Just when you started to think that Walking Dead was slipping after a sub-par batch of episodes in Season 2, AMC wants to prove you wrong. The critically acclaimed network is bringing the show back in a few weeks with the rest of Season 2, but they’ve also just put in a massive order for another 16 episodes, which basically means we’ll be getting a third season.

Sure, Darabont may have left the project with a bunch of confused writers and lack of general direction, but that isn’t going to stop Kirkman, Nicotero, Gale Anne Hurd, and the rest of the producers and writers from trying to make this show the best damned zombie series on TV again.

Here’s what the network had to say about its favorite series in a recent press release.

Season 2 of the critically acclaimed global hit series continues to deliver the strongest telecasts for any drama in basic cable history against Adults 18-49, as well as, top international pay-TV ratings on Fox International Channels’ (FIC) major markets. The Walking Dead is based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics.

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The upcoming World War Z is one of the more interesting high profile films of 2012. It is based on one of the best pieces of Zombie fiction yet written, and it has a stellar cast and crew. Yet there are reports that the studio wants a PG-13 rating and any one familiar with the source material is concerned about the structure this film will take.

So any positive sign from the people involved with the film is encouraging, and we got exactly that when Brad Pitt sat down with the Los Angeles Times:

For Pitt, the big sci-fi thriller also represents his strongest bid to have a big film franchise of his own, which might be viewed as the missing piece of his career jigsaw puzzle. Forster and Paramount Pictures each view “World War Z” as a trilogy that would have the grounded, gun-metal realism of, say, Damon’s Jason Bourne series tethered to the unsettling end-times vibe of AMC’s “The Walking Dead.”

World War Z is not a strait narrative type book, with many stories that are generally unrelated but come together to form an oral history of the great Zombie war. Knowing that they not only have faith in the product to view it has a franchise, but also have no intention of wrapping up the Apocalypse in one film is fantastic to hear.

You may have heard of a little game called Call of Duty: Black Ops. In fact, before the more recent Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, it was the best selling first person shooter game of all time on the XBox 360, PS3 and PC.

But what if you didn’t have and XBox or were on the road and wanted to play it on your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch? Well, up until today you were out of luck. Fortunately, your luck is changing . . . for the better.

That’s right kids today Activision has released Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Here’s all the scoop from the official press release:

Adapted from Treyarch’s best-selling console hit, Call of Duty: Black Ops, and built specifically for Apple mobile devices, Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies delivers a Zombies experience never before seen on mobile along with 50 levels of cult-favorite Dead-Ops Arcade, providing the ultimate undead challenge for fans of Call of Duty’s signature Zombies mode. Featuring Voice Chat for a true Call of Duty style multiplayer experience, the title allows gamers to play solo or join a team of up to four to take down hordes of zombies.

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Welcome to another edition of On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage during the week. Let is know if we missed something interesting.

• It looks like Thor 2 has found its director, and it won’t be Brannagh again. Looks like Monster director Patty Jenkins is taking on the task this time.

• Chris Pine and Tom Hardy fight over Reese Witherspoon for some reason in the first trailer for This Means War.

• Talk about random, here’s an amazing Voltron fan film made by Digg’s Alex Albrecht, starring Psych star Tim Omundson.

• Just to get you ready for the 3D re-release of Star Wars Episode 1, here’s a Maul-happy poster to remind you of the times without Jar Jar Binks.

• Don’t check your calendars, it’s not 1999, yet CBS has announced that they are taking on Fred Durst to star in his own sitcom. Why? We have no idea.

• Walking Dead picks back up this Sunday with season 2, so why not see what you missed last season in every zombie kill in 5 minutes.

• You’ll be too busy getting ready for next week’s release of Batman: Arkham City to realize how awesome Gotham City Impostors will be next year. Here’s a trailer showing you the fun you’ll be missing.

• Unboxing videos are all the rage these days, but what happens when an unboxing goes horribly wrong? Technivator finds out for us.

