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Multiplayer Game Reviews
February 13, 2010
Zombie Driver – the name pretty much says it all. Get behind the wheel and start running the undead over. Sure, it’s not entirely imaginative, but sometimes its the simple things in life that are the most enjoyable and Zombie Driver tries for that.
The introduction tells the story in silent storyboard format. A chemical or nuclear plant has exploded, contaminating the citizens of the city and turning them into flesh eating zombies. That is the extent of any real storyline in the game, which is good, because it leaves more time for turning zombies into roadkill.
 The Aforementioned Road Kill You start off in a simple Taxi with nothing but your bumper to smash through the ranks of zombies. This is, of course, satisfying in so many ways. As you accomplish missions, you earn more money to buy upgrades and the like.
 A Mission of Grave Importance Each level begins with you being informed of your Primary Mission. These are straightforward – “Rescue X number of citizens in these locations in X amount of time’. Doing so not only gives you money, but can also earn rewards of new weapons, cars, etc. You’re also given a Secondary Mission. These are often ‘Kill X number of Zombies’ or along those lines. Extra cash flows your way if you accomplish those.
An added bonus is that your vehicle of choice – be it a taxi, sports car, bus, or whatnot – only takes damage from zombies. This means that you can run right through parked vehicles (causing them to explode into fiery goodness), fences, and other debris scattered about the wreckage of the city.
Zombie Driver’s graphics are decent and do a good job of showing the carnage left behind by your violation of traffic laws. Audio is fine but I turned off the music after a while. The game is shown from a top-down isometric view with three camera options. Note – if you have a tendency to get motion sickness, you’ll want to try out the demo first. The camera views can be disorienting and you might want to limit your playing time to short chunks. Control-wise, it’s simple – ASDW or Arrow keys plus a few for shooting and using the hand brake. There is also an option for Game Pad if you’re so inclined.
 Knocking 'em dead-er with lead Zombie Driver could benefit from an in-game radar or map. More than once I found myself stuck at a dead-end while racing to save survivors. It’s frustrating, to say the least. The game is short (17 levels, 2 -3 hours of play) and can be repetitious. After the first few levels, not much changes aside from your vehicle and weapon package. You’ll have to rely on your own glee in splattering the undead to continue.
Zombie Driver is not the best zombie game on the market out there, but for just $10, it’s an easy way to kill a weekend if there isn’t anything good in the theaters or if you’re snowed in. It’s available from the website or through Steam.
Game: Zombie Driver | Developer: Exor Studios
February 12, 2010
 Screenshot 1 Holy blood and guts, Batman. I think it’s time for a little cartoon violence!
If you’re looking for some hardcore death and destruction Bad Rats: The Rats Revenge is right up your alley. Have you ever heard of the old board game Mouse Trap? Yeah, you have to create this little plastic fun town where everything is connected and affects one another in a way to close a trap around this poor little plastic mouse. Well that’s what you’ll be doing in this adventure down memory lane. Only this time the rats have all the power and they use it as any other living, breathing creature would: to destroy their enemies. You know what they say about payback.
I want to say that this game is just mindless mayhem, strewn about your screen in cheerful colors and a lot of crimson pixels but it’s not. I’ll admit: I’m kind of a wuss when it comes to violence. I always turn off the blood in my fighting games (which IS an option in Bad Rats: The Rats Revenge) and I can’t watch boxing because I’m always worried about the brain damage and facial reconstructions the players will have to live through. Yeah, that’s me, I’m the girly-girl stereotype in all it’s shameful glory. That being said I REVELED in the death and destruction of these poor little chained up pussies.
 Screenshot 2 I don’t know what it is, maybe it’s the fact that when you get the answer wrong the little buggers sit in their cages (or microwaves in some cases) and laugh their asses off, but by the time I was finished with my second level I was cheering at the horribly gruesome death I had inflicted on it. It was amazing, blowing them up, squishing them, *bleep*ing cats always meowing in the middle of the night, demanding rather than asking, little pest always making me let him outside… I swear if I could….
