First gameplay video of The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct

The Walking Dead is increasing its popularity and reach more and more every day. From the comics by Robert Kirkman spawned a hit TV series on AMC, action figures, a Walking Dead social Facebook game, and Telltale's adventure game The Walking Dead, which won Game of the Year. With the help of Activision and developer Terminal Reality (Ghostbusters and Kinect: Star Wars), The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct adapts the story, the world, and its characters to the first-person shooter genre.

Activision released the first gameplay trailer for The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, and it features a lot of stealth gameplay and melee combat. In the game, you play as Daryl Dixon — everyone's favorite crossbow-wielding badass — and his brother Merle. The story has you fighting through the Georgia countryside on your way to Atlanta where you hope to find safety, but we all know that won't be the case. Remember the rooftop, Merle? Yea, that's going to happen.

Like I said, the trailer shows you throwing bottles to distract zombies and then sneaking by them, and a lot of cautious movement on behalf of the player. Then there's the stabbing them in the back of the skull with a knife or bashing the zombie over the head with a sledge hammer to satisfy the bloodlust in people. Either way, Survival Instinct builds the tension in the trailer with some awesome music and a fine balance between stealth and action.

The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct releases on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this year.

You can follow Senior Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. He likes talking sports, video games, movies, and the stupidity of celebrities. Email at LLiebl@GameZone.com