Technical issues and derivative design choices drag down this addictive and challenging zombie flick from Housemarque
(this review is specifically of Dead Nation sourced from the welcome back program)
Presentation/Synopsis:
Dead Nation wants to be an 80's movie. The kind of exploitation/horror flick that Sam Raimi became famous for with Evil Dead, immediately you are introduced to the game by a series of blood splattered photographs of life before the supposed zombie outbreak with the default protagonist spouting the cliché but admittedly enjoyable lines about the spread of the virus. In short, the game shouts "I am the equivalent of a fun B-movie" from the get-go and it's somewhat refreshing to see a developer wearing their intentions on their sleeve.
Dead Nation is organized around the novel premise that each zombie you kill whether you are playing online co-op or single-player will contribute to the overall tally of total zombies slaughtered for your respective nations. Your nation is determined by the origin of your PSN accounts email address so if you've been using other nations emails to get downloadable content early then you may end up killing zombies in the name of Hong Kong.
There is a story here and it's as gonzo and ridiculous as its presentation and maybe slightly pretentious. You play as Jack MacReady (yes he really is called that) and/or Scarlett Blake (again, yes she is called that). Both characters are immune to the bites of the zombie hoard and you play as one of them in singleplayer and as both during co-op. What is a nice and subtle addition is the fact that when you play co-op both of your character's are included in the comic-book style cutscenes, think infamous but low-rent, and the story itself. Said story isn't that interesting and is filled with the same clichés that we've come to expect from this genre "we had to get to higher ground" and so on are trotted out with impunity. Though I'm being quite negative about the story it's a welcome inclusion to a downloadable title and many developers wouldn't have bothered so it's good for what it is, and what it is primarily is a 3am B-movie that your father slots in after a few too many drinks.
Graphics:
Dead Nation is impressively detailed given the meagre assets at its disposal. Lighting is especially impressive, especially when the explosions start going off and the environs are lit up with an attractive orange hue. Light is in fact a huge part of the game as in most cases you will struggle to see more than what your flash light and muzzle flashes can illuminate. It sells the tense atmosphere beautifully, without such gloomy lighting the game would lose much of its appeal for horror aficionados. The game world is exceptionally detailed but you'll struggle to notice this due to the aforementioned lighting, the environments display and impressive amount of polish and detail when you can see them.
The game runs smoothly with nary a frame rate drop to speak of which is important considering the number of zombies and the fireworks that will be going off in the scripted defend/survive sequences. Gore is something that this game does well, almost to a fault in fact because even I with my hardened Dead Space veteran stomach found moments of disgust at the sheer number of body parts, blood and miscellaneous organry on display here. For the horror buffs out there this will be a boon but the rest of you may be slightly put off by the prospect of literally wading through detached limbs and mutilated corpses.
There are a few issues, the fire effects leave a lot to be desired and you'll certainly notice this if you pick up the flamethrower. The mists effects coupled with the dank lighting make some sections look brown and muddy. The colour palette is also rather dull until you move further into the game; it's a drab collection of browns, reds and greys which are more reminiscent of the first L4D than it's more vibrant and colourful sequel.
Sound:
Horror games are made and broken depending on the quality of their sound design. Luckily Dead Nation manages to succeed here, bullet impacts are distinct and disturbingly fleshy, each zombie type has its own distinctive call so you can easily identify them before they enter your immediate area and the later weapons pack some serious kick in the audio department despite the rather weak effects of the early weapons like the rifle and SMG.
Though the design is strong, plenty of it seems ripped directly from L4D which is obviously where Housemarque drew much of its inspiration. The real auditory pleasure comes from the music which ratchets up the tension considerably. The thumping urgent rhythms will get your heart pulsing to the same beat and prove to be exceptionally immersive during the more hectic and confusing battles with the zombie hoards.
Gameplay:
Dead Nation is a top-down (and slightly to the side) twin-stick shooter which will put many gamers in mind of the Dead Ops Zombie game in Call of Duty Black Ops. Normal twin-stick conventions apply here, you'll be backpedalling while mowing down the approaching with a variety of weapons which range from the standard rifles and shotguns to more over the top tools like disc-blade launchers and flame throwers. Environmental hazards and useful undead distractions such as alarmed cars, drink machines and the ubiquitous explosive barrel (albeit not a red one) litter Dead Nation's locales and they're vital for survival as you will rarely have enough fire-power to deal with the zombie hoard during the set-piece action sequences which range from "press the button to bring the zombies and possible death" to "press this button and survive for a while until the door opens you can move forward".
The game copies many of the aspects and components from L4D, changing their behaviour slightly and renaming them. There are some unique zombie forms but mostly this is a straight cut-and-paste job from Valve's bespoke zombie flick. Tanks, boomers, pukers are all here under different names but the few were actually design for Dead Nation from the ground up are the most interesting, these include a rather terrifying bladed zombie and the screamer who will bring the hoard down upon you if you don't finish him off quickly.
The gameplay is incredibly fast paced, zombies rush you from all angles at varying speeds and you'll have to juggle your ammo/reloading, explosives and stamina in order to stay out of reach. The game pacing is just right, you never feel like you're slogging through wave after wave and there are some quiet and tense moments littered about each level which feel more in keeping with traditional horror game tension. When the game decides it's time for action then the pacing goes from fast to manic and you will be darting about the battlefield firing off everything you have in order to stay alive.
