Very few times in the history of gaming has a licensed product based off a movie, television show or even a book actually been good. For every “Aladdin” on the Sega Genesis there’s a “Superman 64”. When it was announced “World War Z” would get its own video game, most gamers shrugged their shoulders with indifference mostly thanks to the lackluster movie adaptation starring Brad Pitt essentially killing the idea of the praised book getting more exposure through various mediums. Seeing “World War Z” in action, it seemed Saber Interactive were less about trying to be fully faithful to the source material while producing this generation’s “Left 4 Dead” – a franchise that proved to be one of my favorites last generation. The thought of playing an eighth gen version of “Left 4 Dead” had me greatly intrigued and ready to be overwhelmed by the undead & infected.
Did I Complete “World War Z”?
Though initially compared to “Left 4 Dead” for obvious reasons – a co-op multiplayer experience containing a series of campaign missions across various maps featuring dozens and even hundreds of murderous zombies, as well as competitive multiplayer modes – “World War Z” has a level a replay value its believed inspiration doesn’t by adding a progression system alongside character classes. These character classes gain points upon progressing in the campaign or finishing online bouts with others (both having separate class trees to avoid low ranked gamers from getting trampled by those who have been playing online competitively since day one). The grind to unlock everything in “World War Z”, let alone max out every class & skill tree and collect every unlockable is daunting at best and unnecessary at worst as a majority of players will most likely be able to complete all of the campaign missions without upgrading a single thing on normal difficulty. There’s also an “Insane” difficulty that puts players to the test and really only can be completed with a group of knowledgeable human players who are excellent at the genre with a knowledge of every map that must be completed on this arduous difficulty. I just wanted to finish the eleven campaign scenarios and play a good amount of the online competitive offerings while testing out every class; achieving that goal after fifteen hours with only four or so hours being a mix of offline & online co-op campaign action.
Did “World War Z” Live Up to the Hype?
As expected from the gameplay footage and initial promise, “World War Z” the video game feels incredibly similar to Valve’s “Left 4 Dead” games released during gaming’s seventh generation. Unlike “L4D”, “WWZ” provides more options in regards to character customization in this four-teammate shooter presented in third person as the game offers six different classes such as “Gunslinger” (for the shooting expert), “Medic” (the player always there to revive a fallen ally), and “Hellraiser” (someone ready to blow up every horde they encounter). With each successful or even failed mission, the player is given points & credits used to buy new skills such as being able to reload faster or have a final shot of adrenaline to potentially avoid an untimely death (though certain skills can’t be unlocked until the player reaches certain in-game profile levels such as twenty-five or fifty that are obtain by simply playing the game just like the character classes). Utilizing certain weapons during gameplay will also gain experience and potentially unlock variants of that weapon that may sacrifice silence like the muzzled pistol offered initially for a greater damage-producing sidearm. This weapon unlocking also works with melee items such as machetes and shovels.
From a gameplay perspective, “WWZ” plays almost exactly like a third-person “Left 4 Dead” with minimal gun recoil, floaty melee strikes (though melee attacks in “World War Z” have almost a magnetic effect where the characters will zip toward the closest enemy for a deadly slash that is eventually affected by the stamina meter attached to each character), and enemies aplenty pouring into a single area at any given moment. There are some glaring differences from what many would assume is the game’s inspiration including defense management. There will be certain points on every map that has the player(s) setting up randomized defensive measures such as auto-turrets and electrified fences in pre-ordained areas to combat the oncoming horde. The enemies, however, are very similar to what’s in games like “Left 4 Dead 2” including the “Hunter”-like “Lurkers/Creepers” and the rampaging, riot-suited “Bull” similar to “L4D’s” “Charger”. These special infected can appear out of nowhere and will potentially down an ally quickly. The stereotypical zombies the player must overcome a majority of the time aren’t too scary in small packs, but in greater numbers they can easily overwhelm even the most prepared group.
There’s a big difference playing with humans and AI during the various campaign maps set in Tokyo, New York, Jerusalem & Moscow including the AI refusing to set up the aforementioned traps when preparing defenses, flipping necessary switches to continue story missions, and, at times, refusing to help someone being slaughtered by a Bull. There’s also friendly fire that can be the difference between life & death during campaign missions on harder difficulties. One interesting aspect utilized from the book is each map featuring a different set of protagonists instead of following the same group of survivors, though it doesn’t do much in presenting any type of memorable narrative. Thankfully the developers also implemented a jump in-jump out feature in regards to the co-op campaign. If a player leaves or is disconnected during the campaign that person’s character will be replaced by the AI so other players aren’t punished.
Online multiplayer competition in “WWZ” is completely different from what the “Left 4 Dead” games offered. “World War Z’s” competitive multiplayer modes are based around Team Deathmatch or Team Capture the Flag/Capture the Zone modes. While the connectivity quality is mostly commendable with disconnections happening rarely and lag being virtually nonexistent, the stereotypical nature of these modes leaves a lot to be desired especially compared to the “Versus” mode in “L4D 2” where opposing players could control the special infected in hopes of stopping the human-controlled protagonists.
“World War Z” is a surprisingly competent, well-crafted, and gratifying experience that doesn’t necessarily change the dynamic of the genre, but does provide the type of action other games have failed to achieve following the lead of “Left 4 Dead”.
Should You Play “World War Z”?
Not to continuously harp on the comparisons between this game and “Left 4 Dead”, but gamers who loved Valve’s zombie-fied FPS offering a generation ago will find so much to enjoy with “World War Z” other than the lacking multiplayer mode where opposing characters are the major infected. The game does have some issues with minor graphical glitches, unimpressive grinding rewards, and a general lack of innovation the games that came out a generation ago that changed the genre had the privilege of producing. But the overall experience is satisfying for those who have longed for something that truly evokes the spirit of co-op first-person shooters when online multiplayer gaming was just becoming the rage on consoles. What really gives this a strong recommendation is the price as “World War Z” will most likely only cost someone forty dollars as it’s the game’s base price upon release; making this a sure buy for a player ready to constantly team up with others who have the same level of zombie bloodlust needed to mow down the towering horde coming for human flesh.
