zombie-apocalypse
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The Zombiepocalypse: One year later
Reader Verdus sent us a tip reminding us that this weekend is the one-year anniversary of one of the simultaneously most loved and hated events in WoW's history, the zombiepocalypse. Right around this time last year, infected crates started appearing all over the world, and that expanded out into a full-blown zombie invasion (which was so big it made it out into mainstream news). After the zombie plague had been quelled, the Scourge attacked with full force, leaving us to fall back and fight for our necrotic runes up until the expansion released. It was definitely a huge event, and now, a year later, I'm sure most of us (though not all of us) look back on it with fond memories. And surely Blizzard learned a lot from what happened a year ago -- Linedan has a nice wrapup of the good and the bad that Blizzard may have taken away from the zombie apocalypse. The idea of turning players on players was great, but that unfortunately led to more griefing than most players would have liked (and the fact that, by the end of it, you couldn't avoid the zombies at all, probably didn't help). And for all of the disruption, there was no real reward (the eventual rewards came with the Scourge invasion, and then it was simply just farming tokens), and no real payoff (the final world event seemed half-cooked, and it was only implied that Arthas was the one who'd shipped the crates). %Gallery-35140%
Dev blog sheds light on Champions' Zombie Apocalypse
One of the coolest features coming with Champions Online's October 27th Blood Moon update is the addition of Zombie Apocalypse, a PvP map that features a scenario instead of the typical objective involving kill scores. Sound interesting to you? Then we highly recommend this developer blog discussing the entire process of creating the ruleset, as it awards a keen insight on the how and why of said rules. There are two good things happening here: One is the obvious, that Cryptic is adding a new PvP map that's something more than the launch offerings. The other is that they're being communicative with a new piece of content's development process. This seems like a minor plus but in truth, when a developer demystifies the reasoning behind their content it only serves to elevate player perception and appreciation of said work. Our only suggestion would be to boost the presentation of these dev blogs (behind the scenes in-game pictures are always cool) in order to draw even more attention to them.
Xbox Live Top 10: Halo 3, Trials HD, Forza 3 demo
As our more astute readers likely gathered from this very post's headline, another week has gone, so it's about time we checked in with Major Nelson to see what made his list of the most-played games on Xbox Live. Unsurprisingly, Bungie's dynamic duo of Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST managed to do well, taking the first and third spots, respectively -- Call of Duty 4 was in the second slot, while Forza 3's demo managed to get some play time on folks' boxes, taking a tight turn into the seventh place spot. On the XBLA side, Trials HD did backflips to the top of the list, beating out recent releases Zombie Apocalypse and Bust-A-Move Live!. The remainder of the XBLA list saw favorites Battlefield 1943 and Shadow Complex rounding out the bottom end of the top five.
Champions Online October changes, Blood Moon releasing on the 27th
Champions Online has seen a lot of update love since launch. By all accounts it's continuing to throughout October with this look at what's to come by Cryptic. The addition of more missions is always welcome, especially in combination with the mission tracking improvements that'll make grouping easier. Even better is the Power House 2.0 that'll come with a new live combat training room and power tips from trainers. Those power tips are going to help a lot of confused players create builds that both suite and actually work for them.Last but not least is Blood Moon, which will be released on October 27th and promises to bring a hefty chunk of content for all levels to enjoy. The new PvP map known as Zombie Apocalypse sounds like something out of Left 4 Dead and blasting the undead with superpowers is a wholly new concept that we're behind 100%.Check after the break for a full rundown of what's coming to Champions Online in the month of October.
X3F TV -- XBLA in Brief: The Warriors, Zombie Apocalypse, Ion Assault
Three new games hit Xbox Live Arcade this week. We've got a brawler in The Warriors, a twin-stick shooter in Zombie Apocalypse and ... something different in Ion Assault (in a good way). Join us for the latest XBLA in Brief, as we take trial versions for a spin and see just what each game is about. Should you decide to take the plunge on any, each game will set you back 800 ($10). Download the trial version of The Warriors: Street Brawl Download the trial version of Zombie Apocalypse Download the trial version of Ion Assault [iTunes] Subscribe to X3F TV directly in iTunes. [Zune] Subscribe to the X3F TV directly. [RSS] Add the X3F TV feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [M4V] Download the M4V directly.
This Wednesday: The Warriors, Zombie Apocalypse, Ion Assault hit XBLA
Xbox Live's Major Nelson reports that three new titles are releasing on Xbox Live this week. Whether you're looking forward to some gang justice, surviving the undead or going all Einstein on some microscopic particles, rest assured there's something here for you. This Wednesday's offerings are: The Warriors: Street Brawl 800 ($10) Zombie Apocalypse 800 ($10) Ion Assault 800 ($10) So, whatcha downloadin'?
