Headup and Silent Dreams have finally released the zombie horde that is Dead Age 2. As a sequel to the successful Dead Age, this game is highly anticipated as it becomes available for download on PC for Windows, Mac, and Linux. While we may have passed the height of the zombie craze, the Dead Age 2 release will no doubt revive the undead-slaying passion of players everywhere.
Like any classic zombie tale, Dead Age 2 takes place in a world where civilization has been destroyed and overrun by the undead. The player controls a group of survivors as they travel to Freedom City in search of a way to cure the zombie virus. Players will need to help the characters overcome an increasingly hostile world where the threat keeps growing while resources keep shrinking. Incorporating RPG elements, players will need to finish quests and collect as many items as possible to have any hopes of making it to the end.
Unlike many zombie games where players are free to charge through crowds of undead with glee, Dead Age 2 takes a strategic approach. The game uses the tactical turn-based system, such as in XCOM: Enemy Unknown, allowing the player to control each character individually to plan out encounters with various enemies. They’ll have to make each decision count as the game also uses the ‘Permadeath’ system giving each character one life only. However, multiple successful battles will yield greater rewards allowing players to access permanent upgrades for their survivors to help them last even longer.
Despite the mindless nature of the zombies roaming around with the Dead Age II release, the story has plenty of thought put into it. The tactical nature of the game is divided between battles and in-game interactions. Players will need to think carefully in order to achieve the best outcomes such as receiving additional resources or recruiting more survivors to their cause. The game’s story features a branching path system with both major and minor choices adding up to lead the player to one of six different endings.
In the real world dominated by a real virus, a new zombie game might be just the thing to help us cope. The Dead Age 2 release brings new tactical combat and story-driven experiences to the ever-growing zombie genre. As Robert Kirkman said, “In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally start living.”
Will Quick is a freelance media wizard living in Spain. When he's not gaming or writing, he's doodling comics or whatever else pops in his head.
