Zombies everywhere!
I doubt that you have missed the appearance of zombies in games, especially the games based upon these unfortunate creatures are full of them. I can´t even remember when it all started, for me it was one moment I was just playing Mario and the legend of Zelda until suddenly zombie games invaded the game world. Which is not a bad thing, but I do think that they´re a bit too much used in games. It´s almost as if every game has to have zombies, which isn´t always done correctly. Sometimes it´s just for fun for example in Saints Row the Third, that´s quite alright because the Saints Row games are not to be taken seriously. But when you´re playing a game like Dragon Age or Mass Effect I don´t expect to see zombies and I don´t think they belong there. I have to admit that the creature you meet in Dragon Age 2 isn´t really a zombie but it comes close to it and also leaves you quite miserable, I won´t spoil why or who it is but I think everyone who played the game knows what I mean. The husks in Mass Effect are also not your average zombie but they certainly come close to it, especially in Mass Effect 2 when you´re in a dead Reaper. I like the ideas and I don´t say I hate it, but zombies seem to be used so much!
Games like Resident Evil really got me into zombie games. I love Resident Evil with the S.T.A.R.S. members and in the mansion, it´s my favourite game in the series and I don´t think that will ever change. Resident Evil 2 and 3 are also fun to play, though I don´t feel as much love for those games as for the first. It wasn´t a complicated game and solving the puzzles in the mansion wasn´t that difficult, it usually meant finding something and then bringing it to something else. Surviving the traps and the monsters in and around the mansion was more of a challenge. Another game that also had some kind of monsters in it that could resemble zombies was Silent Hill, now that was one scary game. Instead of basing the game on action it was more a game that liked to mess with your mind, so you´d hear monsters but that wouldn´t always lead to a confrontation with a monster. Nothing was what it would seem and the change between Silent Hill and another Silent Hill was freaky and strange. The zombie nurses still make me regret going to the hospital, but that means that the game did what it was supposed to do.
But the movies changed, zombies could run and would now literally hunt you down! The games didn´t fall behind and soon zombies were no longer the slow moving obstacles but dangerous hunters. The remake of Resident Evil on the Gamecube already showed zombies that would run after you, something that scared the shit out of me when I ran past a dead zombie on the ground that suddenly got up and chased me down! It was a nice extra that didn´t really bother me, because it added another layer of difficulty and tension to the game. As long as they couldn´t fly and teleport it was fine with me or at least that´s what I thought then.
Left for Dead (L4D) is another zombie game, but here you would also encounter special infected. These zombies had special powers and would prove more of a challenge then the regular zombie. It became a big hit and a lot of people love it, I have to admit that I also like that and don´t consider that as a bad thing. But other games also picked up that idea, so you also got Dead Island where you´re a survivor on a tropical island fighting for your survival. It´s the same idea as L4D but it has a leveling up part where you gain more skills and abilities as you level up and spend skill points. Here you would also see different type of zombies, you start with the normal ones and soon you encounter the runners and the stronger ones. When it comes to zombie games these days originality is nothing new, which doesn´t really matter as long as the game is fun and interesting. Unfortunately this doesn´t always work out so well, because some people think you´ll buy a game when there are zombies in them. Í seriously doubt it works that way, but maybe I´m wrong and the majority does feel that way.
First person shooters are usually the most intense with zombie games, I already liked that in the arcade halls playing House of the Dead with pistols on the big screen. It´s even more intense when you can only take a little bit of damage so you have to be lethal and careful at the same time. A good example of this on the consoles is the zombie mode in the CoD Black Ops games. It only takes two hit to be killed (unless you drink a juggernog, a drink you find in the game and buy from a machine, and then you can take 6 hits), which makes it difficult to survive in this mode. With every round there are more zombies, they´re stronger, faster and more agressive. Yesterday I played the new dlc for Black Ops 2 and had fun in the Origins map, it´s something I´ve grown to love and I see myself playing that for quite some time. But it doesn´t always have to be a fps to enjoy a zombie game. Resident Evil has proven to be quite fun to play in third person and I also like State of Decay.
