"Zombies, man. They creep me out," so says Kaufman (played by actor Dennis Hopper) in the 2005 film "Land of the Dead". And most people would probably agree to that. But still, we remain fascinated by these creatures, delving into them from books to films to games, so much so that they have become their own genre.

So they're popular. They're scary, bloody, and ugly. Sure, they made an appearance on Michael Jackson's "Thriller" music video. We cringe at the thought of them trying to break through our glass windows, craving to have us for dinner. And still, we remain enamored by their gory charm, we just can't enough of them. We want them to come after us. Hmmm...that sure is weird.

Capcom is but one of the many companies who make a living out of these undead, and they pull it off rather ingeniously. Getting into the horror genre with the original Resident Evil for PlayStation, Capcom then unwittingly set the bar high for other zombie-infested games to come. And no, it's not just the feeling of vanity that your character is probably the most good-looking one in the midst of all that decaying, rotting flesh that makes this genre a huge success. It's the actual rush of adrenaline, of excitement, of the "Shoot! He's gonna eat me alive if I don't move my arse outta here" feeling that triggers gamers to be drawn to these zombies.

So what exactly makes them so enticing?

Other than the reasons mentioned above, Kris Graft of Next-Gen Biz posits that gamers so enjoy zombies, the Capcom zombie in particular, not because of the zombies itself, but because they are so interesting to kill. "They're the gunshot and bazooka fodder of their games." And don't we all get that sadistic feeling every once in a while?

Unlike violence-simulating games, you need not have any remorse feeling for blasting a zombie's head off with a shot gun at close range. In fact, you're doing them a favor. They should be resting in peace now, not wandering about and making lunch meals out of real, living, breathing people like us. And having a variety of options to kill them is just so wonderful, like having a mecca of worldly possibilities at your disposal.

As in Dead Rising, the characters have to make their way through the mall with hundreds of lumbering zombies milling about. One wrong move and they could very well get you to wishing you were already dead. Then your instinct for survival kicks in. There has got to be something you could use to get them off you. Anything. So from shotguns, to lawn rakes, to cash registrars and CD cases, you get creative (try vinyl records, as in Shaun of the Dead).

Apart from that, realistic, vivid and disturbing visuals also remain key to get that best-looking game of the generation, as what Capcom did with its Resident Evil 4 released last 2005. The zombies weren't just decaying globs of brainless flesh. They actually completely resembled humans, and with heightened awareness and greater dexterity to boot. And as they are near-humans, they moved more quickly and even communicated, thus making them a more formidable foe. And that adds to that rush of saving your own hide with whatever blasted object you could get your hands on.

Yes, zombies are interesting creatures, they are. And Capcom, through its continuous limit-pushing innovations, just makes them all the more rottenly beautiful.

Buy: [Dead Rising]