SubJeff on 29/10/2010 at 21:00

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Word, dethtoll.

I'm still waiting for my copy of RDR but at some point I'll be getting this.

henke on 15/2/2011 at 16:43

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Disjointed Ramblings About Undead Nightmare aka Undead Nightmare: The Definite Review

Well I finally bought it, and finished it in about 10 hours, though there are still sidequests and challenges to be completed. Actually, come to think of it the end credits haven't rolled yet so I'm not sure the main story is officially over yet.

The core gameplay-mechanics haven't changed, but the new enemies force you to come up with new combat strategies so it still ends up feeling very different from RDR. The combat, like in any survival horror game worth it's salt, feels a bit clumsy. The only way to kill the zombies is by headshots but getting headshots with a gamepad wasn't easy in RDR, and it's even more difficult in UN because of the way the zombies keep wagging their heads around. In the end you're forced to use Dead Eye very often. Or make use of the close-quarters kill. Or use one of the new zombie-killing weapons you get your hands on. Like the torch, blunderbus, Holy Water or the "Boom Bait". The exploders and the charger zombies also knock you over, adding to the feeling of clumsyness. And if you're not aware of your surroundings you can easily get surrounded and swarmed by the undead. And when that happens death can come quickly and painfully. I know that me describing the combat as "clumsy" might make it sound unappealing but it isn't. The combat in this game isn't slick and graceful. It's down in the dirt grimy and brutal. There are moments of grace, like when you successfully line up a row of headshots in Dead Eye, squeeze of dozen precise shots, and then walk on while the row of zombies stumble about for a few steps before falling over. But more often it's about stabbing the handle of the torch though a zombies eye into his brain and then running like hell before his friends catch up with you.

At first I wasn't crazy about the inlcusion of the Four Horses of the Apocalypse. Their existance in this world just didn't seem realistic. I know complaining about realism in a zombie-game might seem silly, but it's really not! The zombies make sense within the context of the gameworld, but the horses just seem like they've been tacked on because it would be cool(and so R* gets something more to brag about in the trailer). For instance all the NPCs talk about the zombies and are aware of them, but for the whole time I was riding around on "War" noone ever mentioned, or even seemed surprised by, the fact that I was riding around on a burning horse. However by the end of the game so much crazy shit had happened that I wasn't worrying whether the horses made sense any more. Also I'm loving how "Death" simply and gracefully explodes zombie's heads when you ride into them.

Something else I love is the fact that R* did something completely different from the main game with the DLC. It takes the environment and characters and all the standard assets and does something completely different with them. I wouldn't mind at all if they started thinking more outside-of-the-box with their DLCs. For instance have you guys seen those mods for GTA4 that raises the waterlevel so the entire city is flooded? R* should make some kind of GTA4 Waterworld DLC with that shit. With jetskis! And you know what I'd really like in RDR? A dirtbike! Imagine getting to tear across the landscape on one of the dirtbikes from GTA4. If they do another DLC they should set it in the current day. All the towns would be mere ghosttowns then of course, except maybe for Blackwater which could be remodelled to look modern. All the buffalos would be gone. Most of the wildlife would be gone in fact. Maybe the story could be something about drugrunners sneaking across the border. Anyway, I'm daydreaming here. Back to the review.

Besides the main story, which sees John Marston trying to find a cure for the zombie disease so he can save his family, there are plently of other folk who need saving. There are towns that need to be free'd from the zombie onslaught, missing persons who need to be found and rescued, and old friends who just happen to need a favour. The writing isn't as good as in RDR but it is quite funny at times. The beginning is good and ending is fantastic, almost as good as the one in the main game.

Considering that this is only 800 MS points, or roughly 10 euros, everyone who has finished RDR should get this right now! :)

henke on 16/2/2011 at 06:26

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Absolutely Ducky. :D

But the only time I can play is 17:00-23:00 (9:00-15:00 in your timezone).

henke on 17/2/2011 at 06:51

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You have my live ID. We spoke two days ago, remember? :weird:

Or do you mean my MSN? I'll pm you my info.

henke on 17/2/2011 at 18:49

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Well that was fun Ducky. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to fully appreciate rambling across RDR's landscapes again without being accompanied by a foul-mouthed Mexican cracking jokes about horsefucking through my headset.

We gotta do it again sometime. :)