Here's Why Nobody Is Reviewing The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct

The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct hit shelves today, and yet you would be hard pressed to find very many reviews of the game. The ones you do find are likely from untested blogs struggling to make a name for themselves. What about the 'big names' in games journalism, where are the Kotaku reviews or the Joystiq pieces on Survival Instinct? What about Destructoid or IGN?

Most of these blogs have not put up a whole lot of content on The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct and we're pretty sure we know why.

The answer comes in two parts: the stigma surrounding the game and Activision's stance on advance copies.

[crazypenguin08]

Spot on. I would never give this a chance when I've heard so many good things about the other.

[Yo Mama]

This is one of the dumbest, most ignorant things I've read on here in awhile. You're an alleged gamer, yet you totally disregard a game because another game which carries the same name, is so good?

With that being said, I'm not saying this game is good. It will probably not be very good at all. But your reasoning still doesn't make sense.

[knowyourstuff]

UGH... seriously who cares.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.a...

The game sucks a$$ if you've ever seen a single youtube video of the gameplay of this. It looks like something made in someone's garage. The zombies are so braindead, even actual zombies said "damn... they some stupid zombies *drool*"

[N0S3LFESTEEM]

Yo Mclovin, Stupidity is better left alone... You must not read a lot of comments on this site if your singling out this one.

This game doesn't warrant any kind of defense. They TV show is ok but I wouldn't think twice about "Hey... I wish they made a game based off this"... I'd rather play a movie based game than a TV based one.

[Pillsbury1]

Craptivision messes up another one. This had so much potential.

[Derekvinyard13]

im ashamed to say i bought this, im having sound problems to and the voice acting sucks! cmon reedus your a great actor how could you sound this bad

[MoXxXi]

Activision definitely sends early copies of games. I have personally received some of their games early. A more likely reason they didn't send this game early (or embargoed the review until release date) is because the game is ass and they didn't wanna ruin pre-orders by letting big sites publish eminently bad reviews. Same thing happened with CoD: Declassified.

[animegamingnerd]

that is true i did hear about that with declassified

[profgerbik]

Still Declassified even with all its horrid reviews was one of the best selling Vita games.. How I don't know but I guess people are obsessed with anything labeled CoD.

[kupomogli]

@profgerbik

From several people that I know personally that own the game, Declassified plays very well. It's just lacking a long single player mode instead being small high score based single player missions and lacking some of the stuff that the console games have online.

I'm not a fan of CoD, but until I hear someone speak about it believably or one of the people I know personally states they dislike the game then I'll take anything anyone online says with a grain of salt.

[LycanGav]

MoXxXi is spot on, we have received many games from Activision ahead of release for review purposes over the years.

[Jamiex66]

Maybe this site just isn't big enough and they assume if they don't, nobody does.

I find it a little odd, that a site I have never heard of has the attitude of "No review copy, no coverage". Hell my website barely gets review copies but we still go out of our way to review games as early as possible.

I don't know, just comes off as a bad attitude personally.

[LycanGav]

I believe the correct term is "bitter".

[Naate]

Hmm, I had been told by Activision PR that their policy is to not send out early copies.

[Sev]

Nope. They definitely send out early copies. Early retail copies, and even earlier debug copies. The size and traffic of your site matters a lot. So does being on Metacritic.

[MelonSaurus]

Oh look it's Ryan. Hey sexy. Damn 25 likes you da man making awesome comments and stuff. Keep up the good work.

[PhantomT1412]

It's a common practice among publishers. I guess EA did the same thing with the last Medal of Honor...

[Transporter47]

It's not the first time this happens, but regardless you don't need a review to tell you that this game is crap. If it was last gen then maybe wait for a review, but no, not this gen. Just look at it.

[HappyGaming]

It funny how last gen is also the PS3 generation but this game still manages to look like last last gen.

[23478ueyur_938223]

Gumtrol, your comment gave me leprosy

[worldwidegaming]

This is because people are being paid off to delay the review for as long as possible.

[admiralvic]

Someone is overly paranoid... They can just embargo it till they see fit and that's really the start and end of it. Worse case they buy and review, but even then that would be days after release.

[worldwidegaming]

Buyer beware. Always suspect something is up no matter how farfetched. Worst case, I would have someone like you saying i am being paranoid..best case I still keeps me cash!

[dennett316]

You're being downvoted and dismissed as paranoid because publishers don't have to pay to hold back a review....they can simply add a condition that the review cannot be published until a certain date if a site or magazine wants a review copy.

[worldwidegaming]

@Dennett316 "Thanks for that info," That was something I did not know.

