Zombie Driver HD

TheTCD Tue Oct 23, 2012 2:17 pm

Developer: EXOR Studios

Publisher: Cyberfront Corporation

Price: 800MSP

It is probably not disingenuous to say that the vehicular combat genre has been tried many times over the years by developers of all calibres, to varying degrees of success. For every Twisted Metal or Micro Machines that ably demonstrates how well the concept can be executed, there is an inferior counterpart that could convince you otherwise. Now the relatively unknown Polish developer EXOR Studios has thrown their hat in the ring, but have attempted their own spin on proceedings by adding everyone's “favourite” doomsday plot device, Zombies.

The story involves a disastrous chemical accident that turns almost an entire city into ravenous, flesh-hungry monsters, and as a civilian survivor you find yourself tasked with running errands for the military in a bid to stem the tide of shamblers and save the day. It's fairly standard apocalypse material by any measure, but honestly I doubt even the developers would try to convince you that it's anything other than a flimsy premise to put you in a car and have you kill everything that moves. Sure, you're given briefings between missions that will tell you about the unfolding disaster, but anyone expecting gripping narrative and strong character development will be sorely disappointed. This is one game where brains are best disengaged on entry, and I don't think it would be discrediting anyone involved in its creation by saying that it's better for it.

Zombie Driver HD Screenshot_20110929_05small_zps6acc1645

Playing in an almost top-down perspective similar to the original Grand Theft Auto games, the core gameplay itself entails undergoing missions that give you main and optional objectives, occasionally introducing a new type of zombie as you get further into the game (think Special Infected from Left 4 Dead and you're on the right track), and every now and then throwing you into a boss fight before you progress to a new base of operations. Starting in an unarmed taxi ferrying survivors to your home base, you're soon given access to bigger and better toys to play with. You'll gather an assortment of guns with which to dispense punishment, including such shooter staples as flamethrowers and railguns, and you'll man a variety of steel beasts as the game progresses, from Muscle Cars and Limos, to Bulldozers and Tanks, all of which have their own strengths and weaknesses. Each weapon and vehicle genuinely feels different than the last and are satisfying to employ, and all can be upgraded between missions with money earned from gameplay. If you want to get all of the available vehicles and upgrades, you'll want to explore as much of the map as possible for loot, as well as mow down as many zombies and complete as many objectives you can. It's a very basic system, but it's robust and it does give you incentive to keep playing.

But “basic” is the key word here, and it's seemingly a mantra that permeates most of the game. While it plays solidly enough, repetition is a very real thing here, and there is a danger that boredom can quite easily set in when essentially all you do is move from Point A to Point B, and back again. Missions can last as little as a few minutes each if played without deviating from the task at hand, and that does help break up the monotony somewhat, but it feels as if even the developers knew it would be a stretch to expect the player to sit down for an extended period of time in this game, and as such this seems like a deliberate design choice on their part more than a consequence of a free-roaming environment, or any other reason for that matter.

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That's not to say that the game is inherently bad or boring, because it isn't. Roaming the city gunning down the undead can be a blast (no pun intended) in short doses, but it's somewhat telling that the game gives exactly that; short doses. However, there are also Race and Slaughter modes available from the moment you start the game, which are great fun compared to the shortcomings of the story mode, especially so for the latter which does a good job of distilling the essence of the game (the killing part, not the odd-job part) and then applying it all to the seemingly ever-popular “kill or be killed” wave-based mode seen in so many games these days. It's a great way to while away some time, and is incredibly addictive. It should also be noted that this game also lacks any form of multiplayer. This is a strictly Single Player experience throughout, and if you were hoping to team up with a friend to tackle the missions or arenas, then you're out of luck. In a genre that almost entirely thrives on the co-operative and competitive element to keep the games interesting, it feels like a curious and somewhat criminal omission, and one that harms the replayability considerably.

Visually, the game is pretty strong. The city is a good size and very well detailed, with some nice lighting, weather and other fancy graphical effects thrown in to give an air of credibility and authenticity to the destroyed city. These effects are put to great use in the night time missions where everything is sparsely lit by the occasional burning object, gunfire, and the headlights of your vehicle. The enemies are detailed and satisfying to kill, spraying blood and guts across the environment and your vehicle, and are impressive to behold by their sheer numbers alone. All of this visual loveliness comes at a cost however, as the game suffers from some pretty bad screen tearing, and the occasional drop in frame rate when things get intense. The latter is not such a game breaker as it never becomes so bad as to make the game unplayable - never dropping to slide show levels and at least maintaining some semblance of fluidity - but the tearing is very noticeable and can be distracting and off-putting for some, myself included. It's a considerable blemish on an otherwise strong suit for the game, and here's hoping that a fix is issued in the future.