Uhh…I got a little off track there. As you can tell I have a cat. Anyway, no: Bad Rats: The Rats Revenge isn’t just mindless violence, though that is a big part of it. At the core of the game it’s a strategy game. You use rats, objects, and physics to basically create a machine that will kill your target. This game makes you WORK for the gruesome murders you strive to achieve and let me tell you, it’s not always the piece of cheese you may expect.
Game: Bad Rats: The Rats Revenge | Developer: Invent 4
February 11, 2010
Virus Effect
Virus Effect is a free java-based 2D shooter. Players are able to earn credits to upgrade weapons and armor and also earn experience points for killing enemies. The game is set in the year 2100 and deals with protecting a virtual world from viruses (in the form of monsters that need to be killed). Actually, the plot element doesn’t make quite as much sense as it should, but not to worry, the other aspects of the game make up for that.
Gameplay and Features
To enjoy the full game you’re required to register at the Virus Effect site, but registration is free and you gain a cash bonus which you can put towards upgrading your weapons, etc (this is discussed further just below).
For a java-based game the graphics are very good. The controls are also easy enough to pick up. The mouse is used for aiming and firing; the keyboard for movement, inventory and other things. To help new gamers pick up the control system a training scenario is provided.
The really neat thing about this game is the ability to customize your character. At the base level, where you always end up after finishing a mission, there are shops where you can buy guns and equipment or personalize your look. You buy these things with credits earned during missions. Each greebly you kill gives you some credits, called CredX. You also encounter other objects along the way that provide credits and health. You can repeat levels too if you wish, which is helpful when you’re starting out and want to get better equipment before encountering tougher opponents.
An RPG element is also thrown in, with each kill giving experience points, and enough experience points means level advances.
As of yet there isn’t a multiplayer feature, but according to the site that’s in development. The site itself is easy to navigate, and has a forum and an option for chatting with other online players.
The other good thing about the game is that it’s constantly in development. So it will continue to improve. And, according to the developer’s blog, a version for Android is currently being worked on.
There are a host of screenshots and an embedded video onsite to give you a taste of what the games looks and feels like, but here are two screenshots (one my own and one plucked from their screenshots page–the ‘game over’ one is mine) that might pique your interest some:
 I  Take that, critters
All in all this is a fun, playable game that will only get better. An easy way to spend an hour or two (or possibly longer).
Game URL: Virus Effect
Developer: Corv Studios
At first glance, Altitude appears to be a modern day recreation of the 2D side-scrolling shooters popular in the ’80s. The graphics have been refined and polished, the game play is seemingly straight forward and the controls are ultra-simple. Fly around and blast the enemy from the sky. Ho hum.
All it takes is about two minutes of play to wipe any thought of the ’80s straight from your mind. Altitude is a fast-paced and furious game of blasting your enemies from the sky.
Destroying opponents or completing goals earns you XP which in turn are used to raise levels. Raising levels gives you access to extra planes. There are a total of five planes in the game. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. The Loopy is quick and maneuverable, but can be swatted out of the sky easily. The Bomber delivers a lot of power at the expense of being slow. Other planes include the Explodet, Miranda, and Bi-Plane. You can further customize your plan with Perks. There are over twenty with none being limited to a single plane, which allows for a tremendous number of combinations. Perks are broken down into three categories – Red, Green, and Yellow. Red perks are unique with each plane having three. There are twenty-three Green and Blue perks which can be fitted onto any plane, allowing for a tremendous amount of customization.
Altitude offers multiple game modes too. These range from Base Destruction to Death Match to the ever present Free For All. Some modes have both a Team version and a 1-Life version for added challenge. There’s also BALL where two teams attempt to score on the other by shooting or flying a ball into their opponents goal. Given the number of players and size of maps, every mode is quick-paced without having to hunt around for your opponents.
In single-player mode, you can face off against Bots of varying difficulty. Connect to the multiplayer option though and Altitude really takes off (pardon the pun). Versions of the game downloaded through Steam do not include the Altitude server, but it is available for download off the main website.
If there is a complaint, it’s the lack of an in-game map to steer you toward your goals or to identify your opponents. This is tempered somewhat by the fact that most maps are not large enough to put you far from the action at any time. There is also the music – stereotypical and nothing exciting, but easy to turn down or tune out.