[Half-Mafia]

I had not seen any gameplay to this game until last night when I saw a few people on Twitch. It looks terrible.

[DarthJay]

Trust me when I say: your eyes are not deceiving you. The game makes Aliens: Colonial Marines look good.

[Derekvinyard13]

Stupid game

[Summons75]

anything walking dead that isn't the comics is stupid. The show is a soap opera and boring as hell and the first game ugh....nuff said, this is activision and will only follow the trend of fail

[MoXxXi]

The TV show is pretty good. The Telltale iteration is critically acclaimed and has one of the best stories ever experienced in a game this generation. This game sucks not because it is a rip off of TWD, but because they are attempting to make it a commercializable FPS game...and it's Activision lol

[Burnin]

man... If you don´t like the show, and if you think Telltale´s game is bad then for me, THAT is nuff said

[dafegamer]

biggest disagree from me.The show is one of the best television has to offer nowadays

[HiddenMission]

@summons

Bro you are on one. I own all the comics and they are amazing. I love the show...shit it's the best thing on TV. Not as good as the comics but still really amazing.

The Telltale game was absolutely amazing and millions of other gamers and critics agree.

You come off as a comic book purest who hates when a comic book get's brought to other media forms...that is super sad and you need to get over yourself bro.

[Soplox]

WOW what a SHIT game.

[MilkMan]

The reason COULD be what the author says, it could also be that the game is about some racist pricks that no one particularly wants to play.

[rezzah]

racist pricks?

[deafdani]

Merle is definitely racist and sexist and anything bad you can think of; Daryl, not so much.

:P

[jeeves86]

Daryl and Merle are hicks, your stereotypical hillbilly. They're well-suited to apocalyptic life.

I find Daryl in the second season to be crude for the sake of being crude and nothing else.

[HiddenMission]

@jeeves

You must have missed the point with Daryl in season 2...his character really was brought out and he went through a real transformation in season 2.

What happened to Daryl in season 2 led him to become my families favorite character...and that's all the way through season 3.

[e-p-ayeaH]

Activision sure knows how to make business..dirty business

[Thatmattkid]

I doubt they don't send out copies due to piracy or spoilers. My guess is that if the game is rubbish the reviews will reflect that and put many off the game.

By doing it this way the few who have already purchased the game will already know later that week/moth that the game is naff and can do nothing more than trade the game in and hope they make a small return of what they originally paid.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Because its crap.

[HorrorGod]

As a fan of the TWD universe, I plan on playing this. Bad reviews or not -- I'll make up my OWN opinion about it. But, I'm not eager to spend 50 bucks on something just because it has "The Walking Dead" slapped on the cover. So I'll probably either rent it or pick it up cheaper later this year. Although, I'll admit, the comments on amazon.com are a little comforting. It's the type of reviews I want to read (i.e. "Not the best graphics, but a FUN game," "Worth playing," etc.

[rezzah]

I saw the ending.

Looked like it cost $20 to make it.

Check Youtube for gameplay videos, they are the next best thing after reading various reviews.

[dennett316]

And you are the type of gamer they target with crap like this...one that gets all indignant about reviews giving them advice.
Oh, and good luck listening to reviews from people who are desperate to justify the $60 they just wasted, or are actually publisher planted reviews in the first place...not uncommon on Amazon. In short, you only like hearing positive noises about something you quite fancy playing...any criticism sends you into full blown "I'll make up my OWN MIND!!!" spiel because, damned if you can be wrong about something.

[HorrorGod]

You have me figured completely wrong, friend. Everyone has their own opinion. I don't get upset when people give bad reviews for something I enjoyed. Nor do I look for just good reviews. I usually don't even let reviews sway me to buy a game. If I believe it's a day 1 purchase, I pick it up without waiting on being told whether I should or not. In this game's case, I did not believe it was a day 1 purchase. I felt it was a rental at best. But, that's just my opinion. I still have not played it, by the way. I plan to, I just don't know when I will.

[latinillusion81]

Here's the real reason Noone is reviewing the walking dead.......... Everyone knew it was going to suck.

[kevnb]

nobody cares about these websites opinions anymore anyway. Everything is moving to digital including the next batch of consoles. We dont need biased views anymore, we can just hit the forums and watch the trailers ourselves. Not to mention word of mouth/internet which spreads faster than ever before. For example lets look at mobile gaming, how did everyone know about angry birds? Was it because ign said it was good, or because of word of mouth? Reviews are worthless right now, its about time people realize it. Another example is sim city, reviewers were trying to make a point about the launch issues (an unfair one if they wont change scores) but it had no affect on sales.

