Huzzah.

2007 was missing a great Summer Zombie Game.

Hopefully, this will fill the void.

Pssstt...Capcom, we want a Dead Rising 2 for summer 2009.

Valve is quickly becoming my favorite developer.

Shit this is Valve? I thought this game looked like it MIGHT be good, but now that I know Valve is behind it I'm way more optimistic.

Actually it is by Turtle Rock which was recently bought by Valve.

Zombies don't run.

Since valve bought it I assume there will be at least 10 more delays that add up to around a year.

@temporaryscars: Zack Snyder says they can. Like Kenyans.

At first I had no interest, but it gets more and more promising, (I think they bought me over when they said zombie players can join in at any time to try to stop players and the mass amounts of coop fun to be had) however not many "great" games come out in summer, makes me a tad bit nervous about it lol.

@Ping5000: Well he's wrong. They should just call this game "28 Weeks Later: The Game." I remember seeing a video where the developers claimed to be huge zombie movie fans, but it's all bull because if they were, their "zombies" wouldn't run.

Okay, well, it BETTER god damn have split screen multiplayer for a delay this long. I'm gonna god damn kill a fucking... Agh. They can't delay it this long and NOT have split screen. They can't. I will lose all faith in the gaming world if there is no split screen.

Can't wait for some senseless zombie hunting! Remember kids, it's not just a sport, it's survival.

@temporaryscars: Just pretend that they're rage zombies.

Zombies are dead. Rage infects the living. Does not compute.

I prefer 'Shaun of the Dead' zombies as they play videogames. The ones in '28 Days/Weeks Later' bite too much for my tastes. Either way though, looks like the Zombies will be the ones having the fun this summer.

@temporaryscars: Pretend they all have the genetic properties of a cheetah.

Why the hell do they announce these games so damn early? I thought the damn thing was gonna be out in a couple months at most. Don't they realize that they're killing their chaances at sales due to the hype? By the time it comes out all the hype for it will now be gone. Hell, Uuntil this week I thought it was a game made by Valve themselves and would have bought it solely based on that. Now I know different and seeing the art style looks so much like that new resident evil game vs the zombies in HL2, kinda turns me off to it. Fools!

You've got red on you.

@temporaryscars:

Did you create zombies?
Who said they can't run?

There are different kinds of zombies, like how they are different kinds of vampires.

Its like saying, zombies can't use a gun.
Tell that to Bub.

Besides Gabes outbursts and PR statements, I find Valve does very little that dissappoints me. I hope it stays that way, and I hope this game is fun.

Funny when i originally read about this game, I thought it was in some way related to the god awful Left Behind series of religious shinanigans. I am glad to know its just plain zombie killing.

@Lotharian: Yeah, I was really hoping (almost expecting) for splitscreen on TF2 for 360 but it didn't happen. I haven't seen a Source game run splitscreen yet, so don't get your hopes up too much yet. If they do pull off splitscreen that would definitely make this a must-buy, though.

@temporaryscars: Hardly-- the main characters in 28 days later never fire a gun once-- this game is a first person shooter :P

And they can call them zombies if they want. Zombies do not, and have never existed, so there is no "true" definition of a zombie.

// By the way, I'm a huge zombie fan <_<

I can't wait for this. Zombies, can't get enough of em!

Perhaps I'm not reading this right, but it's looking like this game will be a year late.

I WANT this game to come out so badly, as so many Zombie Mods for HL are leaving me wanting. Zombie Master was good, but it relied far too heavily on the intelligence of the average Steam user (higher than an XBL member, but not by much.)

Dear Valve... please bring this game out in June instead of August...

Quarter 2 and Summer are exactly the same thing right? In other words this is old news...

@Ping5000: They're Zombies, not Human/Cheetah hybrids.
@zombieistired: Who says? Max Brooks: [en.wikipedia.org]

Lets think about this for a second... you're all arguing about the physical properties of zombies, a completely fictional monster that has not and, God willing, will never exist.

That being said, if you believe that the term "zombie" only applys to Romero-style undead, you are sadly mistaken. In folklore, zombies are portrayed as innocent victims who are raised in a comatose trance from their graves by malevolent sorcerers, and led to distant farms or villages where they toil indefinitely as slaves. Zombies are recognized by their docile nature, by their glassy empty eyes, and by the evident absence of will, memory, and emotion. Part of their souls may also be captured by the sorcerers. Zombies can only return to the world of the living upon the death of their masters. Their are also heavy Voodoo influences where someone might concoct a potion and drug a victim into a near-comatose stupor, wherein they would proceed to wander around in a drunken stupor.

This doesnt even take into account the eternal hunger for living flesh or transmission of the zombie virus, which comes solely from Hollywood and its ilk.

In the end, a zombie is nothing more than a souless automoton with very little skill in the way of higher reasoning. Anything else such as running, feeding, virus transmission, etc. can be added at the author's/director's/developer's discretion.

