World War Z is a third-person perspective action game developed by Saber Interactive and published by Focus Home Interactive. The game is an adaptation of World War Z, a 2013 film starring Brad Pitt, based on the novel of the same title by Max Brooks. In World War Z players take control of one of the lucky survivors of the global outbreak which turns infected humans into aggressive, flesh-eating zombies. The game is set in various parts of the globe and tells the stories of survivors trying to hold their ground against the swarm of the undead. The game heavily emphasizes cooperation tactics and features 4 player co-op mode.
Gameplay
WW Z is an action game with players controlling one character from the third person perspective. The characters are divided into classes, each specializing in different types of weapons and providing different survival perks.
These classes include Gunslinger, who specializes in weapon damage and ammo perks, Hellraiser, a demolitions expert armed with C4 explosives, who can set traps against the oncoming swarm and Slasher, who relies on melee attacks, while their perks increase effectiveness and damage of melee. Medic heals their teammates, preventing them from becoming one of the Zombies. Fixer carries additional ammo packs and provides ammo perks to other characters, and Exterminator, who showers the swarm with fire-based weapons, like Molotov cocktails and flame-throwers.
The undead in World War Z act differently than in most zombie apocalypse games. Instead of being slow, dumb and clumsy, they swarm into a dangerous mob, which can flood narrow corridors, cutting out escape routes, chase after players across rooftops and scale up the walls. The oncoming swarm is procedurally generated on the map, so the players must be always on their toes because the undead might attack from anywhere.
Story mode
The world is over. The outbreak of the zombie virus has left humanity at the edge of destruction. Small pockets of survivors are scattered across the globe trying to do their very best against the overwhelming odds. Travel to locations such as New York, Moscow, Jerusalem and Tokyo, and face the threat of the undead hordes. Learn the stories of four groups of survivors, whose only chance at withstanding the deadly swarm is working together. Only that way humanity will be able to outlive the dead.
Reception
Many commentators have noticed some similarities between World War Z and other zombie outbreak title, Left 4 Dead. However, the same critics were quick to observe that the game feels and plays differently than Valve’s classic game. Arcade feel of clearing out locations and building up momentum to move forward were among the things critic found refreshing. Another strong point of the game was the swarm AI, which forced the player to think quick before they were overwhelmed by the massive amount of procedurally generated foes.
With World War Z, the sub-genre of zombie survival games gets a much-needed breath of fresh air. Frantic gameplay feels like an actual innovation and cooperation between players adds the element of strategic thinking. If you want to play a zombie game that is not slow paced horror or point-and-click adventure, then WW Z was made just for you.
