When it comes to the survival horror genre of gaming, a lot of avid gamers would tell you that the first thing that comes to mind, is the zombie genre. There are so many different variations used in the zombie survival genre from first-person, to third-person, to over the shoulder. Here are my picks of the top 5 best zombie games of all time. As per usual, as some of these games have stories,

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5.) The Last of Us

Sometimes, the most interesting part of the zombie apocalypse is what happens later. For the majority of The Last of Us, you play as Joel, a survivor in his mid-fifties, twenty years after a mysterious virus rushes through his hometown in Texas. He is sent from Boston in order to escalate a fourteen year old girl, Ellie across the country in hopes of discovering a vaccine for the zombie virus. Little did he know, the this adventure would leave not only leave a few new scars, but open up past ones. The game has a good balance of gameplay on top of an immense storyline almost guaranteed to put you into awe.

4.) Dead Rising Franchise

If what you care about is slaughtering as many zombies as possible, Dead Rising are the games for you! With a literal kill counter shown on screen, the number of zombie you can kill is endless. Offering a variety of weapons both powerful, and comedic, the Dead Rising franchise is guaranteed to provide countless hours of zombie-killing fun! In Dead Rising 2 and up, the addition of combo weapons as well as two player coop which allows for even more immersion of weapons and people to slaughter with. Be sure to check out Capcom's upcoming Dead Rising 4 release on December 6, 2016!

3.) The Walking Dead Season 1

When it comes to heartbreaking zombie survival games, almost nothing grabbed gamers' hearts harder than The Walking Dead episodic series by Telltale Games. While there are currently two seasons on the market, and a third one coming December 20, 2016, Season 1 was the one that really caught the attention of The Walking Dead fans everywhere. You play as Lee Everett, a 37 year old history professor caught in the worst of circumstances when the zombie apocalypse hit, on his way to prison for murder. He meets an 8 year old girl named Clementine and the story revolves around their survival of the apocalypse. What makes this game interesting and unique, is that the choices you make throughout the game, affect the past, present, and future outcomes of the game, adding extremely high replayability. With all of this on top of a breath-taking storyline, gamers would be considered sociopaths if they didn't shed a tear by the end.

2.) Resident Evil 1

When it comes to a combination of the and horror genres, the original Resident Evil takes the prize as the game that started it all! Playing as Chris Redfield or his partner, Jill Valentine, you are sent to investigate the site of suspicious activity linked to the Umbrella corporation. Little did they know, they were about to step into their worst nightmare as they are separated from their group and forced into a mansion after a huge fight with an unknown enemy. You will have to fight your way through countless mazes of hallays and traps in the mansion solving puzzles and riddles along the way in order to survive. While this game seems obsolete today, it paved the way for many zombie games to come!

1.) Left 4 Dead 2

For the first-person shooter zombie survivalists, the Left 4 Dead franchise are masterpieces. While Left 4 Dead 1 was the classic, it was Left 4 Dead 2 that really stood out as the better game with improved graphics, mechanics, game modes, more immerse style of weapons, and most importantly, more zombie to slaughter. This teamwork-building first-person shooter requires you to play as one of four survivors traveling to New Orleans in hope of rescue. You will have to shoot, bash, or cut your way through an endless horde of zombies with up to three other players in order to survive. The variety of weapons, exploration, and fun coop will give you hours among hours of fun with friends, which is why I am giving Left 4 Dead 2 the number 1 spot on this list.

The zombie genre of video games is most certainly not going anywhere for a long time, and these games are the ones that really make it shine. These games along with many others will always have a special place in my heart for gaming.