Synopsis: Zombie Apocalypse is a new downloadable game from Konami, for the Playstation Network and Xbox Live Arcade, in which you play as one of four survivors with a large arsenal to survive 55 days of battles saving as many remaining survivors as you can. Up to four players can team up for mass zombie genocide using 11 available weapons and your trusty chainsaw when you really want to get your point across. This title is a top down arcade shooter adding some new features, such as seven 3D environments with hazards to help wipe out the opposition, fifty five days (missions) to play through, online coop with up to four other players locally or online, and five additional challenging game modes to keep things fresh and the player from thinking this concept has been done before.
Praise: The gameplay and style of this title are nothing new, in fact, some may say there have been too many zombie games released recently, however, the formula works very well for Zombie Apocalypse. The controls of the game are easy to learn as it uses the two stick scheme, where the left stick controls the character and the right stick aims where you shoot, trigger buttons use the chainsaw, and left and right buttons use your special attack (teddy bear bomb). The HD graphics are very crisp and very necessary, mainly when you get to the point where the number of zombies can take up most of the visual environment and the lighting does add a healthy amount of creepiness to the game. The online coop is where this game makes the player feel like they are in the arcade, as playing with four players can be a team effort or fending for yourself trying to get the highest score of the group.
Gripes: While a large number of levels are usually a good thing, especially with XBLA titles to help the customer feel like they are getting a lot for what they pay for, it can also be one of the main reasons that people lose interest. Since there are only 7 environments and 55 levels, you will not see much in the way of variety in the level, with the exception of the weapons received and enemies you encounter. There are additional game modes to go back and play through with, but grinding through the initial 55 levels seems like a chore after a while, especially if you don’t have multiple controllers or Xbox live to play coop.
Overall, this game is fun and is a welcome addition to my zombie game library. I will not directly compare this game to a recent four player coop survivor horror FPS or a classic top down violent game show arcade game, but it does feel like the two games with those elements bred and this is their love child. Even with the multitude of days (levels) to play through, the game is satisfying, more so on coop, and can get extremely hectic, leaving you clenching the life out of your controller.
Mashbuttons.com gives Zombie Apocalypse a 9 out of 10.
Zombie Apocalypse is available now for the Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network.
No comments:
Post a Comment