of money the player has. Once enough has been saved up the next room and next weapon are unlockable for a cost which present the zombies with more ways to try and attack the player. It’s the same scenario in the next room apart from more money is needed to unlock the subsequent room.

Players can move using their left thumb on a control and aim by dragging their right finger around the screen to narrow the sights. The shoot button however is inconveniently place above the move area meaning that it’s almost impossible to move and shoot at the same time which, as I’m sure Resident Evil 5 finally proved, is not a great idea.

Visually Undead The Last Refuge is a nice looking game. Shooting zombies in the face and seeing the blasted off mess left behind is about as realistic as you could expect on the iPhone. The rooms are obviously part of a whole house, with each is shaded in it’s own colour and atmosphere and the zombies are pleasantly detailed though lacking in variety.

Unfortunately though, the game itself is somewhat flawed. The aiming, while feeling more natural than CoDWaWZ, was a much more variable affair; often zombies that I clearly missed would give me headshots and those that I nailed in the head wouldn’t even register being shot, combined with hitting the window edges far too often and unfavourably it was a hugely frustrating affair.

I also initially couldn’t find my way out of the first room as the door wouldn’t appear with the unlock sign and only after emailing the developer and being assured I only needed $30k to leave the first room (I was often over $100k) I wandered to the far side of the damaged wall which eventually allowed me to leave. I may have been being stupid but I walked as far as the middle of the wall without getting a message and the instructions show a picture of the door when telling you how to progress.

Undead The Last Refuge also doesn’t have the same multiplayer features that CoDWaWZ has and while the game is fun for couple of hours the too often random nature prevents me from rushing back to it in order to try and beat my high score.

That said, it is a lot cheaper than Activision’s offering at only $2.99/£1.79 and if you’re looking to make your last stand it’s available in the iTunes store now.

On Friday I went to see How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse: Reloaded, a live, lively and very interactive seminar, aiming to ensure that whether you have a plan and are machete proficient or not – you may just survive, should the undead rise.

The team are led by Dr. Dale Seslick, super self assured with an encyclopaedic knowledge of dead-heads, and sporting natty Rayban’s and red polo neck combo. You’ll be hard pressed to catch him out, no matter how obscure or petty your query. Dr. Dale is ably assisted by the unassumingly nerd-hot Judy, a scientist with a flair for roleplay and an intolerance for foolishness. Donald is the survival expert, who while seeming out of time and out of touch, knows how to take care of himself and you. And the there’s Tristen. Sweet, sweet Tristen – a lovable simpleton who just wants to be involved and get a hug.

The seminar itself is pacey, knowledgable and features some hilarious set pieces. As I mentioned at the beginning, it’s also totally two-sided. During the course of the show the audience are put in a series of situations and asked questions to discern whether they would emerge unscathed or not. And don’t worry, it’s done en masse – no-one is singled out and embarrassed. Well. ONE person is singled out, but if you’re a regular ZC reader, there’s no way it’ll be you and it’s all done in good fun anyway. It’ll probably be your Dad*.

You are also encouraged to make suggestions and ask questions to your hearts content – even at the interval and post-show, where the cast diligently remain in character until you’ve had your fill.

The show is designed to be enjoyed by novice, amateur and expert zombie enthusiasts and no matter how much you know you’ll have a great time. Personally, I wasn’t expecting the level of improv on show and was very pleasantly surprised – at times it was like watching a ‘Who’s Line Is it Anyway?’ zombie special!

Great night out resulting in 4 on 5 zombie action

How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse: Reloaded comes highly recommended by yours truly and you can check the dates of the rest of this tour and also the Edinburgh Fringe shows here. You can also find out more on Facebook or by following Dr Dale on Twitter.

*I’m sure YOUR Dad is lovely and completely on the ball, Z-wise.

Pro Zombie Soccer is the first game from Super Awesome Hyper-Dimensional Mega Team (SAHDMT) and published by Chillingo games.

The game tells the story of Jax, a soccer football player who is bitten by zombies when the uprising begins but then finds out that, before he turns, he has the power to destroy zombies by kicking a football at them. Aided by special ball power-ups, he races across town to try and save his friends and find the cause of the zombies, but will he make it in time or will his hunger for brains be too much.

