For those that have been waiting for Dead Nation I’m sure you’ve picked it up already. I know there are some out there asking why in the hell do we need another zombie game. House Marquee answers this question with a refreshing experience. They are responsible for Super Stardust HD which is still one of the best PSN games to date. There use of lighting, music, and controls is simply one of a kind. Did they accomplish this successfully with Dead Nation? I think so and then some. Get your rifles and shotguns for a bloody, tense good time.
When you load up Dead Nation you will be able to see the brilliant leader boards. Obviously, your score for zombie killing but also your countries score. It’s a nice feature and new to leader boards. It’s always nice to see how many total zombies you and your country has/is killing. So if you are into leader boards you’ll love this. If not, continue on and we’ll get to the guts of the game.
Visually this is a rather dark game. At times, people might say too dark but it makes you use your street lights, flashlight, and even lightning at times to sense where zombies are. The lighting and use for gameplay is brilliant. It takes a genre that’s filled with too much and adds a strategy to the As I’ve played I’ve seemed to have gotten used to where I can stay but there are plenty of sneaky spots. Some would say it’s trickery to kill you but it adds to the tension. We’ve all seen zombie movies, this is more so how it would be and it’s a certain realism to the downloadable title. The story also includes story boards that look like incredible graphic novel artwork. You also collect gallery images the further you progress if you are into that sort of thing. I wouldn’t be normally but the artwork is that good.
Onto the good stuff, on the outside it’s still a twin stick shooter but with multipliers(I.e. super stardust) you will constantly want to be chasing after the leader boards. There is also more depth that I expected where you can upgrade weapons and armor. Your armor basically increases your strength, agility and edurance through exos, protos, and armor suits. It’s neat to see how they adapt to your style of play. The weapons are also upgradable from power, rate of fire, clips and other fun stuff to upgrade. You will start out with a rather handy rifle but later on get a smg, shotgun, flamethrower, blade cannon, launcher, shocker and others I’ll let you discover for yourself. It’s fun figuring out where each can be used. Like I stated, they all can be upgraded through the currency you collect in game. You collect the currency from abandoned cars, finding packages(sometimes tricky to find) and of course, killing zombies.
It’s truly a fun experience with figuring out what weapons you are good with and learning how to make them work for you. There are details a lot of games miss such as the flamethrower can kill you. If set on flames you will need to rush to get the flames off you. I think that’s another one of the instructional pieces of info displayed for you that usually come across with a sense of humor. Such as real men play undead mode and so on. You can also set off car alarms to attract zombies while waiting for the car to explode. Another strategic piece that does add depth to the game overall. Also your jounrey to try to survive you have flares that you can throw and pile up your zombie count. Mines, Grenades, moltovs and a few other surprises are at your disposal as well. Just use them wisely, especially the flares.
So if that sounds like fun download immediately. I was excited about this as I love all zombies but this is truly the best in it’s genre in my opinion. It’s well worth the price, especially for ps+ subscribers and I think the replay value is quite high for a downloadable title. There are 10 levels giving you 20-40 minutes or so each level of a tense, sometimes brutal, combat situations. Add different difficulties, coop and it will keep you coming back for more. It has a bit of that addictive nature us gamers usually seek out for downloadable titles. There are also 35 trophies including a platinum for you trophy hunters that want to stay busy.
The online works like you expect although you do need to watch carefully as it seems easy to mix up you or your online counterparts players. This could be my old eyes but it’s a small detail and the more you play the easier it seems to recognize. The coop is a true blast and you can play locally or online. Supposedly, HM is working on voice chat. Why it was not included in the game is beyond me but I have to drop some points for that. Hopefully, we’ll get this sooner than later though.
To sum it up, it’s a gritty zombie survival twin stick shooter that delivers on many levels. The lighting seems to start the intensity while the brilliant music ups your heart rate. There is also a great use of quiet times here that will truly keep you on edge. High replay factor, fantastic leader board ideas and just a downright bloody as hell good time.
9.0 out of 10
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