[jeeves86]

You realize that forum posts are just...like really short reviews, right?

[dennett316]

All opinions are biased on matters of taste you clown....by their very definition. Yes, everything is moving digital, including reviews. If review scores were really as unimportant as you claim, why do so many publishers plaster them all over the cover of their game? Why do PR guys grease the wheels by sending out free swag to certain sites and magazines, taking them to fancy press events where the free food and booze flows all night long?
The fact that games sell despite poor reviews speaks more of the general idiocy of gamers than anything else. People like you who claim that reviews are worthless are the idiots that buy terrible games or games that feature consumer unfriendly DRM. Also, how do you know that the review scores had no effect on sales? I've seen countless comments from people during this whole Sim City fiasco that cancelled pre-orders, sent back un-opened copies, and bought competing city building sims in the wake of the fallout. If pre-ordering wasn't a thing that suckered in the impatient and gullible, the sales of that game would have tanked.
What little consumer advice that can be gleaned from reviews is massively important....only those with more money than sense would ever think otherwise.

[kevnb]

really, so you think people getting paid for advertising a game are not more biased than your average joe? grow up. Tons of games have received great scores but sold poorly and vice versa. Its just like music and movies, nobody cares what some pompous fool thinks. I dont understand how people get so entrenched into the internet and disconnected from reality that they think otherwise.
The only thing ive seen significantly boost sales are high rated award shows, and thats what spike tv tried to create but so far have failed at.

[pennyman]

here's the official response I got from Activision' third party PR company handling the game:

Thanks again for your interest in The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct. We’ve received an incredibly high amount of requests for the game and unfortunately, they outpace the amount of copies we have. As of now, I cannot provide you with a copy, however, we may get more copies in later this week and if so, we’ll definitely do our best to get one out to you as quickly as we can. And I’ll keep you posted on that.

--- sooooo which outlets did get the game for review?

[Godmars290]

The irony with the reviewing community is that the subject being reviewed has too much power and influence over the reviewer. They not only dictate terms, but can and often do threaten/intimidate sites and restrict access.

Best thing we could do? Stop getting pre-orders at the very least.

[whamlollypop7]

I think the vast majority of gamers has written this off as call of zombies with a Darryl skin. That and maybe just maybe Walking Dead fatigue is starting to rear its head.

[SeraphimBlade]

Oh crap. Some woman at a game store today said that her son would probably like "that Walking Dead game" and I eagerly recommended it. I think she meant this. Sorry kid...

[ThatEnglishDude]

Here's why nobody is reviewing The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct: It's shit.

[Wolfenstein51]

I played the game. It is actually quite fun. But you have to understand, it is budget. The production values are not the greatest - however, I liked the design and the zombie A.I. Is not bad. If you like FPS games like Dead Island, you will like this. just don't expect any RPG elements - it's a straightforward shooter. There are times when you make choices on what path/level to take in the game which was cool and could add replay value. graphics are ok - gameplay is fun and the zombies can be relentless in this game which makes a difference to me. Technically, it runs at steady 30 FPS - no dropped frames at all. I played 3 hrs of it - I expect this game will be 8-10 hrs. This is a good FPS for me while I wait for the zombie masterpiece that will be Dead Island - Riptide.

[Soldierone]

I have to disagree with the excuses.

Activision is actually the best PR group to work with. If you don't get the game early, you get it the day of release. They can be counted on, even for rather small websites. Unlike other publishers that are a pain to simply get a "sorry" response from....

Also I contacted the PR department, I guess their shipment was late, and they hardly got any copies to fill demand. The bigger sites probably just don't care since everyone already knows this is basically terminator salvation lol

They often wait too if their reviews are bad out of respect for the developers. Unless its a big "AAA" release and they want hits from bashing it.

[jeeves86]

I remember some early reviews with RE6 were painfully negative. They still showed up early.

[Soldierone]

Thats a "AAA" release like I mentioned. Bashing that game early would mean more hits than waiting it out.

Where as a game like The Walking Dead is already pretty much expected to suck, so they don't rush out negative reviews.

[ApexHell]

i didnt even know it came out today wtf i was thinking may

[SAYGUH]

Oh god, I'm so sick of Activision. These guys are a symbol of corporate takeover on the software side of the games industry. They destroyed music gaming, soldout FPS, & I wonder what's next?

[Burnin]

as a TWD fan I WILL PLAY THIS! Regardeless of the reviews, bad press, or any lame comment from anyone in here who, either never watched the show (which is awesome and anyone saying otherwise just doesn´t get what AMC is doing) or will bash the game only for having poor graphics

They´ve been authorized by AMC to fill in the story... so It
´s like watching another episode but only that you get to play it! Thats a win in my book

[BanBrother]

Wow.