The gameplay of Pro Zombie Soccer hasn’t changed much since our first hands on a few months ago. Players aim with their left thumb behind Jax, hold to build power and then release to kick the ball in the direction aimed. It’s a simple control scheme where players have to balance rapid fire kicks with more controlled aiming, resulting in some tense gameplay as your never sure what zombies are coming next.

The zombies themselves are hugely varied: normal weak zombies can be killed simply by hitting them, some need you to hit their head, some their bodies, some have bits that fall off, some only have specific areas that do damage, some zig zag, some come direct, some burrow towards you and some require trick shots or the use of environmental special moves. Over all the game moves quickly with new mechanics introduced almost every level to make Pro Zombie Soccer impossible to get bored of. The only problem with it is that there’s not quite enough time to get used to each before you’re on to the next. I could have quite happily played an extra 5 levels of the basic zombies or had more levels interspersed between the new types of enemies.

There are almost 20 levels in Pro Zombie Soccer with 2 difficulty levels and an extra zombie odyssey mode which plays like a survival stage. It won’t take too long to complete, though plenty of levels are challenging. Learning when to use which of your special ball powers can take a few tries.

The story in PZS is equal parts clever, purile and terrible. Distancing myself from the writing, the story crams a fairly epic confrontation into the hour and a half it takes to complete; it’s original, tries to fit in some jokes only gamers will get and only takes itself as seriously as a team named Super Awesome Hyper Dimensional Mega Team could. The problem is that while kicking zombies in the nuts is fairly funny, the toilet humour and terrible writing are, at times, not.

To be fair the team aren’t native English speakers, some of the humour may have been lost in translation, but I winced every time I read a cut scene. Setting up the evil company as Black Pesa (geddit, like Black Mesa… Halflife… no?) just isn’t clever (something more subtle like White Plateau would have given real gamers a much bigger nod). The writing for the rest of the game isn’t any better, indeed it’s painful to read, it’s like it was run through a bad Google joke translator and just pasted in.

Ultimately you’re not going to buy the game for the writing though and after the first play through you’d almost certainly skip these scenes anyway. The graphics and music are fantastic, the game is fun for short bursts even after completing it and getting through the hardcore difficulty is more than challenging enough for a couple of weeks on the bus. Pro Zombie Soccer is only 59p/99¢ just now and is more than worth it, joining Zombie Smash and Plants Vs. Zombies as my top zombie game apps.

The app is currently available in the Apple store or for more information visit the official site.

I love The Beatles. I love zombies. A book about zombie Beatles means that I should love it doubly, correct?

Paul Is Undead, by Alan Goldsher, is a book about how music and history would have been different should The Beatles have been zombies. Written as a collection of first-hand accounts from players in The Beatles’ (un)lives, it’s not so much a narrative story as a series of events and interviews, playing out like a documentary, hopping back and forth between people who detail out how one thing led to another.

I’m not really certain what I expected from Paul is Undead, just not… this. I don’t really know how to describe ‘this’, but I guess I expected the story of the Beatles with a slight zombie twist. There is nothing ‘slight’ about the zombie twist in this book. The author has taken The Beatles we know (or at least we think we know) and has turned them into something wholly different.

Yes, it’s about zombie Beatles, however Goldsher has taken his artistic license too far totally reworked every other aspect as well. With a book about pop culture icons, like The Beatles, there is a certain expectation of what you will read; even being zombies shouldn’t completely negate that. I feel that if all other things were to remain intact and Goldsher should have just sort of worked the quirkiness of their reanimation into the story we already know. It’s possible he tried to do that, but the way in which he did it failed to resonate with me.

Not having known The Beatles personally, they could all have been a bunch of assholes with no real deep thoughts, the way this book makes them out. They come across as a band of jerks who just want to suck brains and take over the world, literally. Their reaction and solution for every event in their un-lives is to wreak havoc and kill and destroy.

