Don’t get me wrong; this is not one of those cases where a developer or publisher just splashes some Anti-Zombie violence into a game or book or show to boost ratings; ‘The Lord of the Rings’ definitely, and prominently, featured Undead antagonists.

Sad as that was.

It also features some quasi-protagonists in the form of an army of the dead who fight alongside the good guys to save civilization, if only because they were forced to as some kind of karma thing. It was a start, I suppose.

Still, times change, and now there have been a slew of videogames based on the book series, and is it just me, or does this latest one seem particularly hard on the Differently Animated?

Lurking in the forgotten tombs of Barrow-downs, dwelling amongst the fallen dead, the Barrow-wights wait under reign of the Barrow-wight Lord. Revealed in this new video, the Barrow-wight Lord has overtaken this sacred Ranger burial ground. He uses magic and minions most foul to spread the rule of evil in the darkness and death of his lair.

The battle cry of the dwarf, the sword of the human, the staff of the elf – all must be used to best this most despicable boss and its hordes of skeletal servants. The Barrow-wight Lord uses his powers to pit man against man, friend against friend – only the strongest of Fellowships will best him.

See, I just don’t think this sort of unalloyed Lich bashing is called for. This is 2011, people! We should try to see Lich conversion for what it is, a personal decision of each adult who delves deeply enough into necromancy, or perhaps cuts a deal with a hollow suit of armor with a bad attitude.

We shouldn’t demonize people for their Unlifestyles.

Food for thought as we examine games based on the property going forward I think.

Tags: Books, Videogames

This entry was posted by John Sears on Thursday, October 13th, 2011 at 9:24 am and is filed under Zombie Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.