Dear Zombie Master: Specially Mutated Zombies?

by Tyler
(Virginia, USA)

Dear Zombie Master,

I’d like to start off by saying you’re my idol, man. I’ve been a fan of zombies for a while – movies, books, games. Left for Dead 2 is possibly my favorite game. But the question burns in my mind which erupted from L4D2: Special Zombies. There are specially mutated zombies in the game that make it more difficult. And I’d like insight on what YOU think of this, whether or not it’s possible. Here’s a list of the special mutations:

Boomer - Large fat zombie that vomits on the survivors. The vomit attracts the normal zombi horde towards the victim.

Spitter - Tall female zombie with a long neck. It spits a ball of acidy goo, which coats the ground with acid.

Charger - Hillbilly zombie with a HUUUUGE arm. (only 1... haha) charges at a HIGH speed. Grabs victims and slams them into the ground.

Jockey - Small hick zombie (looks like a child) that is very agile and will hop on your head and pound it as it controls where you go.

Hunter - Average sized zombie that wears a hoodie over his head. VERY AGILE. and can leap ridiculous lenghts. Once it pounces on a victim, it will begin to tear him apart until another survivor helps.

Smoker - Tall, ugly zombie that wraps its tongue around a victim and pulls it to him. It will pound on him until another survivor helps.

Tank - Large LARGE zombie with GINORMOUS arms. I mean huge. larger then his own torso. He’s almost impossible to take down as he relentlessly and fearlessly assaults victims, throwing rocks and if close enough, pounding the heck out of them.

Witch - Female zombie that isnt hostile. She stays in one spot and cries, unless you tick her off (shoot her, shine flashlight in her face, get near) she will attack and pretty much kill you.

I hope you can provide an answer for me. I want to make sure I’m prepared when the Apocalypse happens. Thanks.

What do you think? You’re my idol, man. Much love.

PS. There’s also a projectile that is a capsule full of Boomer vomit (see above) if you throw it on a zombie. The other zombies will attack that zombie, even the tanks.

Tyler,

Let me begin by saying thanks for the accolades. Although I feel that the job is rewarding enough, it is always good to receive positive reinforcement.

I have been wanting to attempt the L4D series but alas, I am not a video gamer. I lean more towards the pen and paper RPG's like 'All Flesh Must Be Eaten' and such.

I can say though that if you were to create a zombie video game and all you had to do was shoot or bash the heads of a bunch of Romero-style zombies it could get really repetitive and boring after a while. So I can see the necessity for 'Special Zombies' to make the game play more involved.

Whether I feel they are viable or not in the real world is another thing altogether. While I would not put it past scientists to experiment genetically on individuals, you must remember that if there was no apparent mutation before death then there should not be any after death unless acted upon by an outside force.

Good hunting and aim high,

The Zombie Master