State of Decay

[Dweller_Benthos]

I've seen a few videos on this one, looks like it's right up some of you guy's alley. I might even think about it, but it's got that third person stigma going for it, so I'm doubting I'd get it. Plus what little game time I do have is spent mostly in Minecraft and a few others, starting a new one probably wouldn't get much attention.

But, it looks open world, in that you're a survivor of the zombie apocalypse, and you have to band together with other survivors, gather resources, fortify a safe zone, and of course, kill zombies. There are missions you can take on, and how you get there and what you do once you're there is up to you. Aside from that, there doesn't appear to be any sci-fi elements to the game, no weird weapons, and usually it looks like you're better off with a baseball bat than a gun, because noise attracts more zombies lol.

It's on Steam http://store.steampowered.com/app/241540/ for $20 it might be worth it just to run around a bit and kill some zombies, even if I don't play it that much lol.

[Art Blade]

there's apparently some type of ongoing fascination for zombie games as they keep popping up like mushrooms after a rainfall.

[PZ]

The environment looks kind of interesting.  When they say to look for survivors, it sounds like this is an online game - is that so?

[Art Blade]

not sure but I read some and "online" wasn't mentioned anywhere

[Dweller_Benthos]

I don't think there's any online aspect, from reading more about it, it seems there are several NPC characters that you have to interact with, and once you become friends with them, you can switch your player to that character, to give your original character time to rest and recuperate. Your friends are also your extra lives, if you die and have no friends, the game is over. If you have friends, you can continue the game using that character, but the one who died is gone. You can go pick up his supplies, but any experience and skills he had are also gone.

It's a port from xbox I think, so the usual caveats that go with that. There is mouse and keyboard controls, so that's good, and they are customizable, so even better. The game and two DLC are a little over $30, I might just go for it, and see how it plays. It will take a while to get used to 3rd person, and may eventually make me drop the game, but I'm looking for something new and with so many zombie games out, might as well try one of them. Well, Minecraft had zombies four years ago.......

[PZ]

Hope you decide to get it, D_B - would be interested in reading your thoughts

Sounds like a more reasonable game now that online is off the table

[Art Blade]

D_B, wow. :)

Oh and D_B.. once you're through that door, just give all the other TPS games such as JustCause2 a shot. Just for comparison and so forth. Ahem. Not saying anything.. but.. you know.. you're about to enter a whole new gaming universe loaded with opportunities.  :) :-X

[Art Blade]

Me again, D_B :) I was just then laughing when I read Stiku's post because in my previous post here I was debating whether or not to mention the Grand Theft Auto series which has been TPS. Stiku just came up with news that GTAV will have a FPS aspect which can be toggled.. so maybe GTAV is just what you need: I love games that allow you to switch back and forth between 1st and 3rd person view. It would help you a lot and it's a comparatively new game (well, console release some 1.5 years ago but PC release supposedly end of January 2015).

Try that one :)

[Dweller_Benthos]

Well, I tried one of the Assassin Creed games that I got for free a while back, and just can't seem to get into them. I have played 3rd person games before, and never really got the hang of it. Maybe it's the console stigma, I don't know.

But ones that you can switch between I'm fine with, one of the Star Wars games had that and 99% of the time I used first person, except when dueling light sabers and used third person for that since it's easier to see your moves that way. Maybe the same with State of Decay, if there was an option to switch, I'd have no problem with it.

[Art Blade]

wasn't ArmAII half-half, too? Hitman:Bloodmoney had a toggle but some cameras weren't adjusted properly, like wielding those Silverballer pistols with scopes attached I think had that glitch that prevented you from using the scope in 1st person view. lol

[PZ]

wasn't ArmAII half-half, too? ...

Not sure, but if not, I'll bet someone made a mod to do it

[Dweller_Benthos]

Well, I went for it and bought it. First impressions, not too bad, but I really would be enjoying it more if it were 1st person. Immediately downloaded some mods to adjust the visuals, as the shaded areas are ink black during the day time. So I grabbed a couple mods that make the shadows and building interiors more realistic. Mouse controls are pretty good, but I still get hung up on things like walking through doors while fighting zombies. Basically just stand there and hack n slash and hope for the best until I get unstuck.

Looked into another mod that makes vehicles not be made of tissue paper. As it is now, you run over three or four zombies with a large pickup truck(!) and it is all dented in and the engine starts to smoke. One run around the small town I started in is enough to ruin a vehicle completely. So I'll probably install that mod too. Most of the other mods I see are cosmetic or over the top powerful and I want to play the game as close to vanilla as possible first.

But it is pretty fun, you are given missions to do that advance the story line and side missions that you can do if you want when you want. Most of those have a time limit, if you don't do them they go away. But there seem to be enough that there's always something to be doing aside from the main story.

I just would be enjoying it more if it were 1st person. I think the problem is, watching a character walk around takes away from the immersion more than 1st person.

[PZ]

Sounds like at least you can have some fun in the game  :-X

[Dweller_Benthos]

Yeah it has been fun, and I think with the vehicle damage mod it will be more fun.

One thing irked me though, one of the first missions is to get some medicine for someone who's had a run-in with a zombie. So after scouting where a vet clinic is (Hey, dog antibiotics are the same as people antibiotics, right?) I hear over the radio that two people will meet me there. So I hop in my truck and head that way. Not soon after, one of the people I'm meeting sends over the radio not to drive up like a maniac, the noise attracts zombies. So I park a short distance away and walk up. We gather the stuff at the clinic and head back, weighed down by large backpacks full of medicine. Of course, I stop at my truck and stow the backpack and the guys says "Are you deaf? I said no vehicles!" In case you couldn't tell, this character is the a$$hole of the group. So, I get the backpack back out and we start walking. Not 2 minutes later, the other person's backpack falls apart and she can't carry the stuff anymore, and says to get a car to ride back in.

grrrrrrrr.......