Last October, the world was rocked when a comic book adaptation about zombies in Georgia made its way to the home of Mad Men and Breaking Bad. Now, we can’t wait for October 16th, as the second season returns with a vengeance.

Fans of both the original comic, heavy drama, and zombies in general will get more than they can chew on when the show returns in a few weeks. Fans of the original will get appearances to the church and the farm, which many know, are pretty big parts of the story from the comic.

We’re also told that this season will bring us ten times more zombie killing, which is more than enough for 90% of the fanbase to return.

Take a look at the brand new, extended trailer after the jump and be sure to get your couch and popcorn ready on October 16th, as The Walking Dead returns with a full 90-minute season premiere.

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Today’s audience loves when things fight. Whether is Jason and Freddy, Aliens and Predators, or Kramers and Kramers. People can’t seem to get enough “fiction on fiction” action. That’s mainly why Spike’s Deadliest Warrior is such an addictive and popular show.

With that in mind, Endlight Entertainment, the fine folks that brought us films like Ninjas Vs. Vampires and Ninjas Vs. Zombies, is bringing us the final film in the Ninjas trilogy: Ninjas Vs. Monsters! Here’s the press release to explain more of this fun project.

In this final installment, the Ninjas and their friends find themselves pitted against the most evil and memorable monsters of them all- Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, the Werewolf, and MORE!  Loaded with martial arts action, bloody horror, gun play, magic, comedy, pop-culture references, and a tightly woven twist-filled plot, NINJAS VS MONSTERS looks to be the biggest and best film in the trilogy.

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The first impression the world got of Dead Island left it with some lofty expectations to uphold.  In one of the most emotionally stirring game trailers of the past decade, no one knew really what to expect from the Techland developed zombie title. At that point, no one even had any idea what kind of game Dead Island would even be.

What Dead Island brings is a combination of many genres both in theme and gameplay style. Debating whether the title is a first person shooter with RPG elements or an RPG with first person combat becomes a moot point as the lines are so blurred in the intoxicating gameplay of Dead Island.

Gameplay:

As just mentioned, Dead Island is a combination of both FPS combat with tons of RPG style gameplay seamlessly mixed together. Add that to an open world environment and the Fallout comparisons begin building up quickly. To say that Dead Island is Fallout 3 with zombies though would be an oversimplification of what Dead Island brings to the table.

First, let’s talk combat. Dead Island is played entirely from a first person perspective. Players begin with nothing more than their fists but soon begin picking up common items found on an island paradise such as paddles, kitchen knives, coat racks and machetes (with all that jungle, it doesn’t seem odd that these are found throughout the game world). Through the use of these items, players must bash their way through zombie attacks.

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Zombies are hot right now. Hell, they’ve been hot for the past year, since AMC blew the lid off of their ratings roof with the first season of The Walking Dead last October. Now, things are kicking back into scary gear as we ramp up for the Halloween season, and people are coming out of the woodwork to show us their killer zombie franchises.

Creator Eric Powell has been trying to get the animated adaptation of his zombie-killing comic The Goon off the ground for quite some time. The film’s already got voice master Clancy Brown and Paul Giamatti signed on, they just need to work on animating the film itself. Here’s the synopsis from the book, to keep you up to speed.

Bones will be broken and heads will roll! The Goon is a laugh-out-loud action-packed romp through the streets of a town infested with zombies. An insane priest is building himself an army of the undead, and there’s only one man who can put them is their place: the man they call Goon.

Recently, Powell tweeted out this awesome PSA featuring Clancy portraying The Goon in some very rough test footage. You can check out that footage after the jump, and we can hopefully see The Goon in theaters sometime in the next few years.

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Worldwide audiences thought that vampires may be getting a bit stale, so why not hop on over to the world of the flesh-eating dead and take on a few zombie-based properties. Studios saw how successful things were over at AMC when they took a chance on a comic book about zombies, so why not tackle a book without pictures in Isaac Marion’s Warm Bodies.

