Interactive Comics

Tron
http://disneydigitalbooks.go.com/tron/

This comic is based on the film Tron Legacy. You can navigate the comic using either your the arrow keys to skip to the next panel or you can scroll using the mouse. As your scroll, the panels interact by zooming in and out or moving images. The moves are very subtle but bring the comic to life.

The style is very hand drawn but bright. The bright colours correspond to the bright neon colours of the films. The detailing and characters are all done using black and white mainly but the contrast of the bright colours really brings the comics to life and gives the tron-like feel to the comics.



Dead On Arrival
http://www.dead-on-arrival.co.uk/

This comic has interactive pages that you must use your mouse to pull the corners to turn the page, as you would do with a real comic. Some of the pages are interactive where you must click on them to get to the next chapter or later on, there are pictures of potential suspects that you can choose.

The style of the comic is very dark which fits in with the theme of the murder at the heart of the story. There are small uses of the colour red to signify blood. The whole comic is made using a series of photographs which is unusual for a comic but works well with the interactivity and it makes you feel as you are making a decision at certain points but in fact the story is linear.

NAWLS
http://www.nawlz.com

 

Nawls takes all the forms of multimedia and puts it into a giant interactive comic. It combines animation, sound, graphics, text, and interactivity. There are multiple points of interactivity, from navigation through the use of clicking on arrows and text, or clicking on images that when rolled over with the mouse produce animation and sound. The whole thing makes you feel as you are part of the entire story.

 

 The style of the comic is very futuristic and high-tech. It makes use of grayscale for characters with the use of a very futristic green/blue colour in various ways by changing the shade. Other colours are used but very subtly and making them very light and hardly noticeable but all of this adds to the character of the comic. The use of text and images are very digital by using very pixelated images in the style of retro 8-bit and 16-bit images, again adding to the whole "futuristic and digital" feel of the comic.

Typography Research

Comic book typography is always very illustrative.When there is sound effects, the artist tries to recreated that sound with the use of the typography. For example on the left we can see the words "Bleep Bloop Bleep" which is the sound of something very digital. The artist has not only used the words but made the typogaphy of the text very digital by making each letter exactly the same size which is very computer-like and adds to the over all effect of the words.

When it comes to text however, different artists use different fonts but they always use something very clear and bold to ensure that people can read the text. Even when illustrating their words, they always use something very bold and clear because they want the words to who what they are saying as it is purely pictures and text. The use of the speech bubbles is also very important in comics. They can show the different between someone whispering by using dotted lines and someone shouting by using jagged lines and large bold text. This effect works very well and gives a lot of atmosphere to the comic books.

Style Research - Star Wars Legacy

 Stars Wars Legacy

Star Wars is one of the biggest selling sci-fi sagas of all time and as such has gained a massive following of geeks. The Star Wars Legacy comics are one of the biggest series that follows the Star Wars galaxy and is designed to appeal to fans of the movies. The style involves a lot of dark colours or dark shades as is seen in the movies with the exception of light sabers and blaster bolts which are designed to stand out. The dark colours mainly show the darkness of the galaxy as the Sith (Dark side) are in control and that needs to be shown very clearly in the comic style.










There is never any white space left in the panels, each panel is treated like a piece of art and everything filled in and coloured from the backgrounds to the details on the character. The characters are always very detailed and nothing seems to be left out and adds the atmosphere of the comics. Star Wars fans expect this level of detail because most fans that are associated with Star Wars are very geeky and look for this detail so that they can immerse themselves in the galaxy of Star Wars.

Style Research - Axe Cop

 Axe Cop

Axe Cop is a comic created by two brothers, Ethan is the artist and Malachai is the writer at only 5 years old (now 8). The comic is very over the top which the style of the illustrations need to show, every is made very large (such as weapons) and done in a very humorous style. The comic was originally printed in black and white before moving onto colour. The style of the comics are very "childish" and clean rather than sketchy and hand-drawn which fits in with the child's imagination from which the stories are from.

 After Axe Cop moved over to colour, it became a lot more bold and he made use of a lot of different colours. It made the large sections of the comics look far better and gave a lot more depth to the whole over the top style that it was going for. He is not afraid to use different colours and does not really stick to a specific type of colour but will use any colour that he feels would suit the panel the best during that time. The style of the comic really captures the randomness of the storyline, as it is written by a 5 year old, the ideas that he comes up with needs to be captured well and the artist draws exactly would it would look like to child's imagination.

