By Jamie Dalzell | Oct 3, 2011
Finally a game that shows how terrible the zombpocalypse will really be.
Despite the veritable onslaught of zombie games we've received over recent years, they've all continued to tread the same "Zombie killin' is grrreeat fun!" path. Apparently, when the zombies do arrive, we'll be bludgeoning them with bats with hearty grins, chopping at them with meat cleavers as we giggle with glee and generally just having a good time - oh, and we're likely to do it in groups of four.
Even as we've had our fill of shambling corpses and their hunt for brains, the call has always been that they're preparing us for the inevitable zombie uprising. If Project Zomboid's take on events is anything to go by though, we're dreadfully underprepared. Those other zombie games have been lying to us.
Played from a 2D isometric perspective, Project Zomboid tasks you with surviving yet another zombpocalypse. However, this time around survival is the key word here. From the opening moments of the game's single story mission, the emphasis on survival is clear. Not only do you have to look after yourself, but also your injured wife, as the game heaps on yet more responsibility.
From these opening moments you have various tasks to attend to – crafting bandages to stay a bleeding wound, finding painkillers and food, as well as venturing outside in the pouring, midnight rain to find planks to board up the house. PZ's mission statement may well be "Zombie Simulator", as there's a staggering amount of systems and factors at play.
Venture out in the rain for too long? You'll catch a cold that not only reduces your speed but also your health. Run into a pack of zombies? You'll be startled and unable to move. Whatever you decide to do, the decision is always yours, and PZ allows a wide amount of freedom in how you tackle its constantly evolving tasks.
Yet this freedom sits at an interesting juxtaposition with the game's overall mood. In one hand, you're given freedom – to explore, combine items and approach your goals however you please. Yet on the other, you couldn't feel more powerless throughout your playtime.
This isn't just a simple matter of taking an axe to the zombies and calling it a day. No matter how well you may be progressing – how well those defences are set up, or how much food you have stored away – there's a constantly pervasive sense of inevitability. The end will come - no matter how well you've done - it's just a matter of when, and how. It's this facet that makes every play through unique, ensuring you always have interesting stories to tell, even if they all generally come to the same brain-chomping conclusion.
The game's sense of oppression also servers to heighten the joy during those rare moments of accomplishment. The moment of relief when you finally stumble across much needed supplies, or the smile on your face when that next crate contains not a throwaway item, but a weapon.
All of this comes from a product that is still slowly inching towards a full release. After some setbacks with piracy and other such problems, IndieStone Studios look like they're right back on track. PZ is releasing in a very Minecraft-esque style, with an alpha version of the gameavailable for purchase, and more updates and features being added regularly. The Project Zomboid I've played will likely be far different from whatever version is referred to as a "final" release, but it still feels surprisingly feature complete - with its sandbox mode also presenting an interesting melding of RPG style stats and survival. Even in this early stage, PZ truly shows more promise, possibility and ideas than many full games ever have.
Even as we've had our fill of shambling corpses and their hunt for brains, the call has always been that they're preparing us for the inevitable zombie uprising. If Project Zomboid's take on events is anything to go by though, we're dreadfully underprepared. Those other zombie games have been lying to us.
- 3
UDK eat your heart out! Or should that be brains?
Played from a 2D isometric perspective, Project Zomboid tasks you with surviving yet another zombpocalypse. However, this time around survival is the key word here. From the opening moments of the game's single story mission, the emphasis on survival is clear. Not only do you have to look after yourself, but also your injured wife, as the game heaps on yet more responsibility.
From these opening moments you have various tasks to attend to – crafting bandages to stay a bleeding wound, finding painkillers and food, as well as venturing outside in the pouring, midnight rain to find planks to board up the house. PZ's mission statement may well be "Zombie Simulator", as there's a staggering amount of systems and factors at play.
Frank got a rude surprise when he arrived at the "Block Party".
Venture out in the rain for too long? You'll catch a cold that not only reduces your speed but also your health. Run into a pack of zombies? You'll be startled and unable to move. Whatever you decide to do, the decision is always yours, and PZ allows a wide amount of freedom in how you tackle its constantly evolving tasks.
Yet this freedom sits at an interesting juxtaposition with the game's overall mood. In one hand, you're given freedom – to explore, combine items and approach your goals however you please. Yet on the other, you couldn't feel more powerless throughout your playtime.
This isn't just a simple matter of taking an axe to the zombies and calling it a day. No matter how well you may be progressing – how well those defences are set up, or how much food you have stored away – there's a constantly pervasive sense of inevitability. The end will come - no matter how well you've done - it's just a matter of when, and how. It's this facet that makes every play through unique, ensuring you always have interesting stories to tell, even if they all generally come to the same brain-chomping conclusion.
The game's sense of oppression also servers to heighten the joy during those rare moments of accomplishment. The moment of relief when you finally stumble across much needed supplies, or the smile on your face when that next crate contains not a throwaway item, but a weapon.
Paperboy gone wrong. Dead wrong.
All of this comes from a product that is still slowly inching towards a full release. After some setbacks with piracy and other such problems, IndieStone Studios look like they're right back on track. PZ is releasing in a very Minecraft-esque style, with an alpha version of the gameavailable for purchase, and more updates and features being added regularly. The Project Zomboid I've played will likely be far different from whatever version is referred to as a "final" release, but it still feels surprisingly feature complete - with its sandbox mode also presenting an interesting melding of RPG style stats and survival. Even in this early stage, PZ truly shows more promise, possibility and ideas than many full games ever have.
