Game review: Zombie Army 4 - Dead War

The Zombie Army series has been going on for quite some time now and this year marks the release of the newest iteration called Zombie Army 4: Dead War. Does this latest game bring anything new to the genre?

Zombie killing video games is a genre that has been done to death and it's hard for many of the clones to stand out. The most popular zombie game franchise is the Resident Evilseries, although the zombie modes in modern Call of Dutygames have also been popular in recent times too.

I never played a Zombie Army game before, so it was nice to have the chance to review Zombie Army 4: Dead War. After playing the game for many hours, I'm proud to say that the game is quite enjoyable for the most part.

What I like most about the game is that it's so easy to just pick up and play. Usually I don't like playing zombie games because game developers usually add annoying survival mechanics like needing to eat food or finding shelter or something like that.

Other zombie games are usually also scarce on ammo and it's gets boring if you just have to melee attack enemies just because you run out of bullets.

Zombie Army 4: Dead War is different to most zombie games because it's mostly about the action more than the survival elements. Ammo is usually only several metres away and you can also stock up on medikits to replenish your health at safe houses.

Combat is where this game really shines because the gunplay feels smooth and satisfying, plus it's also fun to see you being able to kill hordes of zombies at ease. There is a plethora of different weapons that you can acquire such as shotguns, rifles, machine guns and different sorts of grenades and more.

However, you can also temporarily pick up even bigger artillery depending on the types of weapons that the enemies are using. My favourite weapons in the entire game are the very useful Gatling gun and the flamethrower.

Another cool feature of combat is the slow motion camera that turns on when you snipe enemies from a long distance. This takes a cue from the Sniper Elite games which this series was spawned off from.

As you progress further into the game, you can earn yourself more perks and upgrades that makes the combat even more exciting than before. This includes a helpful melee attack or even some perks to make your guns more powerful than they were before.

The only sad thing about all of this is that there is no class system in Zombie Army 4: Dead War. You just choose any of the preset characters chosen for you and you go from there. It would have been cool if the game had classes as this would have diversified the gunplay.

In terms of game modes, there's the lengthy campaign that comes with a campy story of trying to resurrect Hitler which is fun to play through. The campaign lasts around eight to ten hours long depending on the difficulty you play on.

The other second part of the game is the classic Horde mode where you are stuck on tiny maps and you have to survive waves upon waves of zombie enemies. Both the Horde mode and Campaign offers lots of fun gameplay as there are LOTS of zombies for you to kill in various different ways.

I will say though that the game is tailored made for online co-op play. You can still play the game by yourself, although the odds are stacked against you in solo mode and it can be hard to play through even on the normal difficulty setting. The game is much more fun if you are able to find some online friends to play with. It's sad there's no split-screen multiplayer though because I was unable to play the game with my older brother.

Visually, Zombie Army 4: Dead War isn't the best looking game I've played on my PS4 Pro. The graphics aren't terrible by any means, but the character models and environments look bland and boring compared to other games I have played recently. Not to mention all of the levels look drab and depressing since the game is set during the wartime era.

As a whole, Zombie Army 4: Dead War may not reinvent the zombie killing franchise, but the gameplay is accessible and it's really enjoyable to play when you are powerful enough. That being said, you really need to play the game online with friends to really get the most fun out of the game. If you played any of the older games in the franchise, you should be happy with this new iteration.

Verdict: 8.0/10