Altitude also boasts a fair-sized Wiki (http://nimblygames.com/wiki/) with complete information on each plane, perks, and strategy guides. The game also has an active community which has contributed a number of new maps. Have questions? Ask on the forums. The specs are low enough that anyone with a computer purchased in the past couple of years won’t have any difficulty running it. Altitude is also family friendly, though one always has to watch out for random chatter while playing online.
Altitude is available for both the PC, Mac, and Linux through Steam, Direct2Drive, or through a PayPal purchase. Strap on some goggles, pick up a copy and take to the skies.
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Game: Altitude | Developer: Nimbly Games
February 9, 2010
Dante’s Inferno, an Xbox 360 update of The Divine Comedy, is a hellish assault on the senses, where you are Dante, a knight returning home from the Crusades with a deeper understanding of the evils you have committed. Hoping to settle in to a life of quiet redemption, Dante’s dreams are shattered when he returns home to find his love Beatrice has been slaughtered. He arrives just in time to see her soul carried off by minions from Hell, thus starting a terrifying and action-packed journey into the bowels of the afterlife. While on this journey, beware of walking corpses, grotesque creatures, and grim representations of Death. As Dante sinks deeper into the nine levels of Hell, the environment will get in on the action as fire and brimstone combines with crumbling foundations to stack the cards against him and keep Beatrice out of reach. The race is on against good old-fashioned eternal damnation: a punishment with all the time in the world at its disposal.
Gameplay
Dante’s Inferno is very easy to figure out, and not that challenging to master. With a style reminiscent of Team Ninja’s Ninja Gaiden II, you can use your X and Y buttons to do a considerable amount of damage. Gore and violence go with the territory, though it is not quite as disturbing or pronounced as what you will see in NGII. Neither is the game as challenging. Just a quick, fun romp through some beautiful, hellishly designed levels amid an ethereal love story!
Technical Quality
Processing time is seamless and thorough with strong graphics and masterful cut scenes, which give the game a much more pronounced movie-like quality. While the fighting is certainly bloody, there seems a softer, faraway quality that doesn’t quite measure up to others of the genre. However, the art direction alone is worth giving Dante’s Inferno a play-through. With rich dark hues and sharp fiery contrast, it’s a beautiful game to look at and explore. It brings to life the grubby surroundings of medieval times, but also takes an imaginative cue from the classic work of literature on which it is based.
February 8, 2010
The (mysterious) past awaits you!
 Interface Screen 1 Gregory Phoenix is a man with a past. What that means to him, and us, is not entirely known. What is known is that The Mysterious Past of Gregory Phoenix is a hell of a fun time if you’re looking for a quality puzzle game that moves you along with a simple yet compelling narrative and several fun and challenging game boards. Underscored by a compelling mix of haunting music that carries with it surprising range and beauty, this game is a truly welcome breath of fresh air into the PC/web-based gaming platform. White Zebra has pulled out all the stops for this premier effort, which focuses on a Where’s Waldo style of game-play that nevertheless works in a less-than-Waldo-esque way. The plot: Gregory Phoenix is searching for a family secret, but to find it, he will have to move across many different environments and search through a variety of cluttered landscapes for the objects which will bring him one step closer to the ultimate discovery. From Mayan temples to rain forests to a knight’s lair and darkly lit graveyards, this is a gothic journey where virtually anything can turn up.
Technical Quality
The transition screens featuring Gregory and his traveling companion are amateurish compared to the exquisite details of the rest of the game, but all in all, it is a solid presentation. It’s clear and easy to follow, with razor sharp graphics in the actual game screens.
Gameplay
You could not ask for game-play with an easier learning curve than this, which adds to the game’s addictive qualities. In the lower right hand corner of each screen, you are given text descriptions of the objects you must find to advance. It’s up to you to pick out the needles in this animated haystack and discover the keys to new lands that are filled with more clues to point you to the final, inevitable conclusion. As far as the actual game screens are concerned, all you have to do is click on the object and it will cross your word from the list. Complete each level of varying difficulties, and you will transition to another more exotic locale. If you get stuck, seek help from the “?” icon, but be careful: each time you consult its help, it removes a chunk of valuable juice from your battery. If your meter runs too low, keep your eyes peeled for the valuable battery boosters hidden throughout each screen.
