Once you see Margot Robbie in the DCEU’s best film so far, Harley Quinn and the rest of the title I don’t want to type out, it’s time for some video game. This week Rebellion, the studio behind Sniper Elite, launched chapter four in their Zombie Army series. I loved my time with this game during our E3 preview and it set a high expectation. The final product we got is solid but short of a game changer.
ZOMBIE ARMY 4: DEAD WAR
DEVELOPED BY: REBELLION
PUBLISHED BY: REBELLION
AVAILABLE FOR: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Zombie Army 4: Dead War is the latest to dive into the ocean of zombie shooting games. If you miss the Left 4 Dead series, then Rebellion’s latest game may satiate your urge for co-op gore. What separates the game is what we saw back in June, this absurd world of zombies who are also Nazis is fun and guilt-free in its violence. The developers use this unanimously free pass on the gore to its fullest in a way that only Rebellion can with its X-ray kill cam. Triggered by either explosions or well-placed sniper rounds, you’ll see the satisfying crunch of flesh shattering or blasting into the ether.
Which to my delight, I found those animations weren’t the only thing that would hold my interest in the game. Sure, its simple story of having to stop zombie Hitler in WW2 is basic but the gameplay is full of challenges that will leave you feeling like you’re in a frantic survival mode throughout most of the game. Through its eight levels of story, you’ll find yourself taken by the setting in a way where getting to the next powered enemy feels like a reward. Flame thrower zombie, armored tank zombie, generals whose hearts need to be destroyed in order to prevent more minions from forming; you’ll find the enemy variety a garbage bag sized tub of different popcorn.
There are things Zombie Army 4 tries to implement, but its most successful contribution to co-op shooting is specifically catered to this genre. In co-op modes, if you’re killed in action you’ll come back as a zombie you don’t control and will only respawn once someone in your party kills you. It’s not a major touch just a fun quirk that I’ve never encountered in another shooter.
One of the other notable things done well in ZA4 is the soundtrack. There’s a synth vibe to it that feels like it could have come out of a George Romero or John Carpenter film. It’s a shame that the audio design isn’t on par, at times firearms, background noise, and character sounds don’t quite feel in balance with one another.
While that might be something patch fixed down the road, it wasn’t the only issue to arise during my time with the game. Zombies still spawned after completing objectives, the video had weird bars at times covering the heads up display. Some of these issues were annoying but none of it ever took me completely out of the experience.
We’re talking about Zombie Army 4’s base game. There is a deluxe edition available that comes with the game’s season pass (which purchasing ala carte would be $34.99). As a base game, the standard edition feels like a package worth the $49.99 retail price. Rebellion has stated the season pass will offer some significant content in the form of new levels for horde mode and additional story missions. At first glance, the season pass price seems a bit much and it’ll be up to history to decide if the content dropped post-launch is worth the cost of that season pass.
Zombie Army 4: Dead War doesn’t just share a science fiction/ horror genre DNA with the likes of Left 4 Dead and Dead Rising, it elicits the same kind of satisfaction in the end. A game that doesn’t revolutionize anything or leave you with any kind of resonating story, it’s just a solid cheesy and delicious junk food. Sometimes that’s all you need.