I'm liking the L4D zombies. For some reason the Dawn of the Dead zombies do not scare me as much as the 28 Days Later zombies. The former have worked best for video games in the past (a la Resident Evil) but with the current gen of hardware, the latter is also possible. Come on, can any of you really say slow zombies are as scary as zombies that can run 40 mph?

@Toasticus: Actually, I sent Michael Booth an email asking about split screen and a demo. He replied saying there will be a demo AFTER the game releases, and though he wants split screen, he says to not get our hopes up. I sent it to Kotaku as a tip but I guess they didn't find it tippy enough to use.

@Erwin211: The Zombie Survival Guide is Pre-Dawn of the Living Dead.
It's explained in the movie that the Zombies in the movie rely on an alternate metaphysical energy that actually animates their bodies regardless of actual body structure or condition.
But, only certain types of Zombies can tap into this energy, and were just recently discovered, thus distinguishing between the two.

@Raynre: But, it's fun!

@Erwin211:

Max Brooks also did not invent zombies.
Like I said, there are different kinds of zombies out there....in the world...walking through the city of New York..like Stock Brokers..

@Raynre: You know plenty about Voodoo stories, but what you mention is forced slavery through the application of a toxin. Although it is probably the source of increased usage of "Thralls" as a term for zombies.
What we are talking about here is a game that has Living Dead (there, no "Zombie") moving quickly, well after Rigor Mortis has set in.
No connection to Haiti at all.
@zombieistired: I know that. I never said that either, by the way. I'm not an idiot, thank you very much. I would say the idea of living dead is as old as the day man became smart enough to have totally irrational fears.

What about the Jiang Shi of Chinese mythology?
Blind, OCD, hopping zombie vampires are pretty fucking scary.

@Lotharian: Ah, bummer. Nice of him to reply back, at least. I'm still looking forward to the game, but splitscreen would just make it exponentially more awesome.

I can't wait for this, any co-op love is good love.

I do think it's a little strange though that the game is getting a standalone 360 release (ie not XBLA downloadable or something). How much content will it have to justify it as a full game? Guess we'll find out..

I don't get why some people are taking my zombie argument so seriously. Pretty fun, though.

@Kirbytheslayer: Proud Norwegian Defense Force Supporter:

Haha, I didn't think anyone else picked up that book. It's one of my favorites and it's so well done. Max Brooks has my utmost respect because he did something so ridiculous without breaking a single joke. I love it.

@dunetiger: I love both the Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z.
Max Brooks is absolutely brilliant.

@TheCleaningGuy:

I agree. I'd love to see him use some of his father's pull in Hollywood to put his spin on PSAs. Maybe he could develop 1-2minute PSAs for some sketch show some day.

So this'll arrive just in time for Christmas '08 then. :P

I would like to think of Max Brooks Zombie Survival Guide as the bible of zombie lore.

I would also like to think that zombies can't run due to their decomposing bodies, but running zombies sure are fucking scarier.

But running zombies or not, i love them and i look forward to this game

@zombieistired:

Well done sir. Nobody else seems to have caught it, but I for one noticed your little reference to Day of the Dead.

Well done indeed.

Wasn't this originally bundled in with Orange Box? Will it be a separate retail title for purchase? I can't see anyone slapping down $60 for this. I remember it being strictly a HL2 multiplayer mod that went retail.

lol, what the hell... It was suppose to be out October-November _last_ year. What have they been doing all this time? Isn't this suppose to be multi-player only game, or am I missing something here? How hard can it be to finish up a multi-player mod for HL2? :s

@lynxij:

Not sure I remember it being bundled with Orange Box, and the first time I heard of it was that it was using the Source engine but was not a mod. Games can share the same engine and not be a mod, obviously.

I'll be getting the PC version, as that'll just be £30, at most, compared to the 360 version of £40+ =P

This won't arrive in "late summer". This will end up as a major pack-in with Episode 3. Valve will be looking to repeat their success of the Orange box and they need a secondary anchor much as TF2 was for EP2. Theres nothing else they're funding that I'm aware of that is high profile enough to do that.

Anyhow, thats just my dumb prediction.

Hey Valve, an Episode 3/L4D/Portal 2 pack would likely make gamers worship you as a holy order and dedicate their lives to fulfilling your ever desire.

Just saying.

That screenshot looks awfully similar to "The Darkness" :D

Just wanted to add for all you Max Brroks fans, apparently a movie is being made of WWZ. Also this game has always been a stand alone release. That might change now, but I seem to doubt it.

I'm definetly buying this.

I'm a sucker for games with zombies in it.

Co-op + Zombies + limited resources + not the same damned monster closets over and over (Doom, COD, tons of others).....yeah, I'm on board.

Sucks to hear that the one time "late summer 2007" is now "late summer 2008", but if it makes the game better, it's worth it, I suppose.

@Akomander:

Yeah, it does. It looks too sterile, not that it would much matter based on what I've seen and read about the game. It was weird in The Darkness (which I loved, by the way, Patton's voicework pushed that game from good to great, IMO), all those empty clean city streets.

I find the HL2 mod Zombie Panic: Source good enough fill my craving for zombie action, even if its just beta 1.0.

Go download it while waiting for this.