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HERE’S WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT IT….
ATMOSPHERIC BEAUTY
The first thing you’ll notice when you launch Dead Nation is its wonderful take on creating the classic atmosphere of a zombie apocalypse. You start on the rooftop of a small structure and streets below are littered with debris and an ominous mist swells around the area. As you move throughout the game you’ll have to maneuver through zombie-ridden cities, a train yard, and much more. In later levels you’ll find the game becoming more of a thriller due to large masses of zombies rushing at you once you move far enough in to trigger them. Destroyed vehicles, burning rubble, and piles of bodies are but a few of the features that add to the atmosphere of Dead Nation. Set in mostly darkened environments, Dead Nation is a really great looking game, and while it has a few weak textures, the environments and fiery explosions are very impressive.
HOLY WEAPONS AND ARMOR, BATMAN!
If you want to survive in Dead Nation then you’re going to need a weapon and some solid armor – no worries, you’re covered! You begin with a slow firing rifle featuring infinite ammo, which is enough to get you by for the first few moments in the game. At most checkpoints throughout the game, you’ll have access to a weapons shop where you can purchase new weapons with more unlocking after each level is completed. Ammo can also be purchased here although later stages in the game are kind enough to give it to you as a random drop. All weapons have upgrades to stats such as their power, fire rate, etc. and these upgrades must be purchased with cash earned by killing zombies and other simple means. Armor works a little differently and must be found in hidden chests throughout the campaign. You can find arm, chest, and leg armor and then mix and match pieces to get the stats you prefer. Stats affected by armor include strength, endurance, and agility.
ONLINE CO-OP…SERIOUSLY! AWESOME!
One of the most requested features for games on PSN or any system for that matter is online co-operative play. Housemarque knew this, and unlike their previous PSN hit, Dead Nation features a full two player online co-operative mode. While I experienced some slight lag while playing with a friend, it could very well be connection related. The online plays the same as single player except you’ve got some help alongside. Zombies don’t appear to scale in numbers or strength but it’s still challenging enough and you need to communicate with each other. If you stray too far a green oval ring appears to inform you of your limited boundary. I and many others have one thing to say to you Housemarque – thank you!
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BOOM! HEADSHOT! OH, LOOK! RAGDOLL!
Physics add to the fun in your time with Dead Nation. Powered up shots and the stronger weapons in general will sever limbs and blow off heads and it’s entertaining to see. The real the fun begins when you start learning when you should use grenades, dynamite, and other cool items. Flashing indicators on these weapons will attract zombie folk, and when thrown into a crowd of them it begins to look like the front doors of a retailer on a big midnight launch. Two seconds later… BOOM! Ragdoll zombies are tumbling through the air in whole and in parts. Blast radius is upgradeable and is always noted during item use by a red circle so you know how to avoid damage yourself. These items can be restocked at the checkpoints, and once again you may pick some up as random item drops. In some situations, proper use of your items can really come in handy, so get used to them early on.
PRECISION CONTROLS
Like Super Stardust HD, the controls in Dead Nation are very precise which is a rather important factor when you have flesh eating monsters after you. All weapons feature a red laser site so you’ll always be able to hit your target. As some weapons such as the shotgun or blade cannon have a wide spread, you won’t need to worry about the targeting laser, but it’s very helpful when using your standard rifle or the SMG. Whenever required (which is quite often), you can be walking one way with the left stick and firing in any direction with the right stick. It’s something we’re used to, but it’s a formula that works well.
HAZMAT, FIREMEN, AND CLOWNS…
Argh…Clowns. These are just a few of the various types of zombies you’ll encounter in the game. There are soldiers, city folks, police officers and more. Every breed of zombie in the game will have their own attributes, such as speed or higher defensive abilities. Soldiers and police officers will often wield guns and fire randomly at the ground or in the air, though I never took damage from them, but I didn’t give them the chance either. All the different zombies make it a colorful game and they force you to change offensive and defensive tactics which once again adds to the great experience of this game.
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I’M BETTER THAN YOU!
If you like competing with friends, or you enjoy topping your own best scores, you’ll love the new heights you can reach in this game. Zombie evisceration not only provides you with a ton of cash, but you can score BIG points too. The score multiplier is listed in the top center of your screen and it goes up by killing enemies without taking damage. You can also find chests and bins with red orbs that increase your multiplier. If you quit mid-mission, even at a checkpoint, you will restart from 0X, but if you quit and return after completing a level then the multiplier will continue to grow. The leaderboards are intriguing as you can not only see you, your friends, and other players, but you can also see rankings by country.
AND THE NOT SO GREAT….
NEW GAME WOES
Dead Nation features five difficulty levels, and if you want to earn the Platinum Trophy then you will have to play through at least three times. There’s nothing wrong with that as it’s a fantastic game, but if you expect to use all your weapons from your first run, then think again. Even though you may not have fully upgraded all the weapons in a full playthrough, you’re back to the basics when you start on a new difficulty level. I understand this is part of a balancing issue, but it’s frustrating to put all that money into upgrades and then be forced to do it all over again.
LET’S WRAP UP!
Dead Nation’s campaign takes about five hours for a single run, but the online co-op adds a ton of replay value, so the $15 tag is more than fair. The gameplay is extremely fun and will sometimes have you on edge awaiting a zombie mass swarming you, and there’s a load of upgrades and armor pieces to purchase and find through the game. Online co-op appears to be fine, and while a fellow reviewer and I had some slight lag at times, it could very well be attributed to our personal connections. Dead Nation is a PSN experience to die for!
Thanks to Ashley B. and SONY for providing a download token for review purposes.
| Rating | Description |
| 9.5 | Gameplay Comfortable and precise controls, extremely fun to shoot, burn, and multiate zombies! |
| 8.0 | Graphics Very atmospheric levels and beautiful explosions. Could use some improved textures in areas. |
| 9.0 | Sound Groaning zombies, crackling fires, and more add to the games' general atmosphere. |
| 9.0 | Final Score |