Every big event in the history of The Beatles revolves around them violently killing tons of people, or hypnotizing them into slaves to kill for them, or just pulling each other’s limbs off. As a cognitively functioning zombie I imagine there would be a time where you’d want to let loose and resort to your baser instincts, but that is their answer for EVERYTHING in this book.

It just got old and seemed really childish. The descriptions of some of their antics felt like they were written by a 5th grade boy (i.e. flying limbs, ankle deep blood, guitars made of sloughed off skin). It was just way over the top and more than a little disappointing for me.

The author didn’t stop with adding zombies to the mix. An eclectic mix of paranormal/fantastical creatures litter this book. Some of your other favorite artists are other worldly, for example, Roy Orbison and his mystical sunglasses. The author even ‘interviews’ vampires and werewolves and yes, he manages to score interviews with Satan and Jesus. Yeah…still not sure how I feel about all of those…

Besides loving zombies and The Beatles, I’m also a lover of trivia, especially obscure trivia. For me, this is the saving grace of this book. Those who think they know every trivial thing about the Beatles and the music scene of the 1960’s will enjoy the trivia strewn throughout the book. Everyone you can think of that has touched the lives of The Beatles is mentioned and interviewed, including but not limited to: Stu Sutcliffe, Pete Best, Neil Aspinall, George Martin, Brian Epstein and Richard Lester. Not just people, but events as well are mentioned, i.e. Shea Stadium, visiting the Maharishi, filming Hard Days Night, etc. And while a little cheesy, names of songs are worked into basic conversation, such as “he suggested we make a meal out of dear Prudence”. These moments are a little eye-roll inducing, but fun and I can forgive them since they were usually worked in under the radar.

I really wanted to love Paul Is Undead. When I first learned of it I thought I had died and gone to heaven; someone was putting together two of my favorite things! Alas, the book fell short of my expectations. Though, to be honest, I can’t really tell you what I expected, just, well…I guess I just figured with two such fantastic topics married in one book surely to goodness this would be the zombie book to end all zombie books! It’s just a shame it didn’t turn out that way.

You can find out more about Paul is Undead on Facebook and it will be released on June 22nd.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has now made it’s way onto the iPhone as a game, further cementing it’s multi-media dominance among all things zombie.

The game is made by Freeverse, who are no strangers to zombie games having already made Zombie Cannon Carnage, but PPZ The Game is an entirely different style to their previous zombie app. The game gives you control of Jane Austin’s heroine Lizzy and admirably tells the story of the book while focusing on the zombie action the Seth Grahame-Smith re-imagining throws in.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies the game (PPZG) is a side scrolling beat-em-up similar to other iPhone (and now Xbox) game, Twin Blades, featuring a similar system of upgrades and special moves. Zombies are killed and scenery smashed to reveal coins which can then be used to buy upgrades to health and techniques. There are 12 levels in total and a variety of zombies, ninjas and ninja-zombies to kill along the way.

The game both looks and sounds amazing. The graphics are muted pastels with a style that suggests they’ve been lovingly painted into the small 320 x 480 screen and perfectly suit both the subject and period. The menu music is soothing and the drum beats sound like there’s an army marching at your back when slicing up zombies in the game.

PPZ the game also manages to tell the story beautifully through a series of 16 bit RPG style cut scenes, with the characters talking to each other. I’ve never read the book (:O) but can tell exactly what was added to it from playing the game. Since most games struggle to really tell any sort of story one that fits in both Austin’s classic tale and extra zombies is to be commended.

It’s just a shame the game isn’t actually much fun.

Players move by using their left thumb to control the character and right thumb to attack. A quick tap slashes ahead of you and more complex strokes cause the character to attack either behind, a jump, a spin or a kick. It seems initially to be a complex system allowing interesting and complex battles.

What it actually evolves into is rapidly smashing your finger on the right hand side of the screen and moving around to position yourself appropriately for this tappy attack. Having quickly maxed out the spin move, zombies from behind also proved no problem and bosses could be juggled to their death almost without worry.