Style Research - Walking Dead

The Walking Dead comics follow a very gritty and dark style using monochrome colours. There were two artists involved in the comics, the first being Tony Moore who was responsible for the first 6 comics. His style was a little bit different, he uses lighter tones and shading and does not use a lot of details in the characters faces. There is also a lot of white space on the panels or very light shading.

The latest artist, Charlie Adlard makes full use the white space and shades it in to make a very dark feel to the whole comic. He is also very gritty and he uses a lot of very thick blood and other bodily mass such as guts a lot to signify the grittiness of the zombie apocalypse. Most of his scenes are very dark, even during the day and his scenes get darker and lighter depending on how dire situations become. He usually has very significant scenes such as a character dying as quite dark to set the mood.



It is not so much the use of black and white that makes the style so unique but how the black and white is used. The shading makes the comic come alive and sets the scenes and moods very well. It shows how a monochrome colour scheme can be used in a variety of ways and how various colours are not needed when it is used correctly.

Video Game Research

And Yet It Moves

This game is based on a very simple concept. The whole world can be rotated at each 90 degree point but leaves the main character in the same position which leads to a puzzle game platformer which makes you think about how the rotation will help you get past each stage. The controls use a very simple movement and then two buttons to rotate the world. The simple controls means that the game is very easy to pick up and play and does not require a lot of gaming experience to be able to enjoy.

The style the game is very unique which is one of the most enjoyable things about it. It uses a “torn paper” style where all of the pieces make up the world and the objects in it. Each of the pieces of paper have a photo on them, usually a close of up the object so the texture takes up the majority of the paper piece. They are then fitted into the world, overlapping and places together with all the different textures to create a world that looks very different. The colours range from dark for the likes of stones and ground to more bright and vibrant colours used to create flowers and grassy areas.

Perhaps the only thing that was a bad point about this game was the lack of story. There was nothing at the start that explained why he was there or who he was. It just threw you into the game with no explanation. Although the style and game mechanics were unique and set this game apart from other indie games, the lack of story didn’t give the game the depth it needed to make it outstanding.


Super Meat Boy

Quite possibly one of the most frustrating and difficult games of all time with only a handful of people in the world ever to complete every single level. This is part of how Super Meat Boy was created, the designers took the difficulty of the old nintendo system games and applied it to a modern game and made it a classic. The controls are very simple however, you have movement, run and jump buttons and that’s it. But then you add in a game in which you can bounce of walls and must make you’re way through each of the levels using a trial and error system until you finally get it right. You can make no mistakes at all or it will cost you your life. When you finally get it right, you are rewarded with a replay of the level with all your deaths and final success in one mess of a video which can be entertaining.

The look of the game is outstanding. It follows a very basic retro/arcade look but with higher definition. The colours cam be both vibrant in some levels with it becoming darker as the game progresses showing how much harder each of the levels is getting. The characters are all designed to be very comical with the main character being a slab of meat and the main villain being a foetus in a suit.

On top of the outstanding visuals and amazing gameplay mechanics, they added depth to the game by adding a very simple and age old story onto it. From the beginning we know what is going on and what the main character is doing in the game. Whilst Super Meat Boy having a picnic with his girlfriend, Dr. Foetus get’s jealous and steals her away. Super Meat Boy finds that he has a power that allows him to come back to life upon death and uses this to save his girlfriend by travelling through all these lands and overcoming any obstacle that he faces. Although not an original idea, it is the classic story of love and adds a new depth to the game and made it one of the highest selling indie games of all time.


Trine

Trine is another very unique game in which you play as not one main character but three. You use your 1, 2 and 3 keys to switch between them. Not all the characters are present at the same time on the screen however which means that they do not take up too much of your screen increasing what you can see. Each character has their own abilities, The Wizard can create boxes and planks as well as move things, the Thief can use a grappling hook to higher areas, as well as taking out enemies with her bow and arrow and finally the warrior who can carry heavy objects and use his shield to block from falling rocks or enemies as well as a sword to quickly dispatch them. You need to use all three of the characters to get through the game and the many puzzles that you come across. Each of the characters can be made better through items such as rings or new weapons found throughout the game and also by levelling them up through experience which makes it easier to overcome later levels or reach new areas to further improve your characters.

