Before we begin, I’d just like to admit something, I’ve not
seen the 2013 Brad Pitt World War Z film, or even read the 2006 book it's supposedly based on, I have however, watched a lot of zombie-themed TV and films, and
played a good number of undead-orientated games, keen as I am on the genre, I
feel I might have reached my limit, with the trailers for upcoming films like
The Dead Don’t Die, and games like Days Gone and Dying Light 2 leaving me cold,
I had the same opinion of World War Z, the game, another zombie shooter, yawn,
that was, until I played it, but I’ll get to that shortly.
Set on an Earth where humanity is on the verge of
extinction, a deadly plague has spread, causing the dead to reanimate and
attack the living, those attacked then die, become zombies, and so on and so
on, you all know the story, anyways, World War Z (the book) is an account of
what happened along the way given by various survivors across the world,
telling the stories of governments at war, corporate corruption, and military
reinvention.
WWZ (the game) is a third-person shooter set in this world,
players can team up in a campaign mode that takes place over three chapters
each in four different countries, working together to fend off the undead-hordes
and achieve objectives, or turn your guns on your fellow man in multiplayer,
ranging from a classic King of the Hill mode, to the unique Vaccine Hunt and
Scavenge Raid modes, each pitting two teams of four against each other, with the
added threat of a swarm of zombies appearing at any moment.
Where this game differs to most other zombie-centric titles
is in its numbers, starting the co-op campaign on a rooftop in New York, you
work your way down the floors to the lobby of the building, small groups of the
undead inhabit the halls and offices, giving you chance to get to grips with
the controls and varieties of enemies, giving the impression that what you’re
playing is like other similar titles, until you reach the lobby, you look out
the glass front of the building to see what can only be described as a
torrential river, of zombies, shortly after, you’re tasked with setting up
makeshift defences because that river soon wants in.
With swarms consisting of up to 1000 individual zombies,
World War Z throws everything it’s got at you, and then some, a swift and
inevitable death comes to those who are unprepared, with communication and
teamwork being the keys to survival, sharing ammunition, supplies, and medical
packs, not only that, but keeping the right balance between the six available
character classes is essential to your team’s survival, each with their own starting
skills and weapons, it’s no good going into battle with four medics, when at
some point you might want something to go boom.
For example, the Gunslinger class specializes in high rate
of fire, the Fixer class provides ally support with explosive ammunition and ammo
replenishment, and if you’re inclined, the Medic aids in healing and boosting
teammates, as you progress with each class you gain experience and unlock perks
and bonuses, these can range from starting with more powerful weapons, or new
explosives, increased ammo capacity, or team bonuses of extra health, improved area
of effect distances, and faster teammate revival, learning the basics of each
class can help, but honing your skills with a particular one can make all the
difference.
The whole spirit of the campaign is in the playing with a
team, but in the absence of other human players, it is possible to play by
yourself, the AI is surprisingly quite capable, but you don’t quite get the
same satisfaction on completion of a chapter as knowing you’ve successfully
worked with others elsewhere, I tended to boot up an online game regardless of
anyone else being in the lobby, and would work my way through until my AI
teammate’s were taken over, it meant saving time waiting for everyone to
ready-up, and allowed me to rack up loads more kills beforehand.
If however, you’re in the mood for working against others, in
what developer Saber Interactive have dubbed Player vs Player vs Zombie mode—or
PvPvZ, the multiplayer features two teams of four facing-off against each other
in five different multiplayer scenarios, based in locations from the campaign,
but all featuring guest appearances from our favourite roaming zombie mosh pits,
similar to the campaign, players have ten classes to choose from, each with
their own weapons and perks, that all in turn level-up as the player gains
experience with them, it almost feels like a completely different game, if it
weren’t for the occasional zombie swarm charging through the match.
You’d think that with the huge number of undead putting in
an appearance that the graphics and performance in World War Z would be lacking,
I’m pleased to say this is not the case, the environments and character models
are really well detailed, and whilst there may only be about fifty or so
different models of zombie and only four ’special’ types, the locations are
nicely realised, and never appear drab, the abandoned snow-covered streets of
Moscow, the derelict underground maintenance tunnels of New York, or the narrow
streets of Tokyo leading to a hopeful sea bound escape.
From tense moments confined within cluttered New York
skyscrapers to wide-open battles in facilities in the mountains of Jerusalem,
there was no point where the game seemed to show any strain, guns blazing and bodies
flying as we defend our escape helicopter preparing to take-off, hundreds of
zombies climbing the walls, shear bloody mayhem, but no stuttering, and no sign
of any lag, not even with my patchy internet, games were found quickly, and not
once was I even disconnected.
I wouldn’t normally play these kind of team-based online
games, but there is just enough narrative within World War Z to keep me
interested, completing a level with each character unlocks small animated
back-stories for them, and there’s brief reports on the fall of each city too,
detailing the operations, and the severity of the overall situation, it might
not seem like much, but it’s a nice touch and immerse you in this world of humanity
on the brink of extinction.
Anybody who has ever played Left 4 Dead will feel right at
home here, each chapter of the campaign boils down to getting from Point A to
Point B, with a few (literal) bullet points along the way, and the multiplayer
is enjoyable, with the zombie intrusion during matches breathing fresh life into
what would normally be fairly standard PvP, it's not perfect by any stretch, but is fun enough and rewarding, that if Saber Interactive are able to
continue providing new content and updates past their initial three-month
roadmap, we could see WWZ following in the same footsteps for team-based
multiplayer as Rainbow Six: Siege and Overwatch.