The Zombie Genre

[Kidzukai]

There are a few "Zombie MMOs" out on PC right now that I'm hoping get ported into a console like the PS4. But if you check out Infestation or Day Z, these are zombie games I'm hoping really take off. There's a mix of social interaction with other players, PVP, on top of plain just trying to survive. Dead Island really was a huge disappointment, and the new Resident Evil series no longer interest me (especially when they moved from zombies to crazy villagers). At this point I'm looking for something with a ton of replayability in the form of an MMO. So if that's what you're into, here's hoping we see something like that get developed.

 

[Fleexie]

Dead Island is a pretty good free roam zombie game.
It take some time to really get into the game, however when you are into it then you notice how great it is. It isn't too easy nor too hard, it is a balanced game in my opinion.

If you like arena fps type games then Killing Floor is also a fine game.

 

[GetFresh]

I laughed at the "All zombies should be created equal" part. I enjoyed playing the Dead Rising games, but I especially like the open world concept part of it. If a future game had the characteristics from the zombies of Call of Duty on an open world, I would definitely get that game.

 

[Jellyfish]

Good suggestions here. I am also a big fan of zombies in every way possible and I guess I will give the one or the other advice a try.

 

[Stuck_X_Button]

I played State of Decay that SpaceTiger suggested and it's a good zombie survival game. Unfortunately it's on 360. It has a day and night cycle where the zombies become more active and there's small hordes of like 7-10. Something close to old school, foot dragging zombies (which I feel are true zombies), bloaters that spread some chemical once killed, big ones that are hard to kill, screamers that attract other zombies, and runners. You see more of the more traditional zombies than the special types.

Normally I'd be annoyed by a bunch of different types since they're not so much zombies (risen from the dead to walk the earth) so much as fever heads (caused by some disease, chemical, biological thing).

 

[The Unlosing Ranger]

I played State of Decay that SpaceTiger suggested and it's a good zombie survival game. Unfortunately it's on 360. It has a day and night cycle where the zombies become more active and there's small hordes of like 7-10. Something close to old school, foot dragging zombies (which I feel are true zombies), bloaters that spread some chemical once killed, big ones that are hard to kill, screamers that attract other zombies, and runners. You see more of the more traditional zombies than the special types.

Normally I'd be annoyed by a bunch of different types since they're not so much zombies (risen from the dead to walk the earth) so much as fever heads (caused by some disease, chemical, biological thing).

That one is one that's interesting to me, because it sounds like it focuses more on SURVIVAL than on crazy fun killing hordes of zombies. If I'm gonna play a zombie game it has to either be survival (State of Decay sounds like it fits here) or extremely ridiculous over the top fun (Dead Rising).

Has anybody played Project Zomboid, per chance? It's a survival game. Only on PC and still on alpha/beta state, but early access is available from Steam. Indie game. It's really, really hard and really fun. You have to manage your character's emotions and such and you have to plan when and how to scavenge. You have to, for example, make sure power is out so that a house's alarm doesn't go off when you enter it (this would attract a shitload of zombies), for example. Your character gets scared, depressed, sick, bored, etc... all of which affects their performance in some way. It's very dynamic. It's definitely worth checking out to those that want a true survival game.

 

[Wing]

Wait I've never heard about this game. Sounds pretty interesting, I love Zombie games let me check it out

 

[SpaceTiger]

That one is one that's interesting to me, because it sounds like it focuses more on SURVIVAL than on crazy fun killing hordes of zombies. If I'm gonna play a zombie game it has to either be survival (State of Decay sounds like it fits here) or extremely ridiculous over the top fun (Dead Rising).

Yeah it focuses a lot on survival. You have to scourge for medical supplies, ammo, weapons, building supplies, fuel, etc. You can get other survivors in your camp, chose from different locations to set up camp (some are better for defense than others), and find lookout spots to get a decent lay of the land and find other survivors to help/trade with.