Talking about State of Decay, it´s become more popular to play open world games. So an open world game with zombies was only a matter of time and I think that the game State of Decay did a good job with that. Sure it´s not perfect, but then again which game is perfect? I do think that they´ve did a lot of things right, making it an adventure in which survival is not an easy road but definately worth walking. Other things that make this game so much fun is finding supplies, setting up a base and outposts. It really make me curious about the future, what does it bring and what kind of zombie games can we expect? Looking at Dead Rising 3 it seems that things are going the right way, because the game looks very interesting! I just hope they won´t forget what makes a zombie game fun and that´s fighting against impossible odds and yet still surviving! Though putting in some story is always welcome, I like what they´re doing with the Walking Dead (both the series and the games). It might not all be great, but at least it´s something worth checking into. It doesn´t have to be all action, but make it a scary unforgettable ride and I´m certain you´ll find enough people willing to buy it!
Games like Resident Evil really got me into zombie games. I love Resident Evil with the S.T.A.R.S. members and in the mansion, it´s my favourite game in the series and I don´t think that will ever change. Resident Evil 2 and 3 are also fun to play, though I don´t feel as much love for those games as for the first. It wasn´t a complicated game and solving the puzzles in the mansion wasn´t that difficult, it usually meant finding something and then bringing it to something else. Surviving the traps and the monsters in and around the mansion was more of a challenge. Another game that also had some kind of monsters in it that could resemble zombies was Silent Hill, now that was one scary game. Instead of basing the game on action it was more a game that liked to mess with your mind, so you´d hear monsters but that wouldn´t always lead to a confrontation with a monster. Nothing was what it would seem and the change between Silent Hill and another Silent Hill was freaky and strange. The zombie nurses still make me regret going to the hospital, but that means that the game did what it was supposed to do.
But the movies changed, zombies could run and would now literally hunt you down! The games didn´t fall behind and soon zombies were no longer the slow moving obstacles but dangerous hunters. The remake of Resident Evil on the Gamecube already showed zombies that would run after you, something that scared the shit out of me when I ran past a dead zombie on the ground that suddenly got up and chased me down! It was a nice extra that didn´t really bother me, because it added another layer of difficulty and tension to the game. As long as they couldn´t fly and teleport it was fine with me or at least that´s what I thought then.
Left for Dead (L4D) is another zombie game, but here you would also encounter special infected. These zombies had special powers and would prove more of a challenge then the regular zombie. It became a big hit and a lot of people love it, I have to admit that I also like that and don´t consider that as a bad thing. But other games also picked up that idea, so you also got Dead Island where you´re a survivor on a tropical island fighting for your survival. It´s the same idea as L4D but it has a leveling up part where you gain more skills and abilities as you level up and spend skill points. Here you would also see different type of zombies, you start with the normal ones and soon you encounter the runners and the stronger ones. When it comes to zombie games these days originality is nothing new, which doesn´t really matter as long as the game is fun and interesting. Unfortunately this doesn´t always work out so well, because some people think you´ll buy a game when there are zombies in them. Í seriously doubt it works that way, but maybe I´m wrong and the majority does feel that way.
First person shooters are usually the most intense with zombie games, I already liked that in the arcade halls playing House of the Dead with pistols on the big screen. It´s even more intense when you can only take a little bit of damage so you have to be lethal and careful at the same time. A good example of this on the consoles is the zombie mode in the CoD Black Ops games. It only takes two hit to be killed (unless you drink a juggernog, a drink you find in the game and buy from a machine, and then you can take 6 hits), which makes it difficult to survive in this mode. With every round there are more zombies, they´re stronger, faster and more agressive. Yesterday I played the new dlc for Black Ops 2 and had fun in the Origins map, it´s something I´ve grown to love and I see myself playing that for quite some time. But it doesn´t always have to be a fps to enjoy a zombie game. Resident Evil has proven to be quite fun to play in third person and I also like State of Decay.
Talking about State of Decay, it´s become more popular to play open world games. So an open world game with zombies was only a matter of time and I think that the game State of Decay did a good job with that. Sure it´s not perfect, but then again which game is perfect? I do think that they´ve did a lot of things right, making it an adventure in which survival is not an easy road but definately worth walking. Other things that make this game so much fun is finding supplies, setting up a base and outposts. It really make me curious about the future, what does it bring and what kind of zombie games can we expect? Looking at Dead Rising 3 it seems that things are going the right way, because the game looks very interesting! I just hope they won´t forget what makes a zombie game fun and that´s fighting against impossible odds and yet still surviving! Though putting in some story is always welcome, I like what they´re doing with the Walking Dead (both the series and the games). It might not all be great, but at least it´s something worth checking into. It doesn´t have to be all action, but make it a scary unforgettable ride and I´m certain you´ll find enough people willing to buy it!
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