Trine boasts full 3D graphics in a side scrolling adventure which was very different from what had been seen before. Most side scrolling games feature more 2D visuals like we have seen in Super Meat Boy and And Yet It Moves. The style is a mixture of both vibrant colours as well as dull and gloomy depending on which stage you are at but the game is always bright enough to see clearly what you are doing which makes the game very enjoyable. There is a lot of shine in the game which gives it a more mystical and fantasy style feel, for example, the wizard when casting spells or the warriors armour.

Trine’s story is one of the main parts of what makes it so good. It follows the story of a Wizard, a Thief and a Warrior who all get called by a voice towards an artifact called a Trine. When they all touch it together, their souls become intertwined and they release an army of monsters onto the world. They must make their way across the land to place the artifact in it’s true resting place. The story always develops with the characters coming closer together as they go about their journey.

Machinarium

The most simplistic controls you could have for a game. It is a point and click adventure game where you have to figure out puzzles using the area around you. The main character is also able to stretch himself up or make himself smaller which you need to use with the objects in the world to get past each of these puzzles. Machinarium is very easy to pick up and play. The simple controls and slow pace of the game makes it very enjoyable to play.

The visuals is probably the main thing that makes Machinarium stand out. It follows a very hand drawn style with the colours being antique so lots of browns and bieges. The style of the whole world is very “steampunk” and so works very well with the colours that they have going on. Everyone in the world is a robot and every one is different so gives a lot of depth to the game and makes it feel more unique and visual.

The story follows a lone, small robot who makes his way through the city where the bullies who used to beat him up in school have now become criminals. He finds out about a plan to blow up a building in the city and he must make his way through the city stopping them but coming across many obstacles in the way. The story is not very straight forward but is well explained with flashbacks at certain points. Perhaps one of the best bits about the story is the fact it is all explained visually and not through any text or sounds whatsoever which makes it very cleverly written.


Atom Zombie Smasher

Atom Zombie Smasher is a lot different from the games we have seen before. This game is based on a top down or “bird’s eye” view of a city where the game takes place. From this view you are able to see dots that depict zombies and humans. The aim of the game is to save as many citizens or alternatively destroy every zombie before night fall. Armed with a helicopter and a team of mercenaries that all have different uses you must complete these objectives. It utilises a very simple point and click technique but gives you the ability to use the keyboard for more advanced users. There is an infinite amount of replayability in the game with different modifiers that you can add as well as mods that are able to be downloaded to change the game.

The visuals of the game are very basic but add to charm of the game. Each city uses the same textures for buildings and nothing feels unique in each city but that doesn’t matter as they are all laid out differently. Zombies are shown as pink dots and the humans as yellow dots which is very basic but adds to the fact that it is a strategy game and does not rely on these visuals. Everything is brightly coloured so that it is easy to see quickly, for example, which units are which or distinguishing who are zombies and who aren’t.

The story of AZS is very simple, zombies have started taking over in the Buenos Aires area and you must command a group of mercenaries in order to save as many people as possible. The story does not really develop much from that point but there are a lot of mini stories that are scattered throughout the game in the style of a comic with pictures and text. These are related to what is happening and sometimes does not make sense but is very comical which is the way that the game is leaning towards.


Hammerfight

Hammerfight has a very unique control system. The main movement is done using the mouse with the keyboard only really being used for secondary systems such as your shield or changing weapons. You must swing your mouse around in a circle to make the weapons swing around but this also moves your “vessel” so takes a lot of practice to master. This makes this game not ideally suited for non-experienced gamers but is a lot of fun once it has been mastered. The gameplay takes place around destroying enemies that you are fighting using this very unique fighting style.

The visuals in the game are very simple but also quite gloomy and dark. The majority of the textures are either rock, metal or wood but with these it creates an entire world that is believable and stunning. Everything flows with very realistically such as banners as you spin your “vessel” around or banners flowing with the wind, things like this add to the believability of the game.

The game follows a continuous story line which is very easy to follow and includes lots of dialogue and cut scenes which gives the game a lot of depth. It is a very basic story of clans fighting each other with the use of these special “vessels” that have many different weapons and shields on them. It has a very medieval feel with a bit of a modern twist with these flying machines. The story is rich and contains plenty of plot which makes it even more enjoyable.


Minecraft

Minecraft is the highest selling Indie game of all time and there is a reason for this. It’s simple. It’s easy to pick up and play but still has enough for experienced gamers to learn and do in the game. It is also infinite and every world is uniquely generated which gives an infinite replayability. The addition of multiplayer means you can share your creations with your friends as well as build new ones with them. The objective of the game is....nothing. You are in a world where you can mine or dig up blocks and then place them to create your own house or anything else you want, you can make tools and find better materials to create more items. The controls are not overly complicated and can be picked up very easily.