Earning the rest of the upgrades seemed superfluous and despite gorgeously drawn backgrounds every level was basically the same. Despite lasting only about an hour it seemed to drag on for far too long. It would take a few replays to max Lizzie out but there’s very little reason to go back and play it again.

You’ll probably get your $3 out of PPZG, but only get it if you’ve already got all the other good zombie apps.

The “Nazi zombies” mode in Call of Duty: World at War was so widely successful, it was given its own game for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Well, Activision has released a sequel to the game, and so far, it’s even better than the original.

If features a brand new map, Shi No Numa (Zombie Swamp), where you’re pitted against zombies from Imperial Japan. Much like the first version, you’ll have access to weapons, receive points for kills and be able to play with friends and strangers in Co-Op mode over a Wi-Fi connection or Bluetooth.

The controls seem to be a bit more solid and easy to use this time around, plus aiming seems to be a tad easier. There are a few new weapon additions, but I haven’t really gotten the chance to really use every weapon because I’ve been killed quite a bit around the third or fourth wave of zombies.

Here’s a list of what is new:

• The Zombie Swamp (“Shi No Numa”) is a hauntingly beautiful, massive new environment filled with terrifying zombies, weapons, and zombie traps.
• New weapons featuring the Wunderwaffe DG-2. Fry hordes of zombies with a single blast from this shockingly powerful new weapon.
• Survive the Hellhounds! Ferocious and fast, the Hellhounds will test your reflexes and your team’s ability to work together.
• New playable characters! Play as Tank Dempsey (US), Takeo Masaki (Japan), Nikolai Belinski (USSR), and the infamous Dr. Richtofen (Germany).
• New Zombie traps including the Flogger for massive Zombie destruction and the Zipline for quick getaways.
• 20 Brand new Achievements for Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies II.

As for the price tag, Activision is standing firm by its price of $9.99 (£5.99), showing their ten bucks-a-pop model is still working for their most popular franchise. Owners of the original application can upgrade inside their original application for a reduced price of $5(£2.99), but even then, it’s too expensive when all you’re getting is a new map and a few changes. This is really an expansion pack and not a new game.

Still, I encourage those that are fans of the original minigame or first application to pick it up if you have the cash, and remember to upgrade via an in-app purchase if you have the first Call of Duty application.

You can download the game here (iTunes link)

As this is an energy drink containing caffeine (and the remote possibility to turn my baby into a zombie that would eat me from the inside out), I let my husband, Justin, be the guinea pig. He’s an avid drinker of energy shots/drinks, so I felt his was a decent opinion to get (especially since those things never seem to do anything for me).

My husband dutifully twisted off the opening of one of the IV bags and drank the green liquid. Given that he didn’t immediately start retching and turning into the undead, I felt it was safe to continue the review of the zombie blood. His opinion:

It’s sweeter compared to other energy drinks, maybe too sweet. It tastes like a melted Icee Pop, a warm melted Icee Pop, but a little thicker. Doesn’t have the bitter taste like a 5-Hour Energy shot or the like. It’s not disgusting and it’s easy enough to drink, but I think it would taste better cold.

After about 20 minutes, I asked him if he noticed any extra energy and he said he didn’t really notice anything, but then again, he hadn’t been very tired before.

First taste wasn’t a complete win, but it wasn’t a failure either. My husband put the second bag of blood in the refrigerator for the next day. This time around, he did need a boost and the bag was chilled and ready for part two of the taste test. Once again, Justin risked his life for the sake of a website review and tried the zombie blood. The verdict:

It tastes better cold, more or less like a thick sugary liquid treat. I didn’t really notice anything to spectacular other than maybe the same boost as a cup of coffee and it didn’t last long. It is important to note that I have a high tolerance to caffeine and energy drinks. I like the packaging, though, but if it wasn’t for that, I don’t think I would ever buy it.

So there you have it. Zombie Blood Energy Potion tastes okay and the caffeine gives you a little bit of a boost, though nothing a steaming cup of joe couldn’t do. However, this could be a great gag gift for the zombie aficionado in your life and would definitely garner you a “how cool is that” comment.

You can buy Zombie Blood Energy Drink from Harcos Labs or find out more on Facebook or Twitter.