Zombie Apocalypse plaguing XBLA and PSN next week
Though it may lack the ever-catchy soundtrack of another recently released, undead-centric twin stick shooter, we're still pretty pumped for Nihilistic Software's Zombie Apocalypse. Imagine our rapture when a recent news post on the developer's blog revealed that the title will be landing on XBLA and PSN next Wednesday and Thursday (respectively) for 800 ($10). If you lack imagination, we'll clue you in -- our rapture was immeasurable. Not only does this seem like the perfect training manual for the actual, inevitable zombocalypse, but it's a great refresher course on undead genocide before the year's more substantial zombie-action game comes out.
New details on Zombie Apocalypse, Konami's old-school gore fest
Konami and Nihilistic's upcoming downloadable title, Zombie Apocalypse, has been the subject of a monster-sized update on the PlayStation Blog. Written by Nihilistic designer John Slavin, the update outlines the style, weapons and scoring system in the upcoming PSN and XBLA title. Zombie Apocalypse is a 4-player online co-op enabled twin-stick shooter (in the vein of Smash TV) with so much realistic gore, it has apparently already been denied classification by CERO in Japan. The downloadable title includes seven environments (55 levels in total, which act as days) that are heavily inspired by zombie film masters; Romero, Fulci and Boyle. Each of the game's four playable characters (which seem very inspired by Valve's Left 4 Dead) can wield 10 different weapons -- from chainsaws to flamethrowers -- and use the game's environment to kill for extra points. Slavin promises the better gamers are, the more they will score and the longer they will last. We promise to re-organize our zombie plans for next month, when Apocalypse is scheduled to hit PSN and XBLA. Note: This post originally referred to Zombie Apocalypse as a PSN-exclusive title, which it isn't. It's coming to XBLA as well, a fact that slipped our mind when -- of all things -- a zombie took a bite out of it. Go figure. %Gallery-49992%
Joystiq hands-on: Zombie Apocalypse
Click to enlarge Tucked away in a corner at Konami's recent Gamers Night event was probably the single most entertaining game of the night: Zombie Apocalypse. No one from the publisher was demoing it, no information was provided on it -- we're still waiting for confirmation of its developer -- but everyone was playing it ... until a tripped breaker put the kiosk out of commission. This four-player co-op game was running on PS3 and, from what the gaggle of assembled journalists could deduce, appeared to be a downloadable title. That was finally confirmed this morning; it's coming to PSN and XBLA on an unknown date this summer. (Seriously, whoever is in charge of promoting the game is doing a horrible job.) As you can probably glean from the title, the gist of the game is killing zombies. The basic gameplay won't win any innovation awards; movement is on one analog stick, firing on the other. What made this simple game so fun -- apart from the fact that its simplicity made it instantly fun -- were the arenas (for lack of a better term) themselves. We played in two: a downtown disaster zone and a junkyard. Both had multiple interactive elements (a downed airliner's jet engine, a car compactor) that we were able to toss zombie bait towards, luring dozens of the undead to their (very grizzly) comeuppance. Working together with three other players to almost "herd" the zombies into these traps was almost as fun as routing them with chainsaws (every character has one as standard equipment). Konami hasn't announced who's developing Zombie Apocalypse, but we're trying to confirm rumors Nihilistic Software (Conan, Marvel Nemesis) is behind it. We definitely want to know more about the game, and we'll be sure to share whatever we find out with you. %Gallery-49992%
What to do after the zombie apocalypse
Ah, zombie apocalypse. We hardly knew you. Your sudden departure leaves a lot of us confused, even if Blizzard swears it was all on purpose and according to plan. Regardless, the zombie plague seems to be over for now. We talked last week about how you could roleplay your sudden transformation into the undead brain muncher. Now, let's take a bit to talk about how your survivors are going to be feeling about this mess. Remorse. If you acknowlege that you died, came back as a zombie, died as a zombie, and came back yet again as a humanoid race, then you should probably acknowledge that you did some pretty horrible things. It's one thing to think, "My God, I ate the neighbor's cat," but there's a whole level of horror involved with "My God, I ate the neighbor!"This also supplies that most beloved motivation for roleplayers everywhere -- angst. You can be horrified ("I ate the neighbor!"), angsty ("And I liked it!"), and perhaps even be corrupted ("I'd do it again!"). If the memory of your wanton deeds aren't enough to sustain your remorseful roleplay, you can look to further naughty urges to supply more angst.