 Interface Screen 2 The Mysterious Past of Gregory Phoenix is great for any fan of puzzle games. At only $6.99 for the full version, you can experience a complex game of riddles and clues for a fraction of the cost of what you will find in stores. And best of all, if you’re unsure, download the demo for free, give it a try, and help Gregory discover his secret!
Game: The Mysterious Past of Gregory Phoenix | Developer: White Zebra
February 7, 2010
Bicycle Texas Hold’Em Poker
Do you like a spot of poker now and then? If so, Bicycle Texas Hold’Em, a free online poker game hosted by MSN Games, may be for you. No real money changes hands; there’s a choice between playing computer players or other people; and as long as you have Internet Explorer you should be able to play the game.
Features and Gameplay
Bicycle Texas Hold’Em features a tournament style of play. Blinds rise every six minutes and a rating system determines who you play against.
The rating system is the single best feature of the game, in this reviewer’s opinion, and is the thing that sets it apart from other free Hold’Em games. Simply put (though the specifics of the system are not so easy to work out) your rating starts at 1600 and if you win, or place highly, your rating improves. If you don’t do so well your rating goes down. And, to make sure you’re not continually playing against people who are much better or worse than you, your rating helps decide which opponents you play against. Because of this you’ll find most players above the start-up level are more conscientious of protecting their chips and less prone to make silly calls just to see if they’ll get lucky.
Each tournament is a single-table affair of eight people. Everybody starts with $100 worth of chips and the blinds start at $1/2. Six minutes later the second round begins and the blinds are raised to $2/5, and so on until one person remains as champion.
This type of gameplay means that it’s possible to play sensibly and do well, but it also means you’ll need to win hands to win the game.
As to overall gameplay: due to the blinds increasing every six minutes and the small amount of starting chips, not a lot of raising is done pre-flop, so players can limp in and hit hands without having to spend a lot of chips to do so. This adds to the excitement of the game and means there’s a lot more showdowns between two or three players with very good hands. However, it can get frustrating if you find yourself with a really good hand, but losing the pot frequently.
 The game mode screen  A typical game If you’re just looking to polish up your skills, you can choose to play against the computer or even play heads up with only one other opponent.
Overall, this is a fun game to play, but still–like poker should be–not an easy one to master.
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Game: Bicycle Texas Hold’Em | Developer: Microsoft
February 6, 2010
Stick Arena: Ballistick
Deathmatch, stick-man style. Battle it out with other stickmen in cool maps, with twelve different weapons, ranging from a hammer to a flamethrower. Who will have the most kills at the end of the round? Will it be you?
Stick Arena: Ballistick is a flash-based game that is basically as described above.
Gameplay
This is a very fun game. The controls are simple, arrow keys or WASD to move, and use the mouse to aim and fire. For a rapid attack hold the mouse button down, clicking repeatedly doesn’t help you fire any faster. To pick up a weapon all you need to do is walk over it. But be careful, that weapon you pick up will replace your existing one, so if you’ve got the AK-47 and don’t really want the baseball bat, then don’t walk over the bat.
The objective is simple too. Kill as many of the other players as often as possible in the time allotted for the round. The winner of each round gets the right to gloat. And if you’re able to pay attention, each time a stickman is killed, a pithy remark describing the method appears on the top right of the screen.
Each time you die you’re regenerated somewhere on the map and finding weapons is easy; they’re everywhere and reappear often as well.
Added Features
If you register as an XGen member, you unlock a whole lot of different features. You can create your own maps, earn credits to buy pets (such as a flaming skull or a cigar-smoking fish) to make you more fearsome on the battle field, and spinners (the little spinny things underneath your stickman).
You can start your own games, either public or private, beginning on one of over a dozen levels.
And your profile keeps track of your kills, your win/loss percentages, how many kills you average per round and your overall rating.
