Thanks to Koch Media we were able to try Zombie Army 4: Dead War , sequel to the Zombie Army Trilogy (Zombie themed spin-off of Sniper Elite).
We also had the opportunity to interview the development team, Rebellion Developments .
Will this chapter have affected us? Let’s find out together!
The story continues…
This chapter, as mentioned above, is the sequel to the Zombie Army Trilogy.
It is immediately mentioned that the Zombie plague continues to affect Europe , and our new heroes (accompanied by Karl Fairburne from the previous chapter) will have the task of facing once and for all both the epidemic and Hitler , present in this title below demon form.
On the narrative sector itself there is not much to say, given that the game is based much more on the gameplay showing a simplistic plot , which could still surprise fans thanks to some elements that will deepen the lore , such as the stickers obtainable by running specific “requests”.
New settings
The developers in this title have undoubtedly wanted to pay tribute to the Italian soil , since most of the maps are set in some of the most famous cities of the beautiful country such as Venice , Naples and Milan .
Each map, however, has undergone appropriate changes in the setting to optimize the gameplay and remain faithful to the historical era in which the events are located.
A reference to historical films
In this chapter there will be a strong reference to horror films , such as the images representing each mission / request etc. which clearly refer, as regards the artistic style, to the posters of the films of George Romero .
In some maps there are also easter eggs related to the movie “The Shark”, “The Shining” and “The Thing”, small elements that wink at fans.
Solid but outdated gameplay
The change from the prequel is not that great, special moves have been added to be used against zombies and some new enemies that will require collaboration between the various components of the group to be killed (executioner, incinerator zombies, etc.).
The difficulty level of the game is challenging as it tends to be very punitive for any mistakes made, which is why we do not recommend this title to the most inexperienced players of the genre.
Given the undoubted resemblance to Left 4 Dead (with which the prequel even had a collaboration), we would have expected some enemies with special abilities like “The Smoker” or “The Hunter” who had particular interactions with the players, however it is not happened with one exception, the Necromancer , who kept summoning the undead until he was killed.
New characters like The Butcher and the Zombies with flamethrowers are good additions but we don’t think they make any real changes in the game phase.
The X-RAY kill coming from the main chapter (Sniper Elite) still gives satisfactions during the game by showing each kill in slow-motion through bullets, bombs or other.
Furthermore, the primary and secondary weapons, although they have a new design and very interesting upgrades, do not shine for originality, ending up soon after being forgotten .
Poor graphics
Although the graphics engine is the same used by Sniper Elite IV , the graphics do not seem very accurate , probably also due to the high number of enemies that lowers the graphics performance of the game but which still does not create problems with the frame rate, which is around around 60 FPS (on PlayStation 4 PRO).
Effects such as reflections on the water, lights and shadows are also not very detailed , however, being a test it is not yet possible to give a final judgment.
Interview with the developers
Here are some questions asked to the developers:
Q: What is the solo game like? Was it difficult to find a balance, given that in cooperative mode it is a bit challenging?
A: Balancing was undoubtedly the hardest part for us.
As you know, up to 4 players can play solo or cooperatively with the ability to change their equipment.
In single player mode you will have advantages over your character, giving the feeling of being still playing with 4 players but with a greater sense of challenge.
We have spent a lot of time in play-testing and as you have noticed this game is not considered easy, so we believe we have done a good job.
Q: Are there any special moves in the game that can be done by two or more players?
A: Unfortunately, this feature is not available, however before starting the mission you can agree with other players by choosing the most useful upgrades to use to optimize your game.
In this way we want to encourage players to talk to each other by creating an environment of cooperation.
Q: There are rocket launchers, flamethrowers, etc. but will it be possible to drive special vehicles such as tanks and other similar ones?
A: You will be able to use standard vehicles, however special vehicles will be used more for bosses.
D: Speaking of history, why did you choose Italy? What led you to this decision?
A: Italy has experienced a part of the war as we know, however in our opinion it has not been explored enough in WWII themed games.
There are many interesting places that in addition to structures such as buildings also offer views or nice angles (shadows and lights) and for this we have chosen them.
Q: In the prequel you did a collaboration with Left 4 Dead, do you have something similar in mind for this new chapter?
A: No Comment!
Q: How much time did you spend researching the landscapes and creating the settings?
A: We spent a lot of time, our level designer was always in contact with the environment artist to choose how certain levels could be done without distorting the setting.
We took a lot of landscape photos as a model to give us some more ideas, although obviously it’s a zombie game and can never be 100% realistic, especially considering we wanted to go towards the gameplay as well.
We are very satisfied in particular with our work with Venice, in our opinion it is the most realistic one.
Q: Are there any features that you discarded during the development period? Possibly also give us an example.
A: Very likely, but at the moment I don’t remember specifically, I just have a vague memory of one that wasn’t going to affect the gameplay much.
Q: Since we were talking about the deleted features earlier I wanted to give you an example: did you have any zombies in mind with special abilities such as taking players from afar, taking them somewhere on the map or paralyzing them?
A: Unfortunately these features were never thought of in development, there are just a few zombies that can directly attack NPCs.
Q: During the rehearsal of the game I was able to notice the excellent feeling that the weapons give, was it difficult to achieve this yield, especially in this post-apocalyptic universe?
A: The development of Sniper Elite 4 gave us a hand on this, giving us the basis to understand how the shooting component works and the details on which to place particular emphasis, such as the movement carried out to reload the weapon, the recoil etc.
Q: Was it difficult to create such a title?
A: Since it doesn’t want to be realistic we have had a lot more creative freedom than Sniper Elite 4, as the latter tries to be much more story oriented.
However, we believe we have done a great job with regards to the game universe, creating a solid storyline despite a lot of freedom in the implementation phase.
summing up
Zombie Army 4: Dead War is a title that is absolutely not ambitious but that knows its stuff, entertaining the players thanks to the cooperative side.
It does not have a triple A graphics sector but for those who are hardcore fans of zombie games and historical horror titles it is a must have.