Of course, everyone bashing this game is not a fan of the TV show...../s

Mindless drone is mindless.

[dennett316]

Oh man.....I'd pity you if you weren't a horrible symptom of the type of gamer that is a publishers wet dream. No standards whatsoever, just slap a recognised name on the cover and you're guaranteed several thousand sales to people with more money than sense.

Thanks for helping to ruin gaming, you're a peach.

[HalfNerdHalfAmazing]

The only ppl who gonna play this game is fans of the show

[aLiEnViSiToR]

The game is bad... lets just move on...

[Orionsangel]

This was rushed to market to cash in on the current popularity of the series.

[Deku-Johnny]

From what I've seen of the gameplay it looks pretty generic and repetitive, I think they would've done better going for more of a ZombiU approach. I'm not too fussed about the graphics they're not bad, it just looks like they've gone with a mix of realistic and the cel shaded style of the Telltale game. I can imagine the horde mode could pack a few hours of fun, I reckon I'll pick it up when it's cheap.

[Valenka]

Activision needs to just stick to Call of Duty. If they've learned anything from screwing up the James Bond games, it should be that Call of Duty is the only thing they can do well and need to stop trying to force their COD formula onto everything else.

I'm actually worried about the upcoming Deadpool game now.

[HonestDragon]

Hm, maybe this might be a game to check out just to see exactly how it is. Sure, it looks like a typical first person shooter, but why not? Might get some good riffs in if it's bad.

[Dfooster]

Aliens CM round 2

[Drainage]

havent played the game but every gaming forum says the game will suck so i will agree with them and shit on the game as well. do not buy it! lmao fricken gamers

[xXKingofStingXx]

No shocker here, I was not expecting much more than a cheap cash in, and it looks like Activision delivered.

[imahustla19]

to bad i was hoping for more from this game.it could have been that great zombie game we all wanted instead its just another biter.

[rpcdrag0n]

Activision do not send out early review copies of something they know to be dreadful - they do send out review copies early of decent games.

[SavageKuma]

That is not true about activision, I have received advanced copies of certain titles like Transformers Fall of Cybertron. I do not think it is fair to say that the "untested blogs" trying to get their name out there, which is attacking the obvious or they might be just fans. However I just played a few hours and I am already bored of this title. They should of made it co-op with the brothers but failed to do so. My co-worker and I were debating on borrowing it, but yea not worth the 49.99 price point.

[armycore]

The author of this article is full of shit.

[iMonsteR]

The TV show is good... But the game is too much..

[Granpire]

Forgetting the controversy over review copies for a second, why hasn't anyone called out the first point - stigma?

If anything, gaming press outlets feed off of negative stigmas. It gets them traffic. The whole first point is irrelevant to the argument of the article.

[isyourhouseonfire]

They're not talking about it because its not a video game, and this is a video game site.

[stuntman_mike]

The game looks like an iPhone game and not even a good one at that.

[jasona1980]

Activision sent me an email a few weeks ago as at that point they were undecided about sending review copies to anyone.

I have got a review copy on the way, but it won't reach me until tomorrow - so looks like with this one, they are waiting until after everyone's bought the game and it's too late to return it for being possibly a load of crap!

[KillerPwned]

As a huge fan of the comics and show I have to say this game was horrible in my opinion. It really felt half assed and could of been so much better. The voice acting was not done well at all. At the least that was the best I expected out of this game was the voice acting to be sub par. Now graphics, I am not huge on graphics but I played this game maxed out on PC and it looked horrible. This game could of looked a lot darker and creeper if the graphics were done right.

As for the most important part gameplay. I of course personally hated it. It felt as if the zombies where not even biting you but just bumping into you and you lose health. Shooting felt off to me but the melee weapons were easy to use. The one good thing I gotta say about this game is stealth when it comes to relating to the show in a sense of being sneaky about killing a zombie so you don't alert others this is a nice feel to the game.

Besides that though I really cannot say much good about the game. I would buy this only if I saw it in the bargain bin for $10 personally. Everyone has a different opinion some will love it and others hate it like me.

[Relientk77]

Because it sucks hard

[lifesanrpg]

This author doesn't really know what he's talking about. Activision does send games early...they probably didn't bother marketing this one b/c they know it's not that great.

[FaSCoRP]

Game is good, try it for yourself. Believe it or not it is something different that all other games out there. Like a strategic FPS ?