Also, if you want to part with a little real cash you can buy passes to new levels which contain a whole lot of new weapons.
A lot of people play this game, and the lobby is always buzzing with conversation.
Technical
The graphics are excellent, the sound is consistent and the controls easy to get used to.
Really, there’s not much I can fault with this game. Perhaps, the tiniest of nits, the maps are slightly claustrophobic, but in turn that means nobody can hide in a corner and get through a round unscathed.
Multiplayer
The game is entirely multiplayer. There’s no AI and there’s no lag or other discernable consequences of having a whole group of people from all over the world playing the same flash game.
I’m giving this one five out of five.
(again, please excuse the screenshots–first one particularly–they do the game no justice)
 The kill tally at the end of the round  The bones of a stickman break just like that of any other man, especially when hit by a sledgehammer
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Game: Stick Arena: Ballistick | Developer: XGen Studios
February 5, 2010
Now, I’ll be the first to tell you that I’m not all that big into sports. I mean, it’s repetitive and boring, right? Wrong. For the last few days I’ve been playing around with the wonderfully innovative game Howzat, an online Cricket Game that managed to completely surprise me.
Now, within the first few hours of tinkering around with this little gem I was forced to accept the fact that I know absolutely nothing about cricket. It looks kind of like another sport but the rules and workings are completely different. At first I was kind of wary about going out and actually researching the sport itself so that I could play this game (which came recommended to me from a friend) so I skipped it all together. Then a funny thing happened: I was interested.
Now, you don’t actually NEED to know much about cricket to get this game. It’s fairly straight forward when you look at the controls and effort required to play. I spent a while in the practice mode, just trying to figure out when I am supposed to do what and when I finally got it it was more or less a cinch to play. You have the option of finding others to play with or you can invite friends –who are hopefully at the same level of expertise on the game as you are—but either way you’re not going to be terribly lost while playing.
 Play Field |
 Play Table |
The game itself is designed beautifully. I was really impressed by the movement of the characters on the field and the accuracy of the timing. When you press the button to hit or throw the ball you can expect the game to do exactly as you tell it to. Unfortunately this leaves you unable to blame the game when you miss, but that’s a fair trade off (if you’re not my rage-y husband).
In the end I rather enjoyed myself playing cricket for the last few days. There are tons of incentives to working hard on your team and building them up, including badges and a nice little team info to show off once you’re good enough (one day!). Even more surprising is the fact that after playing the game for a while I actually volunteered to go read up on my cricket. Anyone who is interested in sports should definitely give this one a try, whether cricket is your game or not. Who knows, you just might learn something.
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Game URL: http://howzat.com/
Developer: Game Ventures http://www.gameventures.com/
February 4, 2010
Solar Chiefs
Solar Chiefs is a multiplayer flash game which is a whole lot of fun. The aim is to blow your opponent’s star/planet base out of the vacuum. You can play up to three other people at a time.
As you play more games you advance in rank and earn research points to upgrade weapons.
Gameplay
The gameplay is a little tricky to get used to at first. You have a fifteen second round to buy or upgrade weapons, move and aim and fire at your opponent’s base. At starting level your weapons are particularly puny and if you don’t aim them right you risk damaging yourself.
To aim, you need to click on the weapon, drag the cursor in the direction you want to fire and pull the mouse away from the weapon to increase power. To buy or upgrade weapons you need to click on the word buy or upgrade in the weapon slot at the bottom, not anywhere else.
And make sure you use your rocket boosters to navigate. A moving target is a lot harder to hit than one sitting still.
At the end of the fifteen seconds all the moves you’ve detailed take place. Any damage you take is counted as population loss. If you lose all the population on your base you blow up. You also earn money for the next round based on how much population you have left over.
The last player surviving is the winner.
Technical
The sound, while basic, is fitting and gives the game a nice retro feel. The graphics (my terrible screenshots notwithstanding; the fault is my software, not the game) are excellent.
Perhaps the only letdown is that there is no computer AI to play against first to learn how the game works. But there is a healthy number of players on the site at any given time, as well as in-game chat options.
