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This thread has been linked to the game 'Deadlight'.
'When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.' This seems to happen quite a lot, given how many zombie games and moves we've seen of later. Granted, they're not all top notch - World War Z was a bit of a dissapointment, though that's perhaps something for a another review. Deadlight is one of the latest zombie games to hit the PC, having already been released on the XBox 360. Both the PC and 360 versions are download only titles and cost about a tenner, although I was able to get the PC version for a third of that during a Steam sale.
The game takes place in the eighties, shortly after a zombie apocalypse. Granted, the game refers to the zombies as a shadows, but they're still all the slow and shambling brainless monstrosities we love to hate - no running zombies here. You play as Randall Wayne, a survivor who ends up separated from the rest of his group and has to head across zombie infested territory searching for both his fellow survivors and his family. This might sound like a cue for a 3D shoot-em-up, but Deadlight is in fact a 2.5D platformer. What this means is while the game's backgrounds are rendered in full 3D, and monsters can shamble out of the background towards you, you can only move from left to right. You do get to shoot some zombies but the emphasis here is on leaping around buildings and platforms as you avoid the shambling hordes.
Yes, avoid, since confrontations are few and far between. In fact, some of the games's puzzles involve taking advantage of the zombies stupidity. At one point you find a ditch filled with the dead, so you whistle to lure them over to one side. You then leap over them and scramble up the other side of the ditch while they're only just turning around. You can also close and open doors to keep the dead from getting to you, and there's a lot of running to be done. The game's graphics are fairly impressive, and the developers have taken the unusual Limbo-like step of having you and your foes shrouded in darkness so you only usually see the vague outline of your enemies. This actually works, and presumably also saved the designers from having to create loads of unique zombies.
So, then - zombies, running, the occasional bit of shooting and plenty of action. What could possibly go wrong? The storyline? Nope, the game's storyline is surprisingly good although the voice acting is a tad hammy at points. However, Deadlight does have a problem, and it's one that proved so frustrating that it made me give up on the game about halfway through. Simply put, the controls are terrible. Not only are they unresponsive but they can be confusing as well. When you're climing a fence or ladder, for example, the key you press to move off changes when you flip over to the other side. This makes it easy to inadvertently leap off in the wrong direction or, at best, waste valuable seconds. This becomes especially frustrating when you're playing the chopper chase sequences when you're being pursued by a helicopter and time is of the essence.
Yeah, not so good - which is a real shame, because Deadlight has the potential to be a really great title, but the wonky controls really sink Deadlight's ship. I don't feel ripped off that much since I only paid three quid for the game, but if I'd paid full price I'd be annoyed. If you do have a 360 then you can certainly try the demo and see how you find it but in all honesty the controls are so off-putting that you'll likely find yourself as annoyed as I was. Deadlight has the potential to be a good game, but until the controls are patched - if they're patched - I'd give the game a miss.
Score - 5 out of 10
Pros:
It's got a good storyline.
It's pretty atmospheric.
Cons:
The controls are unresponsive.
Consequently, the action sequences can prove frustrating.
The game takes place in the eighties, shortly after a zombie apocalypse. Granted, the game refers to the zombies as a shadows, but they're still all the slow and shambling brainless monstrosities we love to hate - no running zombies here. You play as Randall Wayne, a survivor who ends up separated from the rest of his group and has to head across zombie infested territory searching for both his fellow survivors and his family. This might sound like a cue for a 3D shoot-em-up, but Deadlight is in fact a 2.5D platformer. What this means is while the game's backgrounds are rendered in full 3D, and monsters can shamble out of the background towards you, you can only move from left to right. You do get to shoot some zombies but the emphasis here is on leaping around buildings and platforms as you avoid the shambling hordes.
Yes, avoid, since confrontations are few and far between. In fact, some of the games's puzzles involve taking advantage of the zombies stupidity. At one point you find a ditch filled with the dead, so you whistle to lure them over to one side. You then leap over them and scramble up the other side of the ditch while they're only just turning around. You can also close and open doors to keep the dead from getting to you, and there's a lot of running to be done. The game's graphics are fairly impressive, and the developers have taken the unusual Limbo-like step of having you and your foes shrouded in darkness so you only usually see the vague outline of your enemies. This actually works, and presumably also saved the designers from having to create loads of unique zombies.
So, then - zombies, running, the occasional bit of shooting and plenty of action. What could possibly go wrong? The storyline? Nope, the game's storyline is surprisingly good although the voice acting is a tad hammy at points. However, Deadlight does have a problem, and it's one that proved so frustrating that it made me give up on the game about halfway through. Simply put, the controls are terrible. Not only are they unresponsive but they can be confusing as well. When you're climing a fence or ladder, for example, the key you press to move off changes when you flip over to the other side. This makes it easy to inadvertently leap off in the wrong direction or, at best, waste valuable seconds. This becomes especially frustrating when you're playing the chopper chase sequences when you're being pursued by a helicopter and time is of the essence.
Yeah, not so good - which is a real shame, because Deadlight has the potential to be a really great title, but the wonky controls really sink Deadlight's ship. I don't feel ripped off that much since I only paid three quid for the game, but if I'd paid full price I'd be annoyed. If you do have a 360 then you can certainly try the demo and see how you find it but in all honesty the controls are so off-putting that you'll likely find yourself as annoyed as I was. Deadlight has the potential to be a good game, but until the controls are patched - if they're patched - I'd give the game a miss.
Score - 5 out of 10
Pros:
It's got a good storyline.
It's pretty atmospheric.
Cons:
The controls are unresponsive.
