This is currently a work-in-progress that I'm hoping to turn into something bigger with more research.

Zombies (aka "the living dead") are a popular source of entertainment and have been for decades. Since George A. Romero's cult-hit Night of The Living Dead [1968] the living dead have played a key role in popular culture in a way that has fascinated and also frightened us. The reasons as to why are a little ambiguous. Many people have stressed (whether in a jocular fashion, or otherwise) a desire for a zombie uprising as it brings to-mind a fantastical world in which society has completely broken down: laws and governments cease to operate normally and barriers of pedestrian living become smashed. The threat of a "Z-Day" reverts humanity (the word 'humanity' in this instance relates to human beings as a fully evolved, intellectual species) back to its survival instincts and the primal urges that have all but been forgotten about.

This theory aims to show that zombies are another representation of 'Other' which satisfies humanity's desire to have an enemy. In filmic analysis the Other is represented as groups of society who appear to operate outside the norm. In older films, the Other has been portrayed in a number of identities based on various human traits and/or characteristics in accordance with Caucasian, heterosexual male desires and ideals (who were the dominant members of the film industry). The Other can therefore be represented as those of a different skin colour, different gender, sexual orientation, culture etc.

It isn't like that with zombies. Unlike the above examples of Other zombies do not carry the usual trademarks of discrimination as based on skin colour or gender etc. The living dead covers the entire gamut of the human race; ergo: any one human being can become a zombie so there is no one isolated sect of people.

In an era of political correctness in which a persons opinions and vocalisations are controlled by the state so as not to offend anyone based on the above categories (not that that's a bad thing!) it seems that zombies are an ideal alternative enemy in which no clear prejudices are evident. But why have an enemy? Human history is full to the brim of examples in which people have felt the need to chastise various members of society in a bid to secure themselves in their own sense of purpose in the world. One does not need to look any further than the atrocities of World War II – with particular reference to the Holocaust – to see a perfect example of this. There is no reason to suggest why this idea shouldn't transcribe into media and entertainment.

But what about other forms of Other that also don't discriminate? One example could be aliens. As we see in films such as War of the Worlds [1953 & 2005] or in games like Half-Life [1998] and Half-Life 2 [2004] it is humanity that is threatened by the ultimate outsider: that out of the outer space creature. This idea is also popular in contemporary entertainment as it serves to bring the human species together that is feeling threatened. This is why zombie uprisings differ slightly to alien invasions, as it is essentially us who are the Other as there is no assigned agenda about who can become a zombie; it is human beings that have become the transgressive outsider who threatens ourselves.

Apart from being a source of entertainment zombies – and the zombie apocalypse – serve to threaten the human race in a number of fashions (this could relate to humanity's base need to protects itself and the species). One obvious example has already been stipulated: with no discriminations about who can become a zombie it suggests that the entire human race (or "living-living" if you will) can become dominant species of the planet. But this might not necessarily be the case. As many people already know zombies are generally rather slow (with obvious exceptions: 28 Days Later [2002] and the Left 4 Dead [2008 & 2009] series etc.), purposeless and with no distinguished personality or desires other than the basic need to feed.

In this instance the zombie systematically undoes thousands of years of human evolution. Everything from science, advances in medicine and technology, art, literature and music as well as language become null and void when one sees a zombie. Everything reverts back to basic needs and its this notion of anti-intellectualism that also serves as a threat to humanity. The zombie is the antithesis of an advanced culture.

One last thing to state about zombies threatening humanity: in very rare instances in popular culture do zombies procreate. As stated above their only key desire in most examples is the basic desire to keep feeding. There is no sub-culture or social grouping of zombies. There is no intermingling or complex relationships. And with this there is no procreation. With a total zombie apocalypse one could at least argue that humans would still be around on Earth (albeit a lot more irrelevant) but with the lack of offspring it would appear that the human species – in it's now most basic and carnal form – would no doubt become non-existent as time progressed.

What's this we have here? Another fantasy-laden, third-person adventure game set in some backwards forgotten era with mythical beasts a-plenty? Hooray! Callooh callay!

Hopefully the sarcasm in that above statement won't be too hard to detect. It is the internet after all. As you can already pre-emptively tell I've sort of set the mood for the rest of this review (a quick one at that before we all get dragged into 2010 – a year that sounds more futuristic and awesome than it actually is) So why am I even bothering to download the demo if I'm just going to tear it several new ones from the offset? Because aside from trying to expand my gaming horizons and distinguish myself as a professional who's not afraid to tread new waters, I'm also feeling a little bitter about the lack of Tekken 6 demo available on Xbox LIVE so I need something to abuse: step forward Divinity II.

There are a multitude of games that get thrust into retailer's gawping faces that, on the surface, appear impressive and worth the amount you bled your student loan for. At least initially. But on closer inspection that £45 game you hold in your hand is nothing but a bland and uninspiring affair (I'm looking at you most sequels!). Divinity II falls very much into this increasing pitfall of games that are trying to promise more than they can deliver.

You begin the demo as a Dragon Slayer. Or at least an apprentice Dragon Slayer who's looking to break off a bit of something-something from the slayer masters. Dragon slaying is clearly a sought-after career path in Rivellon. Professional slayers invariably smack you in the goolies with knowledge and power. With mind-reading skills donned and various other powers of sorcery handed down to you like a venereal disease you quest your little arse off in medieval villages inhabited by cerebrally-challenged extras from Monty Python's: Quest for the Holy Grail.

Villagers run set paths from one area of green to another area of less-green in a vain attempt to breathe life into their hometown. The problem is the locale and settings are so un-alive you may as well be walking over dry porridge with splodges of grey dotted sporadically about.

It seems as though the whole game is trying to boast a massive budget. With a title like Divinity II: Ego Draconis (Meaning "I, of the dragon"...I Wikipedia'd it...) and the promise of fighting immense dragons one would expect something much more than what is given (at least in these early stages of the game). So where is this budget going? The graphics aren't the best. The action is stilted and awkward. (objects and people can only be interacted with when your crosshair is aimed at them, not when your character is actually facing them. A fatal design flaw by any logic) The fight sequences are dull. NPC's appear to twitch and flail when they talk to you as though the whole town is undergoing a mass seizure. And the protagonist is laughably camp for someone training to slay dragons as a hobby. Especially when he utters phrases such as "That's another one for my collection" whenever he picks up a chicken leg or what-have-you. At least Link had the good grace to keep his mouth shut!

He doesn't even talk during dialogue so why bother with triggered in-game phrases other than an attempt to give him depth and personality? Which fails anyway.

And speaking of dialogue: amidst everything else that's wholly wrong with this game the voice acting isn't actually all that bad. But it only seems to work in small doses. Which all seems for nought anyway. When interacting with characters your player responses appear as the other person is talking. Meaning you can just select your immediate retort before they even get halfway through their statement. And because you don't talk during dialogue the whole conversation is just a run of their sentiments clashed together with no pause in-between. The whole thing is just a mess at times.

Take – as a superior example – Mass Effect's dialogue feature. Your responses only appear halfway through the NPC's sentence giving you time to read what's on screen. And even after selecting what you want to say the game only allows for your statement when the other person has finished talking. (call it in-game politeness) And because the protagonist – Shepherd – talks it all flows together beautifully in a smooth, flawless conversation between articulate characters.

Generally Divinity II is a dull and boring attempt at fantasy role-playing. It's lifeless decal and unimaginative fights leave a whole heap to be desired and with nothing unique on display it really calls into question some developer's integrity. But I digress: Happy 2010 y'all!