There is also an option to add the game to your website. There are the typical caveats (no changes to base code, etc), but the developer is quite happy for people to spread the game around.
Registration
Like many games of this sort, the option is available to register or to play as a guest. To enjoy the full spectrum of the game it is best to register. Registration is free, and means your progress is automatically saved. This will enable you to upgrade weapons and advance in rank. Also, when you register your registration (I believe) covers all the games that MyGames have developed.
Overall, another fun game that is reminiscent of some older generation games, but much better in quality.
 Your research room -- where you upgrade your weapons in between battles  help! everybody's ganging up on me!
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Game: Solar Chiefs | Developer: MyGame
February 3, 2010
 Quality graphics made DSP a treat to look at. Driving Speed Pro (DSP) comes to us all the way from Australia’s Wheelspin Studios, a group of indie developers and the creators of the popular Driving Speed 1 & 2 games. The game includes a collection of seven cars and four tracks. You can jump in and play a Quick Race, Multiplayer, or a Career Mode which offers Test drives and Race Events.
Graphics-wise, DSP is easily on par with some big-budget games. The cars look slick and so do the tracks. Neither adds in too much in flashy extras to get in the way. The audio is solid as well, without being annoying.
The game physics are realistic. Hit a corner too fast and you’ll spin out. The inclusion of an optional Braking Line makes it easier for the leadfoots among us to ease up on that problem. ABS and Traction Control are also optional toggles. While at the starting line you have the option to tune your car, and between races in Career mode you can apply a wide variety of upgrades including tires, brakes, engine changes, etc. The default controls are the Arrow keys, but you can hook up an XBOX Controller to your PC and use that instead. Lap times are easily uploaded so that you can compare yourself to others around the world.
 Should I upgrade performance or handling? The Career mode caught my eye, as I enjoy games that allow you to fight your way up through the ranks, allowing you to improve and customize your vehicle while at the same time being responsible for any setbacks (i.e. – crashes). DSP does that fairly well. I did find that some of the upgrades were rather cheap (after winning the first Race Event, I could easily upgrade my car to the max of everything) and you are limited in accessing some events until you have the proper car, which actually limited the game play somewhat until you could afford a new vehicle.
DSP Multiplayer mode is excellent. The system requirements are so low that a group of friends could easily dig up some old computers to have a LAN party. DSP offers both LAN and WAN options, but the lack of a centralized hosting server means you’ll have to know the IP Address of those you want to play with.
That said, DSP is not without its flaws. The damage modeling is poor. I repeatedly hit barriers at 120mph and drove away with just a few scuff marks. In Career mode, the damage costs a lot to repair, but it didn’t seem reflected in my performance too much. The Track Map, constrained to a small box, barely showed me enough of the upcoming track to prepare. I felt that it could have been larger and transparent.
Likewise, the Camera views irked me severely. You have two options, a Chase and Hood cam. In my opinion, the Chase cam was too low and close to the rear of the vehicle. It made it difficult to see the track ahead. As for the Hood cam, I would have preferred that it was moved back onto the Roof. The lack of an In-Car cam might disappoint some, but I rarely use that in racing games so I didn’t notice. Oddly enough, more camera views were available in the Replay mode, but not game mode.
Despite these flaws, Driving Speed Pro is a very good game, especially considering its price and quality graphics and game play. The career mode was challenging and kept me entertained. It’s low cost also makes it a bargain for a group of friends at the next LAN Party.
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Game: Driving Speed Pro | Developer: Wheelspin Studios
February 2, 2010
This classic game from Interplay Entertainment should have found a better following than it did upon its original release in 2000. Despite state of the art graphics, which incorporated tessellating polygons to create an efficient yet beautiful world of the imagination, Sacrifice was never embraced by the PC gaming community, and as such, fans of the original have had to remain happy with the initial product with no updates planned for the immediate future. Perhaps the success of World of Warcraft left a cramped space in the online gaming multiverse. Whatever the reason, Sacrifice is still out there for you to enjoy at a bargain basement price in spite of its sophisticated and elegant pedigree.
