What is so fascinating about zombies, one may ask. Is it killing them! Smashing them until they can’t get up and run behind humans to make them part of their kind, well Zombie lovers pay attention! Recently, Pune based Rolocule Games came out with a new zombie game called Dead Among Us and the game manages to put you in to the shoes of a guy who uses an archer’s bow to put zombies out of their misery and save humanity from getting extinct.
The game currently is available free on Android and iOS and gives you Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead series kind of a feel where you know you are the only hope to brink humanity back from the brink of extinction.
The game for a change in the genre is in a portrait mode, and this actually helps the game making one hand gameplay possible. The game starts with a cinematic experience where the players get to know what is wrong with the place and something about character’s past in comic book style strips.
The gameplay is static in the sense of the character movements within the game. The archer you play aims for the zombies from top of the building, windows or factory parks and scan the area to find the undead. The tutorials turn up on level 1 and this helps one to better understand the game’s goal. As a deadshot archer, you are required to kill the zombies before they reach to the humans who are on the lookout of supplies, food; scientist who are collecting samples or protect safe-houses which are about to get invaded.
The controls are rather easy to master and very responsive on the mobile screen. The cursor sits on the botton of the screen and allows a good amount of space for the gameplay to take place. Single hand gameplay is possible unless you own phablets. You start out with the basic bow and arrow and move up the ladder as you start clearing the levels or spend some cash to improve your artillery prowess. There are various upgrades for weapons that improve the odds of your success in each level and before each level the game suggests the best combination of equipment. There are various bow and arrows which the player can select from but all these require in-game cash or you spend some currency on this. There are various upgrades and these include bow sight, bow string, quiver, draw weights, nock and grip. And there are power-ups which aid you in completing your tasks which include: Slow Time, Kill-Shot and Radar.
The sound is fitting for the genre, with gritty soundtrack and in-game music which has zombie growls and hisses which help you to examine the area and know where the zombies are coming from. The zombie variety in the game is limited and most of them are soaked in blood and look gory with body parts hanging out. The number of zombies in the game increase as the levels advance and there are 95 levels across 10 locations so the game does provide something you can play for a while.
Rolocule Games is one studio which has produced games like Motion Tennis, Bowling Central incorporating the Wii style motion gaming into mobile phones. They do have games like Flick Tennis and Super Badminton but this is their first in the action genre and the studio has done a very good job with the playability factor and the art department. One thing that is missing is that the game mechanic sticks to the fact that one is static and killing the undead which could have changed in certain levels. Map exploration or mini puzzles could have helped break the monotony. Overall the game is a solid looking product for the zombie action game fans who like games which also give casual gamers something to look forward to and pass time during their travel or frequent times of mobile gaming.
