Zombies, they're in everything. From puzzle games to World War 2 shooters and even Rpg's. They've been there for us, shuffling around, patiently awaiting our brains and/or bullets. I for one think it's time to give our old post humus friends a break, and apparently I'm not alone. Three upcoming titles hope to change what we fire high powered rifles at. Why waste bullets on staggering decomposing flesh when you can hunt something that hunts back (clever girl). I'm talking about Dinosaurs!!!

Orion: Prelude

This first title Orion Prelude is a competent Halo like FPS that borrows from classic shooters like Quake and Tribes. You'll use a jet pack to leap high into the air and drive a wart-h– er… I mean a Jeep like vehicle with a machine gun mounted to it. It all seems kind of generic (but still a lot of fun) until you see that someone let a T-rex loose on the battlefield. The designers of this game promise that in the finished game old Rexy will be fully loaded with AI to react to different situations accordingly. Now not only do you have to worry about being fragged you also have to worry about being lunch. Orion: Prelude will be coming to XBLA, PSN, and STEAM in Q4 2011.

http://orionprelude.com/

Dino D-Day

I remember my grandfather telling me stories about fighting Nazi dinosaurs, I just thought he was drunk. In Dino D-Day the Nazi's have brought dinosaurs back to fight for the Axis powers, and it's up the the nephews of Uncle Sam to turn these walking fossils into dust. You'll get six allied characters, each armed with their own unique weapons and abilities. On the Nazi side of things you'll be able to play as a Quick and Deadly Velociraptor, the slow tank like Desmatosuchus who has a 20mm gun bolted to its back (courtesy of Adolf Hitler), the Devastating Dilophosaurus who can pick up enemies and chuck them at another foe resulting in a double kill, and also three Nazi soldier classes that no one will play as. (In a choice between a Nazi and a Nazi Dinosaur, what do you expect people to pick?) Relive alternative history March 1st on Steam.

http://www.dinodday.com/

Primal Carnage

This last title is as Indy as it gets. Lukewarm Media has banded together game designer hopefuls from all over the world. They've pooled their resources to make a Jurassic Park inspired class based shooter. Lukewarm has shown off a variety of prehistoric critters in trailers and tech demos, and they all look amazing on the Unreal Engine. Check out this teaser video showing a T-rex Squaring off against a Spinosaurus.

It looks pretty damn good for a game being funded by donations and t-shirt sales.They currently don't have a release date or platform announced

http://www.primalcarnage.com/website/

So there you have it. While I'm sure that Zombies will be with us for years to come I'm glad to see something else flood the market for the time being. Who knows maybe in a few years time we'll be complaining about how every game has a damn dinosaur in it and game developers will move on to Androids or Werewolves. In any event 2011 will bring plenty of opportunities to make Dinosaur extinct again.

I'll end this article with an open challenge to the developers of these games. The first game to include a Therozinosaurus will immediately gain the full support of the Console Link community. Just look at him. He's like a cross between a Muppet and Combine Harvester.