VIDEO GAME

Videogames are great for action, suspense and blowing off faces, while television is great at creating strong characters, compelling character development and genuine emotion. Not so with the zombie-overrun world of The Walking Dead. The television show can pull off a nail-biting action scene, but whenever people start talking, the apocalypse gets awfully dull. You want great characters and heart-wrenching scenes? Pick up the videogame. An interactive story, not a shooter, your choices often decide which characters live and die. It’s the closest you’ll get to Super Sophie’s Choice 64.

TV

Last year’s Top Chef: Texas experiment was widely seen as a failure, where the gimmickry overwhelmed the culinary. But now the competition’s come to our neck of the woods for Top Chef: Seattle, and in doing so, has a fresh look. The twists are still here — three veteran competitors suddenly return to square off with the noobies — but the focus is where it should be: the cooking.

APP

Cell phone games don’t lend themselves to complicated controls or any sort of precision. So it’s a relief that Jetpack Joyride requires you to navigate a gleeful rocketeer past rotating electric zappers and incoming missiles with a simple tap anywhere on the screen. Prices for in-game upgrades are set frustratingly high, making gathering enough in-game cash for upgrades a bit of a slog. This is the monkey’s paw of modern gaming: free games, yes, but games intentionally handicapped to garner in-app purchases.