The first thing you notice about Minecraft is the graphics, everything is based on straight edged cubes but each of these blocks have different properties and is the basis for the whole game. There is a lot of nice shading and lighting features that give a sense of realism to the game but the block world is a part of the charm of Minecraft and has spawned many internet jokes and catchphrases based on it.

Minecraft has no story, the only thing we know is that the character you play has arrived in a brand new world and we need to survive against monsters. This in no way makes the game bad as the infinite amount that you can do with it has led to the creation of stories and adventures made by players in the world.

Board Game Research - Last Night On Earth

Last Night On Earth
Last night on earth is a zombie based scenario game. It has no basis of books but does seem to follow a very "zombie apocalypse" movie theme but makes fun of it in a lot of ways by being very stereotypical.

The board for Last Night on Earth is by far the most interesting I have ever seen. The board has a center piece with two sides, one is the normal town center and the other is a mansion for use in the "Defend the Manor House" scenario. The board also has 6 different L shaped boards, which 4 are chosen at random and placed around the center piece making the board different each time you play. The board uses squares but you are still able to move in whichever direction you want giving the game a strategic feel and not limiting you to moving along a single line.

There are two separate teams in Last Night on Earth. One side plays as the heroes and the other side plays as the zombies. Each of which contain their own set of rules. Before the game can begin, the scenario must be selected for a total of 5 different games and the board is set up accordingly.

Heroes

Depending on how many people are playing, everyone gets a set amount of heroes with a maximum of 4 being on the field at once. For example, if 3 people were playing, 1 person would play as the zombies and 2 people would get 2 heroes each. The heroes choose out of 8 available heroes at random and then place their character cards next to the table and take the appropriate model from the pile. They then place their model on their starting location but if that is not available then they place their model in the center of the board and gain a free hero card. 

Heroes must follow a list of things they can do and in a certain order. During the game they get to first either move (using a D6) or search the building they are in for a hero card. Next they can choose to exchange items with any other hero in the same space as them, then they can choose to choose any ranged weapons that they have (gained through hero cards) and finally fight any zombies that occupy the same space as them.

Zombies

 

Again the amount of players determine the amount of zombie players on the board but there can only be a maximum of 2 zombies players at any given time (each player gets 7 zombie models or 14 if there is only 1 zombie player) The zombie models do not have any character cards (unless they get a zombie hero) and do not lose their zombies permanantely but instead just keep bringing them back onto the board indefinitely (just like a real zombie horde). At the beginning of the game, the zombies must roll 2D6 and that is how many zombies they get on the board at the start. Zombies are brought onto the board through zombie spawning pits marked with red crosses on the board and each of the zombies must be places on these spaces evenly (if you have 8 zombies, 2 must be placed on each of the 4 zombies spawning pits)

The zombies have a lot more things to do during each turn. First they must move the sun tracker down one (each scenario has different amount of turns to complete and use a sun tracker to keep track of what turn it is) The zombies must then roll to see if they can bring in more zombies (they must roll 2D6 and get a higher number that the amount of zombies on the board, they can then choose zombie cards (maximum of 4 in their hand at any time), then they can move (only 1 space per zombie) but they are able to move through walls (they also have other restrictions where they must move into a hero space if they are next to them and cannot move away from heroes if they are in the same space as them. Then they must fight any heroes that they are in the same space as them and finally must roll a D6 to bring in more zombies if they suceeded at getting a higher number than the number of zombies on their previous roll.

Fighting

The fighting in Last Night on Earth is quite simple and takes place in the majority of turns. The zombies get to roll a single D6 whilst the heroes get to roll 2xD6. The players must try and get the highest number (heroes do not add their D6 rolls together) For example if the zombie player rolled a 5 and the hero rolled a 2 and a 4 then the zombie would win as he/she has the highest number. Also, all zombies win on a tie and if a hero rolls a double (and has the highest number) the zombie is instantly killed. After the rolls have been made, the players can use any cards to try and alter the outcome of the dice roll.