So, we are too far from where I left my truck, it was smoking anyway, so I go to grab a sedan that's parked in front of a minimart, beating off a few zombies on the way. The other guy gets mad about the vehicle use and takes off, leaving us. So I get the car, the other girl hops in and we take off back to the safe(ish) place we are staying.

I mean, it just irks me the way they artificially manipulate how you have to play.

Another bit that's a tad annoying is the defend the building scenarios. Every now and then you have to blockade a building and keep the zombies out for a certain amount of time. Usually this requires you nailing boards over the windows and running back and forth trying to keep them all blocked. You can't fight the number of zombies that arrive, so you play apocalypse carpenter for five minutes until the arbitrary timer is up.

Once I get a vehicle that's durable, I'll drive around the map more and see what there is to see. It looks extensive from what I can tell.

[PZ]

Sounds like the a$$hole is begging to get the crap kicked out of him  :-()

Too bad about the building timer thing - I have never liked timed events of any kind where you are locked in to the event.  In a more realistic situaiton, you would be able to escape the building somehow rather than being required to stay like some idiot that doesn't know any better.

[Art Blade]

so you play apocalypse carpenter for five minutes

:-X

[fragger]

Sounds like they ripped that boarding-up-the-windows thing from a bonus mini-game that was unlocked at the end of Call Of Duty: World At War (it was called Nazi Zombies or something). It was an option that appeared on the main menu once you'd played all the way through the main game. You're in a bombed-out old house and Nazi Zombies are trying to get at you through windows that you have to try to keep boarded up whilst fighting off the zombs. You had guns and stuff to fight with and could earn XPs to trade for new weapons and/or ammo, and the idea was you just kept playing to see how many levels (waves) you could survive until you finally got clobbered. As each new wave of zombies arrived they would move faster and be more numerous. Eventually they'd get you.

Silly fun, for a little while.

[Binnatics]

Well, Fragger, funny you came up with that zombie game. I played a sequel of that Nazi Zombie game you describe, it came with CoD Black Ops. It is the best zombie game I've ever played. So simple, but so damn tense. Surviving waves and killing zombies would indeed give you some sort of XP, which you could use to either open weapon or ammo crates or open doors. After a while you'd find out you were in a huge old cinema where you could literally run around in. It was 4 player coop, it's probably the best co-op I've ever played, together with FC3 coop and GTA IV coop.

I really am curious, D_B, if you will forget the 3rd person view after a while. That's what happened to me as well, because I know it usually doesn't add up to the game immersion indeed. Somehow, after a while, you just forget about it. I think the best 3rd person gameplay is offered by Max Payne 3. There it WILL add to the experience once you get used to it. Seeing your character move and do certain things will just add to the experience, and will make you feel more "one" with your digital you. It's amazing how it works; I think it's proper manipulating the player's imagination.

[Art Blade]

my fave TPS is SaintsRow3. It is just cool to dress your character with truckloads of different gear that is on top customisable (colours) and watch yourself run around. Particularly when playing a female character and using a nude mod.  :-D

[PZ]

Red Dead Redemption had a zombie version.  I got it, but tired of it rather quickly.

[Dweller_Benthos]

I remember that zombie level from CoD World at War, and this is similar, though there is no way to survive this by fighting, at least not at the skill level my characters currently are at, and you can't carry enough ammo to shoot them all, your only option is to board the windows up and keep after them, occasionally fighting the couple zombs who slip through. The reason (at least in this case) we couldn't just leave was that one person was injured and under a doctor's care, he couldn't be moved. When all was said and done, he died anyway, so pointless. The other times I've seen the same situation on videos were essentially the same thing, play nurse maid to boarded up windows until the arbitrary timer runs out or you fail and die. With the limited amount of characters, dying is a big deal, you only have a small pool of friends to continue the game with.

But, I'm getting use to the third person, or at least tolerating it. I've grabbed a crossbow mod that looks cool and I may install a master clock mod to make the nights shorter, because even with the lighting mod, nights are still dark. Forum posts just say to crank the brightness on the monitor. I say that's bad game design.

[Art Blade]

reminds me of a fc2 cheat: -GameProfile_timescale 0  :-()

[JRD]

there's apparently some type of ongoing fascination for zombie games as they keep popping up like mushrooms after a rainfall.

It's the The Walking Dead effect.

This TV show attracts legions of fans and started this recent wave of zombie games. One way or another, zombies have ever been around pop culture and videogames. The Return of the Living Dead as a classic trash 80's movies and the whole Resident Evil series since early 90's being examples on the top of my head. It so happened that TWD is the first successful TV show about zombies and today's pop culture is heavily based on continuously feeding the audience with what they want, so if the zombie apocalypse is today's special, everybody is having it.  ????

As for the show.... meh.... I watch it just to criticize cuz it's not really good. [insert thumbs down icon here]

[Dweller_Benthos]

I've only watched a couple episodes of The Walking Dead, and not starting from the beginning, was pretty much lost. It was OK, but not being emotionally invested in any of the characters, didn't care who died or not. Seemed to me to be more soap opera with zombies than anything IMO.

[JRD]

That's exaclty what it is: soap opera with zombies in the background.

It relies on cheap writing and predictable events to create situations where stereotyped characters interact.