Not only is the film already deep in the works, but they are already looking to the man who we once spent an entire 90 minutes Being, John Malkovich. Here’s the report on the film from THR:

John Malkovich is in negotiations to play the baddie in Warm Bodies, Summit’s adaptation of the zombie-centered book by Isaac Marion.

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The zombies are back! Well, almost. You still gotta wait until October. But fear not friends and zombie lovers, we’ve got an actual premiere date, and more about the schedule, for The Walking Dead.

The thirteen episode season two will premiere on October 18th at 9PM ET and kick off with full 90 minutes of zombie killing fun. Then, six one hour episodes will follow.

After a break for the holidays (which I think is stupid, by the way) the show will return for the final six episodes on Sunday, February 12th at 9PM ET. Here’s a bit more from the official AMC press release:

The Walking Dead follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln (“Love Actually,” “Teachers,” “Strike Back”), who are traveling in search of a safe and secure home. Jon Bernthal (“The Pacific,” “The Ghost Writer”) plays Shane Walsh, Rick’s sheriff’s department partner before the apocalypse, and Sarah Wayne Callies (“Prison Break”), is Rick’s wife, Lori Grimes.

Additional cast include: Laurie Holden, Steven Yeun, Norman Reedus, Jeffrey DeMunn, Chandler Riggs, Iron E. Singleton and Melissa McBride. Recently announced guest stars include: Lauren Cohan, Scott Wilson and Pruitt Taylor Vince.

Oh, there’s also something about a new reality series from Kevin Smith that takes place in a comic book store. But really, who cares about that. We’ve got zombies!

A few days ago, we brought you a peek at the first screen shots for the Rezurrection map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops. As we discussed last time, the Rezurrection pack is an all Zombie mode map pack featuring the brand new Moon level alongside four remastered classic zombie mode maps which were featured in the Hardened and Prestige Editions of Call of Duty: Black Ops. Players who purchased these special editions will receive the Moon map for free while new purchasers will be paying the standard $15 (1200 Microsoft Points) price.

When looking at the trailer below, players will ask themselves what Treyarch can do to add something new and special to the Zombie world of Call of Duty and the answer isn’t some special weapon or trap. It’s Zero G. Players have become so accustomed to games always feeling and moving the same way for years, but now they have a whole new environment that not only looks different but controls and reacts differently as well.

Not only do zombies run slower and players have the ability to jump throughout levels but, conversely, players will be running away slower while zombies will be bounding at players from across the level as well. The map pack brings an entirely new dynamic and play style not possible in previous levels ever in the series.

Check out the full trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops Rezurrection zombie Map Pack below. Stick tight for the pack’s August 23rd release date on the XBox 360 before headed to PlayStation 3 after.

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Seriously, who doesn’t love content packs and zombies? They give you a new way to enjoy your previously played game and usually don’t cost all that much. That’s why we like them around here, anyway.

Fortunately, we’re getting another one for Call of Duty Black Ops. This new one, called Rezurrection, is all-Zombies all the time and set to launch first on the Xbox LIVE online entertainment network on August 23rd. Rezurrection “hurls players into orbit with Moon, the climax of the Call of Duty Zombies saga and the first in the series to drop zombie-slaying into low-G lunar battlegrounds. With new outrageous weapons, high-tech gear, and a bloodthirsty undead menace, Moon is the most challenging and thrilling Zombies adventure yet.”

The Rezurrection content pack includes the all-new Moon level, four re-mastered levels of Zombie lore: Nacht der Untoten, Verruckt, Shi No Numa and Der Riese, the Zombie factory that started it all. It also includes an enhanced Zombies Soundtrack.

But wait, it gets better. If you’ve purchased the Black Ops Hardened or Prestige Editions and already own the four re-mastered maps, the other contents in the Rezurrection pack will be included at no cost, including Moon, the soundtrack and the theme. For players that have not purchased the Black Ops Hardened or Prestige Editions, Rezurrection will be available for 1200 Microsoft Points.

Sounds like a winner. To get you excited, we’ve got some screens from the pack to share with you today. Click through for all the fun.

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