Consequently, the action sequences can prove frustrating.
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'When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.' This seems to happen quite a lot, given how many zombie games and moves we've seen of later. Granted, they're not all top notch - World War Z was a bit of a dissapointment, though that's perhaps something for a another review. Deadlight is one of the latest zombie games to hit the PC, having already been released on the XBox 360. Both the PC and 360 versions are download only titles and cost about a tenner, although I was able to get the PC version for a third of that during a Steam sale.
The game takes place in the eighties, shortly after a zombie apocalypse. Granted, the game refers to the zombies as a shadows, but they're still all the slow and shambling brainless monstrosities we love to hate - no running zombies here. You play as Randall Wayne, a survivor who ends up separated from the rest of his group and has to head across zombie infested territory searching for both his fellow survivors and his family. This might sound like a cue for a 3D shoot-em-up, but Deadlight is in fact a 2.5D platformer. What this means is while the game's backgrounds are rendered in full 3D, and monsters can shamble out of the background towards you, you can only move from left to right. You do get to shoot some zombies but the emphasis here is on leaping around buildings and platforms as you avoid the shambling hordes.
Yes, avoid, since confrontations are few and far between. In fact, some of the games's puzzles involve taking advantage of the zombies stupidity. At one point you find a ditch filled with the dead, so you whistle to lure them over to one side. You then leap over them and scramble up the other side of the ditch while they're only just turning around. You can also close and open doors to keep the dead from getting to you, and there's a lot of running to be done. The game's graphics are fairly impressive, and the developers have taken the unusual Limbo-like step of having you and your foes shrouded in darkness so you only usually see the vague outline of your enemies. This actually works, and presumably also saved the designers from having to create loads of unique zombies.
So, then - zombies, running, the occasional bit of shooting and plenty of action. What could possibly go wrong? The storyline? Nope, the game's storyline is surprisingly good although the voice acting is a tad hammy at points. However, Deadlight does have a problem, and it's one that proved so frustrating that it made me give up on the game about halfway through. Simply put, the controls are terrible. Not only are they unresponsive but they can be confusing as well. When you're climing a fence or ladder, for example, the key you press to move off changes when you flip over to the other side. This makes it easy to inadvertently leap off in the wrong direction or, at best, waste valuable seconds. This becomes especially frustrating when you're playing the chopper chase sequences when you're being pursued by a helicopter and time is of the essence.
Yeah, not so good - which is a real shame, because Deadlight has the potential to be a really great title, but the wonky controls really sink Deadlight's ship. I don't feel ripped off that much since I only paid three quid for the game, but if I'd paid full price I'd be annoyed. If you do have a 360 then you can certainly try the demo and see how you find it but in all honesty the controls are so off-putting that you'll likely find yourself as annoyed as I was. Deadlight has the potential to be a good game, but until the controls are patched - if they're patched - I'd give the game a miss.
Score - 5 out of 10
Pros:
It's got a good storyline.
It's pretty atmospheric.
Cons:
The controls are unresponsive.
Consequently, the action sequences can prove frustrating.
The game takes place in the eighties, shortly after a zombie apocalypse. Granted, the game refers to the zombies as a shadows, but they're still all the slow and shambling brainless monstrosities we love to hate - no running zombies here. You play as Randall Wayne, a survivor who ends up separated from the rest of his group and has to head across zombie infested territory searching for both his fellow survivors and his family. This might sound like a cue for a 3D shoot-em-up, but Deadlight is in fact a 2.5D platformer. What this means is while the game's backgrounds are rendered in full 3D, and monsters can shamble out of the background towards you, you can only move from left to right. You do get to shoot some zombies but the emphasis here is on leaping around buildings and platforms as you avoid the shambling hordes.
Yes, avoid, since confrontations are few and far between. In fact, some of the games's puzzles involve taking advantage of the zombies stupidity. At one point you find a ditch filled with the dead, so you whistle to lure them over to one side. You then leap over them and scramble up the other side of the ditch while they're only just turning around. You can also close and open doors to keep the dead from getting to you, and there's a lot of running to be done. The game's graphics are fairly impressive, and the developers have taken the unusual Limbo-like step of having you and your foes shrouded in darkness so you only usually see the vague outline of your enemies. This actually works, and presumably also saved the designers from having to create loads of unique zombies.
So, then - zombies, running, the occasional bit of shooting and plenty of action. What could possibly go wrong? The storyline? Nope, the game's storyline is surprisingly good although the voice acting is a tad hammy at points. However, Deadlight does have a problem, and it's one that proved so frustrating that it made me give up on the game about halfway through. Simply put, the controls are terrible. Not only are they unresponsive but they can be confusing as well. When you're climing a fence or ladder, for example, the key you press to move off changes when you flip over to the other side. This makes it easy to inadvertently leap off in the wrong direction or, at best, waste valuable seconds. This becomes especially frustrating when you're playing the chopper chase sequences when you're being pursued by a helicopter and time is of the essence.
Yeah, not so good - which is a real shame, because Deadlight has the potential to be a really great title, but the wonky controls really sink Deadlight's ship. I don't feel ripped off that much since I only paid three quid for the game, but if I'd paid full price I'd be annoyed. If you do have a 360 then you can certainly try the demo and see how you find it but in all honesty the controls are so off-putting that you'll likely find yourself as annoyed as I was. Deadlight has the potential to be a good game, but until the controls are patched - if they're patched - I'd give the game a miss.
Score - 5 out of 10
Pros:
It's got a good storyline.
It's pretty atmospheric.
Cons:
The controls are unresponsive.
Consequently, the action sequences can prove frustrating.