![]() ![]() Of course, if those hours are filled with classic moments like this one, then Dead Nation will be special: I'm walking into an alley, and I tell my co-op partner to stay behind. While each of the early levels I played introduced new weapons, new enemies and new strategies, the freshness could wane across the game's ten levels - about eight hours of zombie killing, folks. While I'm enamored of Dead Nation so far, I do worry that it could become repetitive. There are other opportunities for environment-based kills, but you have to keep an eye out for them. Luring a large horde around an exploding car and watching the zombie parts scatter provides a gory relief. Unlike a flare, however, a car will explode after a few moments. Like a flare, the noise attracts zombies in the immediate vicinity. Cars equipped with alarms can be shot to activate the alarm. The first strategy the game teaches you is using cars. You'll learn to use the environment, as well. The molotov cocktail, for example, isn't particularly deadly or effective in open areas, but when you use it on a narrow passage (like a bridge), you'll discover how devastating it can be after counting up all the charred remains on the ground. Different weapons are best suited for certain situations. For as long as the flare is active, the zombies are sitting ducks, making for an easy mass target to grenade or mow down with your weapon of choice: shotgun, machine gun, flamethrower, and so on. ![]() The light attracts the zombies, as they swarm around the glow. Here, you can buy the supremely useful flares. Scattered through the stages are checkpoints stationed with a weapon shop. But once you get access to the customization options, that's when the game really opens up. Even aiming with the default rifle is fun: holding down the fire button gives you an aimed shot that can go through zombies for multiple headshots. However, it's the gameplay that ultimately makes the experience so worthwhile. Like Stardust before it, the game really pushes the PS3 technology. It's easy to gush over the technical achievements of Dead Nation. When a hundred zombies are rampaging down a bridge, you'll want to see what you're firing at - trust me. ![]() In certain areas, the overwhelming brightness can blind you, taking away your ability to see your laser sights. Brightness, in many ways, is something to be feared. The way light reflects off objects, and diffuses into the air and fog, further sucks you into the game. Instead of scaring you with darkness, the scariest moments are when you're almost able to see what you're aiming at. Dead Nation pulls this off with lighting. I never thought that an arcade shooter would be capable of scaring me, but Housemarque's attention to detail creates a truly terrifying experience. Dead Nation deserves to be played in surround sound. Coupled with an exhilarating soundtrack that picks up right when it needs to, the sounds effects are completely immersive. It's not just how good the sounds are, but how many of them there are: every empty can, piece of paper, leaf and corpse you walk over produces a sound. For one, the audio design is eerily detailed. But video and screenshots don't capture the subtleties that propel this game from generic to something outstanding. Having played the first third of the game in two-player co-op, however, I can admit to being wrong.ĭead Nation is exactly what it appears to be: a top-down shooter with zombies. With Burn Zombie Burn and Zombie Apocalypse already available on PSN, and countless other zombie-themed games and add-ons flooding the market, I begrudgingly dismissed Housemarque's new effort. "Ugh - yet another top-down zombie blasting game?" I lamented. Dead Nation looked and sounded utterly generic. After spending countless hours playing the excellent Super Stardust HD, I was totally excited for developer Housemarque's next PSN title - until I learned what it was. ![]()
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