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Dead Nation
PlayStation Network
Killing Zombies for Fun and Profit
3.5/5 stars
Considering I got this free from Sony, I have to say I think it's the best choice out of the bunch (considering I already have InFamous and Little Big Planet). Of course, this comes from someone who likes nothing more than to wind back after a long, hard day and shoot him some zombies.
Dead Nation is a pretty simple concept - a top-down, third person shooter with linear levels where the goal is 1) to survive, 2) kill as many zombies and bio-weapons as possible and 3) collect loot and armor shards and 4) uses said loot to upgrade your weapons so you can kill zombies and bio-weapons even easier.
I played it on Normal - as I wasn't brave enough to try the hardest difficulty right off the bat. The look of the game is pretty good - from whether you're escaping a city, strolling through a park or graveyard or on the highway - the designers get the post-apocalyptic zombie look nailed down. I especially like the hand-painted signs asking for water and ammo and the many barricaded building (which zombies often break out of).
The zombies themselves can be described as kind of comical - from the portly police officer (too many donuts) to the delivery men zombies who still have packages in their hands or business men still swinging briefcases around - they are dangerous, believe me, but it still looks like they had fun with the design on enemies too. I especially like the impromptu carnival when you mow down like a hundred clown zombies. There are a few variations - a super-fast "Runner" zombie, the portly zombies who take more hits to down and military zombies who also have improved armor. It's good to shake things up every now and then.
Aside from the zomibes you have a group of of man-made bio-weapons who were created to control zombies, but apparently have no qualms about killing you instead. You have the Bombies - huge masses who run and explode when they get near you, Leapers who, as the name suggests, jump and pump out shockwaves, Mouth enemies whose scream and summons swarms of weak yet quick zombies and the vicious Cutter who can one-hit kill even the bravest souls. Not so bad when fighting them one-on-one, hellish when they attack all at once in the later levels.
Speaking of levels, there are ten - it's basically the same thing, kill zombies, reach checkpoint, upgrade weapons, kill more zombies. The weapons range from your basic rifle - the starting weapon which is most useful thanks to its unlimited ammo and power shot, to the quick yet weak SMG, powerful yet slow shotgun and then fun weapons like the flame thrower, blade cannon and rocket launcher. You can also throw grenades, dynamite, flares and mines to distract and explode enemies - quite useful for thinning out crowds in those later levels as well.
I'm happy to report the game has local as well as online coop - I did play a round and the difficulty is ramped up a bit but it's pretty much the same thing - though look out for friendly fire, it's a killer (literally). If you pair with a friend, it's a good way to kill a half hour or so.
That's the only downside to the game - it's good in short chunks, but I can't foresee playing this for extended periods of time. As much fun as it is mowing down enemies, it does get repetitive even with all the diversity.
The best part about Dead Nation? The awesome counter that shows how each nation is doing in their zombie-killing efforts - America is, sadly, trailing Japan. I say, we should be #1 in the zombie killing arena! Come on rise up with me and shoot, shoot, shoot! The game counts each and every zombie kill - so the more you play, the better you get (plus, you unlock some art too). Oh, and don't forget to have fun with it people.
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