Wednesday 5 November 2014

Review: #KillAllZombies (PS4)


Zombies, the marmite of the media world.  Whether it being a movie, TV series or game, you cannot escape them and you either love them or just hate them!
Saying that, zombie wave defence games may have seen a slight decline in the past years but #killallzombies is here to shake that up - a bold, fun and dynamic twin stick shooter that is here to change what we already know.  Instead of you standard progression of clearing a wave before moving onto the next, how about one that is always flowing and constantly changing?  #killallzombies may be just what this genre needed to, ermm, bring it back to life (sorry - pun not intended)


#killallzombies is all about the pick up and play gameplay meaning there is no story at all and that is not a bad thing at all,  What you are presented with is a very clean looking playing field that is built upon numerous hexagons tiles.  It seems odd at first to have these tiles but as the game progresses it all starts to make sense.  As each wave unfolds, so does the world in which you play.  Walls rise from the ground, traps appear and even vehicles come flying from off the screen.  The last change can be both a blessing and a pain.  Let me expand; imagine a camper van coming flying at you and landing on you head - it really is not going to end well.
Unlike traditional wave defence games you have a limited amount of time before the next wave begins meaning if you were not quick enough to clear the previous lot of zombies, you are in for a hell of a ride on the next few waves and when you die, it is game over.


My favourite feature of #killallzombies is the perk system.  Like a traditional twin stick shooter you can pick powerups from the map itself but the perks are rewards for levelling up.  Levelling up is achieved by basically killing zombies and once you do that you are rewarded with four random perks to choose from.  Perks are there to assist you in your rampage but sometimes you will have to sacrifice something to gain something else - for example you can have high powered weapon but your movement speed will be decreased.  There is a nice list of perks that can be unlocked and there are present to make each play though a little bit different.  There is even a perk which gives you 50k extra points.  Sounds great but to gain those extra points you will die instantly and it is game over.  You can tactically counter that as there is a perk which allows you to re spawn upon death and you may have had that active from a previous level up.  Like I said, the perks make the game - you may have a brilliant run as really powerful perks are laid out in front of you in an order that works but you may start another game and die within the first two waves.  It is meant to be played in short bursts and it achieves that perfect.


If you have got to this point in this review you will probably be thinking that this game is perfect and has nothing wrong with it.  Well, as much fun as it is, there are a few things which caused me a few issues during my playthroughs.
The first things is the size of the play area.  For a game which contain so many zombies on screen at once, I feel the size of the game area is very small.  I understand the tight area adds to the challenge of the game but it just needs to be a little bit bigger especially when the area starts to evolve.  Another thing about the play area are the trees on the lower edge.  When you move to the lower edge of the screen the trees cover you and it becomes very hard to see yourself.
The aiming system is very precise - in fact it is too good.  If you are firing into a crowd of zombies it is fine but when you are trying to pick one off at a time this is where it become a little bit hard as the controls are very sensitive.  You standard gun you pick up has a very low fire rate and until you start picking up power ups and perks you will find yourself dying quite a bit.
.
#killallzombies is a perfect game to play if you are waiting for some one.  Seriously, this is the best way to explain it.  It is a game about short bursts of fun - yes, sometimes you may progress really far but do not kick yourself if you do not.  What you have here is a fun, frantic game which you will go back to ever now and again.  Yes, there are a few little issues present but once yo get use to the gameplay I think you will overcome them.

7/10

Who Should Play This?

  • Any player who is after a quick fix
  • Anyone addictive to constantly beating your high score
  • Zombie Fans
  • If you are looking for an ever changing game

Who Should NOT Play This?

  • Zombie haters
  • Anyone easily frustrated by dying
  • If you are looking for more than a quick fix.
US Review Code supplied by Beatshapers

No comments:

Post a Comment