Conclusion

Last Night on Earth is by far my favourite of all the board games that I have talked about in my research. The style of the game is very geeky and all of the graphics used in the game are real-life pictures of the characters or the items on each of the cards. The numerous scenarios and also the changeable board gives the game a lot of replayability as well as being able to play a very different game depending on what team you are on. The zombie team is a lot different to play that the heroes so that also lets you play a totally different game each time. The style of the game is also very good, it uses real pictures for the items and characters which gives it a very movie-like feel to that game. Each of the hero and zombie cards have "quotes" at the top of them, they are not from any movie but are stereotypical, which again adds to the theme of the game. 

Last Night on Earth also have expansions that you can buy which allows you to further the game experience. These expansions can give you more scenarios or new heroes for you to play with. With the main game, you also get extra tokens that are not needed in the provided scenarios which allow you to make new scenarios to play, which is very popular amongst geeks.

Board Game Research - Guards! Guards!

Guards! Guards!
Based off the book of the same name by Terry Pratchett but not just limiting the content to just the book but the entire discworld and all of the people there, this game was published by the same company behind The Walking Dead.

The style of this game is very fantasy like with bold "magical" colours and a very ancient feel. The theme that the game was following was very obviously that of Discworld, a world created by Terry Pratchett for his very long line of books.

The board utilises hexes again but not all the sides are connected to another hex, there is pathways for you to take, this confines players to narrow spots allowing them to use their guild abilities on them or try to infect them with the pox. The board is also split into 4 quadrants relating to the 4 different guilds in which saboteurs can be placed  to try and stop spell runs made by players. However the player is free to move wherever they want rather than just moving along a series of boxes like the traditional board games. Each player does not have to roll a dice but can move up to 6 spaces in a single turn. This gives a lot of strategy and flexibility and adds to the competitivness of the game.
 

 
At the beginning of the game, each player must select a guild (out of Assassins, Thieves, Fools and  Alchemists) which each have a special guild ability waiting to catch out anyone who comes within 2 spaces of you. 3 red wooden blocks are given to mark the current stats of your guild as well as showing you the 5 different spell colours that you must go and college. It also gives details on your special ability and the two sabotages that you can do. The guild card is good as it allows you to see at a glance how well you are doing, which spells you have as well as keeping track of your current stats. Each guild card is different meaning you get a different game each time that you play. Each player also receives 2 volunteer cards in the form of a "Lords and Ladies" and "Man and Beasts" card. They are also given spell returned tokens (to cover the spells you have returned on your card) and 5 gold wooden cylinders (to mark on the board how many challenges you have completed) as well as 5 dollars.

The game utilises a D8 dice (which has 8 sides rather than the normal 6). Most die that have more than 6 sides are usually associated with more geeky style of playing. The extra two sides on the dice allows for a lot more versatility with the game meaning you have have higher numbers and the increase in the stats are higher and therefore harder to get to the top making the game last a lot longer. The stats of your guild add to your rolls, for example if you needed to get a 6+ for a charm roll but you have +2 to your charm then you would only need to roll 4+ in order to pass. Rolling a 1 will always fail even if you have to roll 4 and you have +4 to a stat, you will still have to roll the dice and get 2+. Adding to your dice roll or anything that makes your dice roll better or alters it in anyway is a good thing, it allows you to have an advantage over your opponents and adds a new layer to the gameplay.

In order to complete the game, the player must pick up volunteers for their hand by visiting the various taverns around the town. Each of the volunteers are split into 3 categories: "Lord and Ladies", "Man and Beasts" and "Shades and Shadows". Each of the categories has better statistics is certain areas for example, "Man and Beasts" generally have a higher streetwise skill that other categories. Upon moving to a tavern, the player must either take the top face-down card of the category they are recruiting or the top face-up card that has been left by another player. Each card has a charm value that the player must roll their D8 to get equal to or higher than that number (remembering add any stats that you have to that dice roll. If successful they get the card and if unsuccessful they can either bribe with money or they have to put the card face-up in the face-up pile. Each of the cards has stats on them individual to only them and are used in completing challenges or fighting other players but upon picking up the card you must check for any luggage moves (which moves around the map along a path and if you are hit with it you must go to hospital and miss a turn), if you have any stat changes (for example the card on the right has +1 to charm so you move the red wooden block up 1 on your charm stat and that stays there for the rest of the game regardless of whether you still have the card or not), a fate symbol ( a red "F"that means you pick up a fate card which can either affect you or everyone in the game). Other symbols such as the Mark of the Brethren mark seen at the bottom of the left card or the Wanted text is specific to the card and is used for other abilities in the game. The cards that contain statistics are very good as it gives a very geeky feel to the game and make it far more interesting to play for that specific niche of people. The illustrations on the card and the description relate to the character in the book and includes a quote from that character to add a very discworld feel to the game.

