Among the hordes of undead shooters this year, State of Decay is one of the most unique games that’s worth mentioning.
The game is an Xbox Live Arcade and PC title, if you have any inclination to delve into the world of the game, here’s 5 reasons you should play State of Decay:
It really is about survival
While many zombie games end up just being run-n-gun affairs, State of Decay really puts the emphasis on survival and strategy.
Players have to search and scavenge for supplies and weapons, as well as keeping your home base stocked in order to help other survivors hold on.
The element of survival puts purpose into the gameplay, and makes things other games take for granted seem so vitally important.
Resources are incredibly valuable
As mentioned earlier, resources play a huge role in this game. Every bullet you fire, every weapon you smash into a zombies’ head, and every bandage, you need to collect.
The resource gathering is a hugely rewarding yet dangerous undertaking, as every time you leave the sanctuary of your base, you taunt death.
Resources must be returned to the home base, where you can expand your infrastructure, such as adding a gym, which will help improve survivors’ abilities.
You’ve got to be smart
State of Decay won’t reward you for back-pedalling and firing off hundreds of rounds. You have to think smart to survive.
One thing that highlights the gameplay of State of Decay is that noise attracts zombies. So gunfire, car alarms, and even looting things too quickly will result in unnecessary noise that brings hordes of the undead. So, distractions such as fireworks are a huge help.
You have to play carefully, and set up perimeters around your base in order to devise strategic routes for supply runs.
You also have to gain trust in the group by doing your bit with supplies, as well as assessing how trust-worthy other characters are.
Sense of exploration
State of Decay, while not the biggest game map, really does invoke a sense of exploration as you travel around the world.
There are shops, restaurants, houses and other locales to explore and loot, but you’ve always got to be careful, as zombies could be lurking around these derelict buildings at any time.
Combat is fun and dynamic
While there are some awkward moments with animations and collisions, the combat is actually incredibly fun and satisfying.
Guns (when you do find ammo) feel powerful and effective, and the melee combat is brutal and physical. With weapons degrading and eventually breaking, it’s an interesting challenge to find and equip the right tools to bash some zombie-skulls.
State of Decay is available on XBLA for 1600 Microsoft Points.
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Just waiting for it to come to the SA marketplace – I unfortunately loaded all my points on my sa profile :/
Game looks like exactly what I want from my zombie games, the ‘what if it really happened’ type game 🙂
Can’t wait!