When it comes to zombie killing Reaper has a lot of experience. Reaper use to be in the killing Nazi Zombie business and let Reaper assure you, business was a booming, even by the time it was just The Last of Us. Now there just Days Gone. More than once Reaper paid a visit to Dead Island even when it was in a State of Decay. Reaper saw the Dead Rising which forced Reaper to deal with some Residents who were most certainly Evil. (At least 5 of them) Reaper bore witness to the Dying Light, and even once refereed a match of Plants vs, Zombies.  But none of those experiences seem comparable when Reaper considers that he was Left 4 Dead. (Twice actually)

Over the top intros aside Left 4 Dead 1 and 2 are simply the pinnacle of what a zombie game should be. It's amazing how great these games are with such simple controls, story, and concepts. These games managed to standout in a time oversaturated with zombie apocalypse motif and Reaper feels confident in saying they withstood the test of time.  To this day if Reaper is playing a shooter with his buddies, it's not uncommon for random outbursts of. “Pills here!” “Med pack here!” “Got a shot here!” Or “Gonna grab this ninja sword. If anyone sees some nunchucks ya’ll give me a holler!”  Years ago, there were rumors of a sequel in the works that ended up being false but, to be honest Reapers always on the lookout for a gnarled hand holding up three fingers signaling Left 4 Dead 3 is on the way!

My dad and I turn off the living room light

And turn up the volume on the tv.

Then we sit down on the floor and look up at the screen

And play 'Left 4 Dead'.

And we just sit there and smile

Listening to the game shout 'RELOADING'

And killing zombies together.

Though thinking about it,

In a real zombie apocalypse,

Neither of us would live...

Hands down, the zombie game I have to give the vote to is Resident Evil 2 on the original Playstation (I still need to play the recent remake). Resident Evil 2 was one of my first purchases on the original Playstation, and as a young adult gamer, it blew me away. I loved surviving Raccoon City with Leon and Claire, I loved facing off with the zombies and the other monsters, I loved how the game encouraged replayability with different storylines for Leon and Claire, even offering an option to see what Claire actually did while you were Leon, and vice versa. I do have to confess, I played the mode with the unlimited rocket launcher, which was a good initiation for me. I continued experiencing the series on the original Playstation with the original Resident Evil, the third one, and even the panned Survivor game (flaws and all, I actually enjoyed it). Silent Hill later stole the show as my favorite horror franchise, but I still on and off played most of the newer Playstation 2 and Gamecube offerings without actually finishing them, except for 4, which reinvigorated my interest in the series. With Silent Hill unfortunately dormant now, Resident Evil not only stayed in the game, but got even better in my opinion with its newest offerings, even with the zombies being benched. I just finished 5 and 7 (thoroughly enjoying both), and have begun playing Village, which I am having a blast with. Resident Evil 2 began my enjoyment of the franchise, and I am happy to see the series evolving in exciting directions. I now want to go back and finish the games I never completed, and replay the old ones I finished as well. I should probably include a replay of Resident Evil 2, and do so without the unlimited rocket launcher....

Shuffling feet

Groans as they approach

The lights flicker

They have arrived

Their brains foggy

Or maybe dead

Moving slow

With eyes half closed

You think it the apocalypse

A zombie infestation

But I like to call it

High school at 8am

Take a situation where the children are obsessed

with playing games together for as long they can get

Interruptions on the floor spell disaster for the crowd

surviving many rounds, and screaming rather loud

Don't shoot the big guy

the ray gun packs a punch

your soda pop dissolves

when you're having too much fun

I got the box, and you get the stairway

open the doors but the zombies don't scare away

build up, reload, take down, repeat

clear the way, and someone guard me!

sing along to the jingles and pray

you don't get the broken controller today

and though outside it's raining, and looking a bit gloomy

it is the perfect afternoon to meet the call of duty (Black Ops II: zombies)