They Hunger

When not pontificating, cogitating, scrivening (say, "scrivener" is another good description of some bloggists), or simply being sesquipedalian, one of the most absolutely frightening tasks I sometimes force myself to undertake is the grim job of killing zombies, usually with a heavy gauge steel crowbar.

If you've never played the FPS (First Person Shooter) They Hunger series of zombie mods created by Neil Manke utilizing the Half-Life game engine, then, well, you haven't. But talk about scary. Many times I've been ensconsed in the upstairs study, my headphones on, the lights out, senses aquiver, trying to avoid the moaning, slow-moving Undead, not to mention the goddam head crabs that jump at you from out of nowhere, when here comes my wife, stealthily coming up behind, and she touches my shoulder, and HOLY SHIT! I jump out of my chair like a thunderbolt has smashed into the back of my neck! Kim laughs at me, and 10 seconds later I've recovered my capacity for humor, (and the ability to breathe) and I laugh too. Ha ha. Pretty funny. Whew.

So now Neil has announced that he's close to finishing They Hunger: Lost Souls, based on the Half-Life 2 engine, and I urge all zombie killers to check out the latest news from Black Widow Games here.

And here's a link to the earlier They Hunger file download site. Be afraid, very afraid...