In the last couple of years, the popularity of zombies has risen in both TV and in video games. AMC’s TV show The Walking Dead is one of the most popular shows right now, according to Nielsen ratings, so gaming companies are trying capitalize on its success. Generally, most games that are adapted from TV shows or movies are terrible, but Telltale Games has done a fantastic job with The Walking Dead.

The company created an episodic game, which means in order to play the complete game you need to download all the episodes. The fifth and final episode was released on Tuesday. Each episode is about two hours long and costs $4.99 on the PlayStation 3 and PC. The Xbox 360 version costs 400 Microsoft Points.

While The Walking Dead doesn’t have a huge production value, it’s still better than most games out there today.

The main character is named Lee Everett. While most of his past is not known, we do know he was in some sort of trouble because he was being transported to a prison at the start of the game. On the way to prison, the police officer driving the car hits somebody and crashes into a forest. After walking in the forest for some time, Lee finds a child named Clementine.

From there, everything changes for each player because the game lets you make different decisions. For example, you have the opportunity to choose the language you use around children. Your choices can affect the life or death of other characters you meet.

The ability to make decisions alters the ending of the game. Also, choosing the fate of other characters makes an impact on the ways you can survive. For example, if you choose to save a person who can shoot, then they can help you kill zombies easily. If you save a tech person, then they can help you fix radios and other potentially helpful electronics. The ability to make different decisions adds replay value to the game because you want to go back and see how the other options affect the ending. While the premise of the game is to survive, the character development and the decision-making makes the game better than most out there today.

The gameplay is simple: It is a point-and-click game, which means the player is going to simply point to an area of the screen and press a button to access the area or interact with other characters. The gameplay is not ground-breaking, but it doesn’t negatively effect the game at all.

Overall, for $25 you get a fantastic game that tells a great story with superb character development and simple but effective gameplay. If you don’t want to download the game, you have the opportunity to purchase a physical copy of it on Dec. 11. According to Gamestop.com, the Standard Edition cost for PlayStation 3 and XBox 360 is $29.99, and the Collector’s Edition costs $69.99.

4/5 Stars.