S&S Mobile Review: The Walking Dead: Assault

Title: The Walking Dead: Assault
Format: iPhone, iPad
Release Date: November 27, 2012
Publisher: Gamagio
Developer: Gamagio
Price: $1.99
ESRB Rating: M

I'm always looking for new ways to experience the Walking Dead, whether its books, shows, or games.  The Walking Dead: Assault is a new mobile game from Gamagio, and it gives fans another way to play as the survivors and try and survive the zombie apocalypse.
  
Story, Presentation, and Core Gameplay:If you read the comics, then you'll know exactly whats going on in the game.  The narrative is ripped straight from the comics, you start off with Rick waking up in the abandoned hospital.  After you complete one episode, you move on to the next comic, or episode.   Even though I've experienced this story a number of times before, its still compelling.  The game's visual style is great, the way it uses color is extremely intuitive.  The world around you is black and white, but things of use to you will be a different color.  Supplies are a bright yellow, survivors are marked with a blue outline, and walkers are highlighted with an orange tint.  When you finally get around to killing a large number of walkers, the blood coming out of the walkers will paint the grey streets with a bright red hue.  Its a cool effect, one that will more color into a world dull grey.  This style will really sit well with any of the comic book readers, it really simulates you actually reading a chapter from the comics.  All of the character models represent the people from the comic, not the show.  So if you're a huge fan of Andrew Lincoln and Jon Bernthal, you'll be disappointed.  Just like the characters, all the environments are ripped straight from the comics.  The music in the TWD: Assault is perfect for the type of game it is, its a heart-pounding action game, and the music only raises your heartbeat.  
This isn't your average Walking Dead experience, instead of experiencing how the apocalypse affects the people who survived it, it puts all of its focus on killing a buttload of zombies.  This is really the first game that puts its emphasis on the action side of TWD, and I'm sure it won't be the last.  The gameplay starts off being pretty simple, but it turns out to be a pretty complex system.  At the beginning of every chapter, you're dropped into a level with one goal, murder every walker you come across.  Saving other survivors will be a secondary goal in most levels, and if you succeed in saving other people, they will permanently join your party.  This is where the complexity begins, having to manage four people all with their own weapons is a pretty big challenge, and the fact that its in real time makes it even tougher.  Having to manage your ammo count becomes essential, when your ammo gets low, you'll want to use your blunt weapons more often.  Melee weapons don't attract wild herds as well, using guns on the larger levels will become deadly, for your survivors that is.  Each party member has their own special abilities and buffs, like when you choose Rick, each party member becomes a slightly better shooter.  The controls on any iOS game can either break the game, or make it better.  The controls are solid, pinching in an out zooms in and out of the battlefield.  Panning around the level is just as simple.  Seeing how the game is presented in a top down view, the camera could've been a big problem.  Controlling each of the characters by tapping or double-tapping won't take long to master either.  
Final Thoughts:
The Walking Dead: Assault is good mobile game, any fan of the show, comics, or any other platform dealing with TWD will find this game enjoyable. With some great visuals and solid controls, you should definitely pick this one up.
S&S Rating: 8/10