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Audibly the game does a mostly good job throughout. The various types of zombie moan, scream and gurgle away as you would expect, gunfire sounds crisp and satisfyingly meaty, and the myriad vehicles all sound nice, from the jets and helicopters thundering overhead, to the metallic behemoths later in the game, and everything in between. The delivery of the voice acting however is wooden and dull, albeit with some humorous lines thrown in now and then by the survivors, and the music is as generic sounding as it can get. Imagine the music that plays on the menu screens of any recent Call of Duty game and you'll have a pretty good idea of what to expect. It's not awful by any means, it's just that so many games opt for music that sounds sombre and serious, that it seems that there was a wasted opportunity to try something different, especially given the overall tongue-in-cheek nature of the rest of the game.

The achievements are focused mainly on the story mode, with a few liberally sprinkled across the other game modes, and you are rewarded for trying out many aspects of the game. Ranging from killing x amount of enemies with a weapon type, to completing optional objectives in certain ways, to surviving long enough to gain a huge score in Slaughter mode, they are generally well thought out and never feel impossible to get, although with the story mode being as it is, it may be a while before you'll have the desire to get them all.

In all, Zombie Driver HD is very much a case of “almost, but not quite”. At it's core it's unashamedly fun to play, and is great to pick up every now and then if you want something simple and non-taxing to chip away at. With a little more work or thought put into it, this could have been a great little game in every aspect, it's just a shame that the various flaws and niggles are so evident in the game that they are often impossible to ignore, not least the lack of multiplayer and a more engaging story mode. At 800 Microsoft Points it's hard to recommend when compared to other XBLA games that offer a lot more for your money, but should it ever go on sale it would be well worth investigating if you want a fix of gory vehicular carnage.

Overall: 6/10

Guest Tue Oct 23, 2012 2:22 pm

nice review matey

I quite like top down games so I might grab this when its on sale

Ba5sett Tue Oct 23, 2012 3:43 pm

Nice review mate, interesting looking game

stubbymite Tue Oct 23, 2012 3:47 pm

This looks brilliant i need this game.

Great review mate Smile

Tenlo Tue Oct 23, 2012 3:53 pm

Great review TCD. I'm actually enjoying games which are good for little breaks as I'm playing too many RPG's which are draining my gameplay time

TheTCD Tue Oct 23, 2012 5:47 pm

Yeah, for quick blasts this is a great game, it just doesn't have great staying power for extended sessions. It's a shame, but here's hoping that the developers support it and tweak it further.

**KENT HAMMER** Tue Oct 23, 2012 7:23 pm

A textbook review, good font size, good use of pics, all aligned perfectly.

Happy days! Very Happy

**minkey_monkey** Tue Oct 23, 2012 7:28 pm

Good review fella Smile

Colne Crusader Tue Oct 23, 2012 10:08 pm

Splendid journalism and gaming knowledge dude! Nice work! I can't see this keeping my interest for long, so I might get it as a DOTW someday.

TheTCD Tue Oct 23, 2012 10:41 pm

Thanks for the positive feedback guys, I appreciate it Very Happy

Slayer1189 Wed Oct 24, 2012 2:00 pm

Great review, I have this game sititing ready to start. Wasn't expecting anything spectacular so I doubt i'll be disappointed Very Happy

TreeMunky Wed Oct 24, 2012 10:43 pm

Great review as always fella. You really do a great job on these, I look forward to the next one. As for the game I really do like the look of it I was a big fan of the old GTAs so will be pick this up I might even go full price Smile

chrism1066 Thu Oct 25, 2012 12:54 pm

great review mate!

dazzamann Wed Jan 23, 2013 9:21 am

Great review, may have to invest in this just for something a bit different Smile

Waggly Bean Sat Feb 16, 2013 6:01 pm

I trialled this as it's on sale right now, and I agree that it is definitely a 'short burst' game. Think I will pass on it for now as I have other stuff to play, but for those looking for something to do, at 400MSP this might be worth a shot.

Sh00t3rmcgavin2 Sun Feb 17, 2013 10:42 am

Nice job mate!

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