There's upgrades to be purchased and armour to be found so there's an increasing feeling of empowerment as you progress, your weak and slow one-shot rifle will eventually become a force of one-shot-one-kill nature if you bother to upgrade it enough, the same applies to the rest of your varied arsenal. Upgrades are purchased with in-game currency represented by glowing yellow orbs and it's a fun meta-game deciding what kind of upgrades and ammo you will need for the next section. These upgrade stations are many and frequent and also function as safe-houses so you will rarely go more than half an hour without upgrading something. The frequency of the checkpoints is a good thing as the levels are very long and difficult; something which actively discourages replayability.
Dead Nation is hard, it's a conscious throwback to the brutally punishing twin-stick affairs of the arcade era and you'll struggle to complete the game on the hardest available difficulty (Grim) on your first playthrough. There are also two unlockable difficulties but they are only to attempted in co-op, you won't survive on your own unless you are very, very good.
Unfortunately the lighting creates a painful number of cheap hits on the part of sneaky zombies and your flashlight doesn't really illuminate a great deal, there's basically a narrow triangle ahead of you and bar a few street lamps that all you'll be able to see. Sometimes all you will be able to seem will by vague shadows and movement so eventually gameplay devolves into spraying blindly into the dark and hoping. Controls are also an exercise in blatant hope, its very hard to know what you're aiming at, even if you have bought the laser sight attachment for your weapons, much of the time I found myself shooting more scenery than zombie as even the laser sight didn't accurately denote where my shots were heading.
It's an incredibly addictive formula and it won't fail to get you hooked on its heady concoction of tension, action and outright insanity, so much so that I finished the game on the easiest difficulty in around 6 hours and jumped back in on Normal to experience the rush again. It's worth noting that this is probably the longest action-focused downloadable title I've ever played, there's plenty of hidden items and areas if you dare to go exploring and several unlockable difficulties if you're feeling brave and suicidal in equal measure.
Online co-op is where things became seriously good fun. Occasionally. When you can actually connect with someone and get into a game then it's twice the fun of the singleplayer, the difficulty increases when you play with a friend regardless of your difficulty setting so expect a challenge. Sadly you will rarely see a truly great co-op game online because the feature itself is borderline broken. I have managed half a game with someone who lives in my own country before the connection went south. Co-op connections without at least 2 bars of latency will disconnect within moments of the game starting and even if you do manage to get a game going there's a 60-70% chance you game will unplayable to the lag issues. I don't know whether this is due to the increased number of people playing game because of the Welcome Back program or if it's a problem with the game itself but the facts remains that the functionality is so broken that you'll be missing out on how the game was truly designed to be played. The "Nation" half of the title relating to the hierarchy of countries and their respective numbers of zombies kills and points acquired is poor recompense for the lack of anything near acceptable online functionality. If you really want to experience Dead Nation as it's meant to be played then get a buddy over and buy another controller, there's local co-op here which at least gives you the opportunity to enjoy the full experience.
Conclusion:
Dead Nation is a violent, addictive and tense zombie romp full of gore, action and solid gameplay. It's not remarkable or innovative, even counting the novel global zombie killing competition but it's packed with content and strong gameplay.
It's a shame then that the online component is so broken, the core gameplay elements so staid, predictable and in many cases derivative of better games and the little niggles and issues that otherwise could have made this game a star among downloadable games and a worthy successor to Housemarque's previous effort and king of the twin-stick shooter Super Stardust HD.
The Rundown:
Pros
+ There's story here, its cliché and predictable but the nice comic book style cutscenes and voiceovers make it a welcome addition that one doesn't expect in low budget titles like this.
+ Impressive lighting and detail with a solid frame rate which impressive considering the sheer number of undead that you will see onscreen at once
+ Incredibly addictive gameplay with upgradable weaponry, tactical options within the environment and areas off the beaten track to explore for hidden armour.
+ Global national competition is a nice, if slightly unnecessary touch
+ Dark lighting, tense atmosphere and buckets of gore will please horror fans
+ Serious old-school difficulty, you won't survive the higher difficulty levels alone.
+ When it works, Online co-op is joyous. Local co-op is also included which is appreciated.
+ Plenty of content: there are unlockable difficulties, upgrades to buy and armour to find. The core game lasts from 6 to 8 hours depending on the difficulty setting and how much of the game you explore.
Cons
- Broken Online Co-op functionality
- Low visibility leads to cheap hits and deaths
- Some ugly and muddy visuals created by the dark lighting and drab colour palette.
- Extreme difficulty may discourage replayability
- Extremely derivative of better games, especially the Left4Dead series
- Shoddy mechanics make precise aiming unwieldy
- Gore may put off those of you of a sensitive disposition, and practically everyone else with a modicum of good taste
Dead Nation is perfect for horror fans and lovers of the old school twin-stick shooters of the past. It's a great choice of download for the welcome back program but you may want to consider whether it's really worth your money once the program expires. Technical issues and derivative design choices drag down Housemarque's addictive and challenging Dead Nation but it's still worthy zombie killing fun and a competent twin-stick shooter.