They named it the rock, land of the living dead

Herd of Cats goes to jail. "Honest Ma! I didn't do it! They got the wrong man!"

So Graybush and I couldn't wait on Tuesday and entered Mob of the Dead on our own. Without backup. SeanMCR played Mass Effect 3 and Coxxorz made a significant tactical error downloading the new Black Ops 2 DLC. Weighing in at 1.73 gb this error stopped him from joining us Tuesday. Is there any point in mentioning Stormblade?

Tuesday was a evening of discovery, zombie killing and little progress.

Level 5. Level 6. Level 5. Level 5. Level 4.

Some would say that Herd of Cats belongs in a Maximum Security Prison. You could not tell by our performance in Mob of the Dead.

Our highest level reached was Level 9. This occurred right before bedtime so we stopped there.

Wednesday night, Sega Nite had to be better didn't it?

It started without Graybush which gave me time to run Coxxorz through Alcatraz a few times before Graybush did show up.

Which was entertaining as Coxxorz found the extremely, obviously placed warden's key and I had to admit that I had never seen it before.

Mob of the Dead has some very interesting game play mechanics. Such as suiciding. Yes, you need to kill yourself to get to specific locations for solving puzzles. You are allowed to kill yourself once per round and there are conveniently located suicide stations around the jail to help you do so.

You need to be dead to enter the Afterlife in a spectral form to turn on powered units (all perk-a-cola machines for example) and sometimes to disable powered units (unlocking doors). This also is required to solve almost all of the puzzles in the game.

We discovered somewhat late that almost every puzzle had a sign (or graffiti) explaining what needed to be done to solve the puzzle. We discovered this after solving several on our own. The discovery may have come with some snarkiness...

Coxxorz to Blackwalt: "You didn't need to figure it out, there's a sign right here explaining it."

Blackwalt to Coxxorz: "You're telling me that Mr. 'two is better than one?'"

Coxxorz to Blackwalt (defensively): "I didn't see that sign before I entered the room!"

Once Graybush joined us things started falling together. We had the key, we were collecting parts and we were learning the spectral "afterlife" process. We were going so well that SeanMCR had to join mid-game (around level 6) and we still played for approx two hours after that.

The main process in the game is collecting parts to build a plane. This allows you to (briefly) escape the island and get to the Golden Gate bridge where the pack-a-punch machine is stored.

This went with the usual HoC efficiency.

We discovered early on that while you can still create floor guys to extend your time in a round, you can not stray far from them. You need to leave a babysitter or the floor guy will disappear and the round will end. While not a huge problem the Alcatraz map is huge meaning there is significant separation between team members if something should go wrong.

What are the odds of something going wrong with us playing. Yeah, well...

The Golden Gate Bridge!: Please note that for some reason you can only see one other person on the plane with me...

With Coxxorz babysitting the zombie the rest of us managed to get the escape plane built. Then we held X to activate it. With Coxxorz on the other side of the map.

We may have forgotten this minor detail when we activated the plane. I was on the plane and it was starting when Graybush pointed it out.

Blackwalt, SeanMCR and Graybush: "Coxxorz! Get here fast."

SeanMCR joined me on the plane. Graybush did not.

Graybush: "I'll wait for Coxxorz."

SeanMCR and I said nothing as the plane had already left by that point. We quietly watched Graybush recede into the distance.

I'll tell you, I almost felt guilt but then I burped and it went away.

The rest of our session was just as well coordinated. When all four of us did eventually make it back to the Golden Gate bridge (all at the same time) it only took 3 minutes for SeanMCR and I to desert the two of them on the bridge. Status quo.

I call it a good gaming night when we get to watch Graybush and Coxxorz die under a swarm of zombies after shamelessly deserting them!

Twice!

A good gaming night indeed.

I am stopping here as I don't want to drop too many spoilers.

Mob of the Dead is a great zombie map with a significant dose of original playing mechanics and a good mix of puzzles. I look forward to exploring more of Alcatraz, even with these guys. Although, really, Coxxorz and Graybush need to learn to keep up...

No matter how you look at it, this is not a good sign.

I don't want to give Coxxorz and/or SeanMCR to much credit but when Graybush and I tried again Thursday night it came with a familiar refrain... Level 5. Level 6. Level 5. Level 5. Level 4.

The article's title is from the song Island In The Sun by a band called Alcatrazz.

They named it the rock,
land of the living dead
A repose for the rich and famous
All the infamous would tell each other's lies
Why did they want to tell the truth

[FULL CHORUS]
On an island in the sun
Cool Pacific winds blow
Just across the bay
Battered by the waves