There's a slither of a story just to because, but it's like 95% survival, 5% story and 75% survival, 25% bashing and killing zombie fun. The hordes aren't ridiculously large, but you can get overwhelmed in tight, close quarters and it always sucks when one of your survivors dies (or gets a fever) and you have to go and fetch their backpack. You pretty much have to balance your characters stats (which means a lot of "Training Days" for a veteran and someone you leave at home).

...forgot what else.

Has anybody played Project Zomboid, per chance? It's a survival game. Only on PC and still on alpha/beta state, but early access is available from Steam. Indie game. It's really, really hard and really fun. You have to manage your character's emotions and such and you have to plan when and how to scavenge. You have to, for example, make sure power is out so that a house's alarm doesn't go off when you enter it (this would attract a shitload of zombies), for example. Your character gets scared, depressed, sick, bored, etc... all of which affects their performance in some way. It's very dynamic. It's definitely worth checking out to those that want a true survival game.

Man, I'd love to play that! Games like these and ever Zafehouse show that the zombie genre doesn't have to be just mow through a row of zombies. There can be an attachment to the character you control and the game world can be just as much as of an enemy as the zombies.

 

[Stuck_X_Button]

...forgot what else.

The game continues when you turn the console off. If you manage to clear out infestations and hordes before turning stuff off and you have a garden and all that, you'll return to a game in a good condition. If you still have a lot of infestations or there are a number of hordes out, you could return with some members dead, missing, etc. You'll always want to have a good amount of weapons.

If you have any building going on it'll continue when the console is off too. State of Decay should've really hit PS3. Hopefully the MMO gets pushed through.

 

[Ghost_of_Crash]

I picked it up from Steam earlier this week. It's a good zombie game and the best zombie survivor game.

 

[Stuck_X_Button]

I'd say it's a great zombie game and an excellent zombie survival game. It's not graphically great and gory like some others, but it plays more like how a zombie game should play and not just...hacking through killing zombies with weapons you wouldn't actually sit and invent in a zombie apocalypse.

 

[daimashin]

I too love zombie games but I feel that there is too many of them on the market right now. Not only that, they don't really offer any horror experience. Most of them are kill fests like the Dynasty Warriors games, I'd like to see a zombie game that is more towards survival horror.

 

[sidd230]

Now that the DayZ standalone is out, I must say this is as good as it gets. I hope it gets finished soon. The game has amazing potential.

 

[SpaceTiger]

I always felt DayZ had more than enough potential to be a gem in the zombie subgenre.

 

[courageoflions]

The whole genre was mostly unappealing to me due to the obnoxious fans it attracted. The overall idea is fun and exciting but I was really turned off at first. Glad to see Dayz made it to standalone.

 

[Derri]

I've played many zombies featured games such as Dead Rising, Walking Dead, Dead Island and none of them have scratched my itch, I mean Walking Dead was good, even the game that came out was good because it had a focus on survival and not just fighting your way and creating cool w eapons like Dead Rising and Dead Island was.

 

[SpaceTiger]

That's the thing that bothered me about zombie games: creating weapons that would take time to make...time that could be spent coming up with a more practical solution so that you wouldn't need a motorcycle with chainsaws and a lawnmower blade on it or somesh**. I believe a scale has been established with Walking Dead/State of Decay at the survival end and Dead Rising/Dead Island at the swarmgasm end.

 

[Dressycrazybull]

The best coop experience ive had is Left 4 Dead. The special zombies only added to the fun. Throwing up over all 4 survivors or pulling someone back half a stage with your fellow zombies laughing away was great. The tank maybe took things a bit far granted. Cant wait for No 3. Just hoping Valve dont hold it back for Steam box.

 

[SpaceTiger]

My brother swears by Left 4 Dead. I've never played it, but I could add it to the list of games I need to get around to.

 

[BBGold]

I agree, we need less "bloodshed all the time, combos and more gore" games and more stuff like The Walking Dead video game, except open world with choices and just using normal items you will find in the real world and real world locations. Dead Rising was fun, first one though, the second got boring really fast. Plus, it was like far cry with zombies. Not too bad but, give us something realistic, something with tons of drama and twists. Oh and a main character that's like Rick.