 The mythical world of Sacrifice. Sacrifice is known as a real-time strategy game (or RTS), which focuses on combat between you and your enemies instead of simple resource gathering. Constructed on this altar of violence is a thought-provoking tale that mirrors our own world — where men kill in the name of their gods, staking their actions on the high stakes risk that theirs is the one right path. Though shrouded in the veil of fantasy and wizardry, it is a non-threatening and thought-provoking metaphor for the decisions we choose to make regarding faith.
Technical Quality
Keep in mind this game is now ten years old in its original form. It has not received a lot of attention from Interplay over the years, though kudos to them for making it available. Having said that, graphics are fairly smooth and lush. Greens and browns are still vibrant. Rushing water moves with characteristic fluidity. Some of the secondary characters are a little amateurish by today’s standards, while others possess a surprising sharpness and fluidity, particularly the main character. Battle scenes are also somewhat dazzling in an only mildly clunky way. It was a brilliant effort one decade ago. Even today, it remains respectable.
 Fantasy and wizardry reign supreme in Sacrifice.
Gameplay
Sacrifice contains an extensive but rewarding tutorial that will help you navigate your character and learn all the key features like how to maneuver your character, check your surroundings, command your minions, cast spells, and do battle. You can’t just pick it up and play, but the rewards of learning its complexities will result in a more rewarding overall experience.
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Game: [Sacrifice] | Developer: [Interplay]
One last thing: Sacrifice does not require online connectivity, but if you wish to enjoy the benefits of the multi-player universe, you will want to stay hooked in. However you decide to play, this is a game of epic qualities filled with spectacular settings, fast-paced action, and mythical adventure.
February 1, 2010
The hugely popular Borderlands game continues its assault on the first-player shooting world by introducing us to the first DLC for the game – The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned. The story line follows a disturbance at Jakob’s Cove and a search for answers from Dr. Ned (who is most definitely not Dr. Zed from the main game).
Upon installing Zombie Island, you’ll find that you can instantly fast travel to Jakob’s Cove. Once there, there is no fast travel (except back to the main game areas) or vehicles, but maps are small enough that you can easily complete a mission in a far flung area and return before the enemy re-spawns. Depending on your preferences, this might be seen as a bonus or annoyance. Somewhat irksome was that no matter where you ended your gaming session, you always restarted back in Jakob’s Cove.
 You Always Come Home Again The enemies are slight rehashes of those found in the main game with your standard Zombies (Bandits), Maniacs, Midgets, and Wereskags. New foes include huge Tankesnteins and Suicide Zombies who carry explosive barrels to chuck your way. Shooting the barrel has the result you’d expect. Headshots reward you with Zombie Brains that can be used for a side quest. Limbs can be blasted off as well, leading to a few surprises. After a one vicious fight, I found myself being spewed upon by an enemy I couldn’t see. It was then that I discovered that if you blow off a zombie’s legs, their insatiable appetite keeps them crawling. I kept a better eye out for torsos after that.
Along with the main story line, side quests are provided by the familiar Bounty Board and ECHO missions. No new skills are added in Zombie Island, just about forty or so new missions. Players are given the opportunity, after completing a specific quest, to purchase firearms from a special Jakob’s vending machine. Sadly, the machine in my game stopped working after I quit for the evening and I couldn’t buy from it again.
 Beeeer...er, Braaaains Because the game is based on your story progress and not your level, some might find it too easy. I didn’t pick up Zombie Island until after I’d finished the main quest. This resulted in fun, but not terribly challenging game play. Four player co-op with some friends at a lower level provided more of a challenge with the added bonus of pulverizing the undead with friends.
From the sarcasm-laced introduction provided by Marcus and a sweet little girl to the Jakob’s public service announcements (“We’d like to remind survivors that we are not a taxi service…”), Zombie Island shows off the same quirky humor seen throughout Borderlands. The graphics are well done with the spooky swamp atmosphere achieved by modifying the Day/Night cycle so that it never gets very bright.
The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned is a great addition to Borderlands and for just $10, quite a bargain. Grab some friends, pick up a copy, and spend the weekend sending the undead packing.
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Game: Zombie Island of Dr. Ned | Developer: Gearbox Software
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