An afternoon eluding zombies

The above image may not accurately reflect
the content of the following post.

It was supposed to be a light day at the gym. An hour of cardio on the treadmill, maybe a little more if I was in the mood. That was the plan.

Instead, I spent the afternoon running for my life as the living dead pursued me across back country roads.

It's a cool, sunny day, one of the few we're likely to have in a part of the country known for its oppressive heat and humidity. I've also had an app for my phone for about a month that I wanted to try out: Zombie Run.

Using GPS and Google Maps, Zombie Run is an app that lets you add a bit of imagination to your walk. Just select your destination, begin your journey and try not to get eaten by the "zombies" represented on the map in green and red icons.



I'd never been able to seriously put the Zombie Run app into use so was amused to see three "zombies" emerge from a pond by the side of the road and head my way. I had to pick up my speed but easily eluded them.

Before long I had a small army of zombies on my trail. They weren't any immediate danger, but the woods on either side of me cut off most of my avenues for escape. Then, ahead on the map, three more zombies appeared and blocked my path.

Around this time a big, yellow hunting dog popped out of the woods, ran by me and disappeared back into the trees. Unlike the zombies this was an actual dog and not part of the game. Thanks to my headphones (I was listening to MF Doom) I didn't hear the animal coming and was a little spooked. I think that qualifies the game as a success.

With a little running I was able to avoid the zombies that had cut off my path. Combined with the SportyPal app I was able to measure the time, distance and calories burned during the game.
I had the game set on its easiest level which puts the zombies on par with those in the original Dawn of the Dead (moving about 2 mph.) The hardest level ramps the speed up to 8 mph and would probably make Zach Snyder shit hit pants.

Zombie Run seems to be fairly early in the development and has some room for improvement. It would be great if multiple players could use the same map simultaneously, and I wouldn't turn my nose up at adding a weapon to the game. Maybe a "lottery" style weapon selection that randomly assigns you a gun and limited ammunition. As it is, it's still a fun little romp.