Hooray! The Co-Op Gaming Draught Is Over... Finally!
OK, It's Just Another Left4Dead Clone...
StaceFiona and I are quite aware that the new-ish (2019) game by Saber Interactive is just another L4D rip off, but you have to be thankful for small mercies. The past couple of months have been a bit woeful due to us finishing - or getting bored with - our previous horror co-op shooter games, yet there wasn't anything new (or affordable) available for our Dad'n'Daughter Game Nights.
Luckily, WORLD WAR Z popped up on a random STEAM sale for just £12 so we jumped at the opportunity and downloaded the game immediately...
As expected - from the few trailers we had seen - the zombie hoard survival shooter turned out to be just another take on the classic Left4Dead/Back4Blood format, but as that is our favourite co-op gaming genre we were happy to take the plunge...
So, What's New?
It's very easy for me to reel off the similarities between and other L4D format game and WWZ, but what are the stand out differences that might make this zombie hoard survival shooter worth adding to your collection?
To be honest, not that much...But maybe just enough.
Aside from new locations for maps - which is always nice - and new 'boss level' end of chapter defence survival 'puzzles', the main difference between WWZ and what has gone before is the sheer number of zombies that you and your small team will have to defend themselves against.
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| Above: One of the few novel additions to the format caught StaceFiona off guard... |
Yes, there are new weapons - a lot of them - but like Borderland the variety of enemy killing tools seems to blur one into another to the point the huge variety becomes a bit meaningless. The main advantage for play is the upgrading to more powerful versions of the base weapons to keep up with the increase in the games difficulty.
Likewise the addition of a numerous character skins - in a variety of classes - is a little like slapping a new coat of paint over that old cupboard. Underneath it's still the same old piece of furniture!
No, it's the sheer size of the oncoming undead onslaught that's the gimmick in this game and it's very much like the movie on which this game is based. If you have seen the 2013 blockbuster starring Brad Pit, you'll remember the luke-warm reception that it got, with the stand out sequences being the ability for the FAST moving zombies to pile up, one atop the other, to climb over defences...
The tidal wave effect was quite novel - and terrifying - and I'm glad to say that this effect if extremely well replicated in the game, as StaceFiona and I found out...
This really turns up the whole zombie hoard attack to 11! It's a one trick pony, but it is really well done and the fact that so many zombies on screen at the same time has NO visible effect on your frame rate is amazing.... And scary at the same time!
Boss Level Game Inside a Game...
The second interesting aspect to this game is the end of chapter 'finale'. Each 'stage' in the game seems to culminate with what amounts to a 'tower defence' element, where your team is given a little time to organise a defensive perimeter with a set of specific tool - like auto turrets, barbed wire and electric traps - before an major hoard assault is triggered. (Sometimes a mini version of this pops up mid chapter as well.)
These defence sections are very obvious as a LOT of extra specialised weapons crates start to appear... And then it's a matter of quickly coming up with a team plan of how you are going to overcome the pending waves of Zeds!
This isn't novel or unique to WWZ - similar 'boss' sections appeared in Zombie Army 4 - but it is a nice change of pace from the otherwise incessant wave and jump-scare moments in the game. The sudden pause in action while you manically argue over the best way to prepare, the way the designers don't just create one avenue of attack so your team has to identify surprise flanking options, the way you may have to split your team's focus between an obviously good defensive point AND a crucial object - usually a switch or piece of machinery - that you have to keep going throughout the hoard wave!
It's all fun stuff... Here StaceFiona, me and our other two bots (real players can be invited to join the team) had to defend the train's driver while we fought off the hoard. It was like juggling plates...
In Conclusion...
And that's pretty much it. As I said, it's L4D with a couple of additional bells and whistles.
There's not much else I can say. We did enjoy playing it, but it kinda - just like Back4Blood - seem like a Left4Dead DLC or sequel. We felt very much on very familiar ground.
Because of this I doubt whether there is much replay ability to WWZ once we have gone through the campaign. But by this time we hope that there will be another new look-a-likey game to take it's place.
It just goes to show - in a way - what a great concept the original Left4Dead was, we've yet to see anything that's bettered it.
One last note I'd like to make is that although the game is based on the movie and it involved zombies I got a feeling of intense déjà vu playing this. I think it has to do with the fact that my wife and I are just rewatching the 2009 TV series 'The Strain' (Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan). Despite this being about vampires, there is very much the same feeling of fighting off waves of creatures that kept me thinking WWZ would have made a terrific 'Strain' game! LOL
World War Z - All good fun... Until we get bored again!
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