A while back we interviewed the makers of the Massive Multi-player Online Game "Zombie Pandemic". We waited, and waited and now the waiting is over. Their Beta site is up, and free to try out and explore!
We were easily able to to start playing in minutes. After watching a short video outlining the chaos that has engulfed the world... "It started as a flu...", we were off to create our character.
We selected a character (we could be male or female) with various attributes, and then the game begins.
"You wake up. Your sight is blurry.
Gameplay is simple and and the User Interface easy to navigate and use. You are given your first mission: "Get to your apartment". A little difficult when you can't remember who you are, but you do have your wallet (which you discover by clicking on your character's avatar). Also in this section, you'll find skill level, armor, constitution, all kinds of other attributes, as well as your equipment -- which also includes a 9mm Snub Nose pistol (with six rounds)-- which you're going to need.
There are several ways to navigate through the city. You can use the directions buttons on screen (we couldn't get our cursor keys to move our character-- maybe that's a later feature, but one I would recommend to the developers if possible), or you can bring up a map, which shows you areas of interest in various colors, in an easy to navigate grid.
Along your way, you can scavenge and forage for various items in each location-- some useful, some not so much so. There is real homage to Zombie flicks with items like records (Sean of the Dead), umbrellas (Flight of the Living Dead), the usual crowbars and pipes, and I loved that when retrieving a purse, it dropped into our Weapons section (we didn't get to use the purse, but I figure it would take alot of wailing on a zombie with it to take him down). Of course, all of these will come in handy as you encounter the hordes of undead.
Another feature we liked was a "Radio" that allows you to select ambient atmospheric sounds to accentuate the game (created by sound designers Thor Hansen and Niels Dranov). There's also a chat function, which allows you to communicate with other players, and form "Clans" etc, for cooperative play. There's even a "Geo-tagging"-like function, which allows players to post messages at each location -- warnings, hints...
Pixel Pandemic has something here. Rune Bødker's artwork is creepy and top notch, and by the number of players already playing, this game already has legs! We highly recommend! Go to http://www.zombiepandemic.com/ and join the pandemic. Do you have what it takes to survive?
Read our interview with the producer, Thomas Jacobsen--- here!
Check back soon. We have another MMOG to test out and review from a company called "Motion Twin" and their game "Die2Nite."
We were easily able to to start playing in minutes. After watching a short video outlining the chaos that has engulfed the world... "It started as a flu...", we were off to create our character.
We selected a character (we could be male or female) with various attributes, and then the game begins.
"You wake up. Your sight is blurry.
You don’t remember what happened. Actually you don’t remember anything at all. You stand up slowly. Your body is tired and your head is hammering to the beat of your heart.
Gameplay is simple and and the User Interface easy to navigate and use. You are given your first mission: "Get to your apartment". A little difficult when you can't remember who you are, but you do have your wallet (which you discover by clicking on your character's avatar). Also in this section, you'll find skill level, armor, constitution, all kinds of other attributes, as well as your equipment -- which also includes a 9mm Snub Nose pistol (with six rounds)-- which you're going to need.
There are several ways to navigate through the city. You can use the directions buttons on screen (we couldn't get our cursor keys to move our character-- maybe that's a later feature, but one I would recommend to the developers if possible), or you can bring up a map, which shows you areas of interest in various colors, in an easy to navigate grid.
Along your way, you can scavenge and forage for various items in each location-- some useful, some not so much so. There is real homage to Zombie flicks with items like records (Sean of the Dead), umbrellas (Flight of the Living Dead), the usual crowbars and pipes, and I loved that when retrieving a purse, it dropped into our Weapons section (we didn't get to use the purse, but I figure it would take alot of wailing on a zombie with it to take him down). Of course, all of these will come in handy as you encounter the hordes of undead.
Another feature we liked was a "Radio" that allows you to select ambient atmospheric sounds to accentuate the game (created by sound designers Thor Hansen and Niels Dranov). There's also a chat function, which allows you to communicate with other players, and form "Clans" etc, for cooperative play. There's even a "Geo-tagging"-like function, which allows players to post messages at each location -- warnings, hints...
Pixel Pandemic has something here. Rune Bødker's artwork is creepy and top notch, and by the number of players already playing, this game already has legs! We highly recommend! Go to http://www.zombiepandemic.com/ and join the pandemic. Do you have what it takes to survive?
Read our interview with the producer, Thomas Jacobsen--- here!
Check back soon. We have another MMOG to test out and review from a company called "Motion Twin" and their game "Die2Nite."
When I first started playing ZP, I thought that it was an alright little game with some potential. However, the developers have decide to change it from a survival game into a social game. Instead of actually developing the game and fixing problems like farming they have been spending their time on making the game pretty for the social butterfly crowd. They have added a few missions in the last three months, but only enough for a few days of playing.
ReplyDeleteThey have stated that they are not going to have the original 8 maps that they were planning and instead will settle for 4 or maybe 5. They are planning to make it so that it will be almost impossible for new players to go it alone and then they will have to join clans. The whole game is being shifted towards clan play where everyone holds each others hands to play.
The developers are basically selling out to the pop culture crowd.
I strongly encourage people to stay away from this and any other Pixel Pandemic game. Even if you do decide to play, please don't waste your money on them.
ZP is really awsome. It not only has a wide open looting system, but a great turn based combat system. It has an easy way to move and has pictures for easy imagination. WAY better than a game called Urban Dead
ReplyDelete