The aim of the game is to make your way to the 5 (out of 8, the colours correspond to your guild card) great spells on the board. Upon reaching them you then have to attempt a spell run and send 4 volunteers in your deck. You choose which quadrants that you wish to move through and then any players can use their saboteurs places in those quadrants to try and stop you or make you lose your characters. Once you have reached the end of your spell run, you must then complete the qizards challenge working up from easier to harder to complete and you use the stats on the volunteers you have sent such as streetwise and then roll the dice to try and get equal to or higher than the number you have to beat. The last spell run involves you having to actually move your piece to the end of your start game and beat the last challenge to win.


The game has many other elements in it including scrolls and items that you can use against your opponents or use to enhance your dice rolls and fighting. There is also dragons, the pox, the luggage and others which all adds to the depth of the game and makes it interesting time and time again.


Conclusion
The game is incredibly geeky with a lot of very complex rules that only the most dedicated must learn to play and enjoy but once you have learnt everything, it is indeed enjoyable and fun. The game is extremely competitive with everything being revolved around sabotaging and hindering the progress of your opponents by using the luggage to send them to hospital or summoning dragons so they cannot collect their great spell without taking it down first. The style of the game is very nice as well with everything fitting together nicely with the theme of Discworld.

Board Game Research - The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead
Inspired by the comics and not the television series. This game features all the artwork from Charlie Adlard, the artist behind the comics.

At the beginning, each player randomly selects a follower and main character and places them on a resource board. They are all given one of each resource and a private location to scout. 3 public locations are placed face up at the top of the game board for anyone to scout. The resources are available across the board in the form of food, ammo and gas. Food is used for getting rid of fatigue on your survivors, ammo can be used to roll the black dice which guarantees at least one zombie kill with each roll at the 50% chance of surrounding yourself with zombies and finally gas, which can be used to move an extra space with each use of the gas or move over zombies if you are unable to fight them.

The board is set out into a series of hexes which means that the game is not limited to just moving along a board but allows for you to strategically decide where you want to do. Each time you move you have to place a zombie token on that hex which allows for trying to trip up your opponents. There are no conventional dice but you are able to move up to 3 spaces each turn. Each time the player lands on a resource spot, he must draw as many encounter cards as there are resources. Each of these encounter cards involve a challenge that the player must try to overcome using the dice pool of the survivors that he has in his party.

Each of the main characters and followers have dice that are associated with them along with any special rules (i.e Shane has the ability to turn any "Zombie" to a "Hat") There are 3 types of dice: Red, Green and Blue and each of them are good at different things. The red is the best for killing zombies as it has the most "Zombie" symbols on it, the green is best for actions as it has the most "Hats" on it and the blue dice are the most versatile with an equal amount of "Hats" and "Zombies" on it including a "Caravan" symbol that gives the player the ability to choose it to be either a "Hat" or "Zombie". The dice pool is the collection of all the dice shown on the survivor cards that you have (i.e if you had Glenn as your main character with Carl as a follower, you would roll 2 green dice, 1 blue die and a red die) This give the game a lot of replayability as there are 6 different starting characters to play as, as well as numerous amounts of followers so that the game is not the same every time. Having dice that is not the conventional type of dice gives the game a more geeky feel.

The aim of the game is to try and scout 3 different locations before your opponents do. You can either scout one of the public locations (which are replaced upon successful scouting) or your private location (but you won't get another one). Each location card has a set of objectives for you to complete in order to scout it successfully with them getting progressively harder to do based on if it is your first, second or third location that you are scouting. This again gives the game a lot of replayability as there are around 10 different locations on the board.

Conclusion
The game was very fun to play, being a massive fan of the comics that I am, it was a must buy for me. I have played this game with geeks and non-geeks and it seems to be an enjoyable all rounder even if it follows a very geeky style. The non-conventional dice make it very different and take it away from the normal style of game playing that you are used to. The artwork and design of the board/tokens was very nice, not only did it keep in line with the art of the comics (being done by the artists of the comics helps) but it feels very zombie apocalypse-like and sets the theme for the game. One very interesting note about the game is that it has also been designed to be played solo as well which is unusual for a board game.