Flip Through Review: World War Z by Max Brooks

With all the recent hype around zombie/infected video games, I thought it was about time I did a review on one of my favorite zombie novels.

If you're a fan of all things zombie, you'll lose yourself in this immersing narrative that chronicles the onset, the horror of, and the aftermath following a worldwide war against the living dead. But even if you aren't a zombie fan, you'll enjoy the stories of survival, humanity, and endurance. World War Z reads like the transcript of an oral history on the Zombie War, as remembered by its survivors. Each chapter presents the story of a different part of the war, through the voice of a different survivor; making it a great book to grab even if you have a few minutes to read. The book is a great read and brings a level of engagement well above what most would expect from a story about the shambling undead masses.

You can find a preview of the book, some audio excepts of survivor interviews, and podcasts of more survivor interviews at the World War Z website.

Weekly Wrap Up

Sorry, nothing really substantial in media consumption to report this week; because my son was born! I've been playing a lot of "Change the Diaper" "Rock the Baby" and "Try and Get Some Shut Eye".

Back next week with more. :)

Couples Gaming: Fable 2 - Single Player for Two

Because I am married and very close to becoming a father (it could actually be a matter of hours as I write this), my family has become a big part of my gaming atmosphere. Of course this means saving the more violent, mature titles that I play for my late night and early morning solo gaming sessions, and finding wife and kid friendly games to enjoy together. This can often be difficult because when we think about gaming with others, we tend to focus on multiplayer and cooperative games. This was the case when recently, I had the idea of doing a series of blog posts about how my wife and I (and maybe when he's old enough, our son) enjoy games together. I liked the idea but didn't want to focus solely on multiplayer games; so I decided that we would find games that interested us both and play through them together, whether they had multiplayer elements or not.

As the first game in the Couple's Gaming series, I've chosen Fable 2. The game is mature, but not in a way that would be offensive to my wife. It also includes lots of customization and life simulation, which I think my wife will really enjoy. It's also important to note that my wife is not a gamer. While she enjoys some games (Guitar Hero, N+, Zuma, Castle Crashers), she typically isn't very interested in games outside of the casual scene. I thought Fable 2 would provide an approachable gaming experience for my wife, and a single player eperience that would entertain us both at the same time, whoever was playing or watching at the time.

So far we've only gotten through the first 10 minutes of the game, and I was surprised when my wife told me that she was "excited to play through this game." The plan right now is to have me play through most of the game while she watches and enjoys the story. That may very well change though as things progress, and if she decides she wants a turn.

So stay tuned to hear more about our forays into Couple's Gaming. Lots more to come from Fable 2, and other titles to follow.

Have any suggestions on how to game together, or suggestions of titles we should play together? Leave a comment!

Weekly Wrap Up

Just a quick rundown of my weekly stimuli:

Playing:

• Burnout Paradise (Xbox 360) - I'm not a racing game fan, but this one has it's hooks in me.
• Call of Duty: World at War (Xbox 360) - I adore the multiplayer. Solo campaign is decent, as is the co-op play.
• Left 4 Dead - Love to play it, just need more people to play with. Random games = lots of random jerks.
• Resident Evil 5 Demo (Xbox 360) - Frustrated me at first, but as I played more it got me pumped for the full release.

Watching:

• Friday Night Lights: Season 1 (Netflix Instant Queue) - Great show! Just sad that third season starts now. Will wait for DVD release.
• Fringe (FOX) - I fear this series is perilously close to a hop over a certain aquatic predator.
• Robin Hood: Season 2 (BBC Series from Netflix DVD) - Writers seem afraid of real plot/character development. Fun, but often lacks captivating elements.

Reading:

• Predictably Irrational (Dan Ariely) - Good read on the irrationality of human decision making.
• Brisingr (Christopher Paolini) - Not the most inventive fantasy novel, but a good one. Especially when you take the age of the author into consideration.

Other:

• Wife made some amazing sugar cookies.
• Still waiting for baby boy to arrive.

What have you been up to this week?