If you’re a horror flick fan, you probably remember 28 Days Later, one of the best, most realistic zombie movies ever made. It told the story of a small group of survivors fighting for their lives in zombie-infested England. Now, a game company is giving people the chance to experience their fear in an adrenaline-packed street game called 2.8 Hours Later.
Ever since it launched in 2010, 2.8 Hours Later has been played by over 20,000 people from all around the globe. It’s advertised as the world’s largest touring street game, held in various cities across Great Britain. Based on the hit movie 28 Days Later, and its less-successful sequel, 28 Weeks Later, the game puts participants in the shoes of survivors during a zombie virus outbreak looking for shelter while trying to avoid getting infected. That’s really just the most simplistic way to describe 2.8 Hours Later, because the game is actually a lot more complex. For example, Asylum, the newly released version of the urban running game features a rich story of the events which led to the catastrophic pandemic. UK cities are locked-down by the Government to protect their inhabitants from the zombie-infected badlands surrounding them, but the measure fails, and when authorities decide to abandon survivors, the city becomes a hell-hole overrun by the infected, vigilantes and bounty-hunters. Players are thrown in this chaotic world of disease, quarantine and murder, and confronted with deeply emotional choices to save themselves and their loved-ones.
Photo: Slingshot Games
In order to take part in the unforgettable 2.8-hour game, players must first buy a ticket for on of the scheduled events in Nottingham, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and Cardiff. At the start of the game, they are given directions the first of a series of locations they must reach without getting tagged by zombies. Luckily, if zombies do catch them, they won’t feast on their brain, but simply mark them with the infection. That changes everything, as tagged players must now avoid bounty-hunters and quarantine scanning at Survivors camps in order to complete the game. If you’re companion gets “bitten”, do you help them survive, or do you hand them over to those who would put them out of their misery? That’s the kind of choice players have to make during 2.8 Hours Later: Asylum.
Photo: Slingshot Games
Armed with just a map and their sneaking and running abilities, participants have to cover a lot of ground in order to reach the safe zone and complete the challenge. One can easily get lost in the urban jungle, so organizers advise participants to bring a mobile phone, so they can call for help or get directions. Also, since fighting back against the zombies and bounty hunters is not permitted, running is their only real weapon, so proper shoes and comfortable clothes are also a must if you want to survive. You can go lone-wolf or team-up with other survivors, but any way you play, escaping the infection threat won’t be easy.
2.8 Hours Later isn’t the only zombie-themed game in the world. Patient 0, an Australian live action real life, multiplayer, first person shooter, role-playing game, the Zombie Shopping Mall event or the Run for Your Lives obstacle course are just some of the many ways people can experience the zombie apocalypse for themselves these days.
