Three and Out – ‘World War Z’

Zombies have risen and plagued the Earth once again and I couldn’t be more bored of this genre. Growing up and watching movies like Night of the Living Dead, 28 Days Later, and Dawn of the Dead, I quickly became a huge fan of the zombie genre. This fascination directly transferred over to video games as well. There is something about being swarmed by zombies that is both terrifying and oddly satisfying. Yet in Saber Interactive’s World War Z, I couldn’t help but feel like the mindless zombies I was blasting away. I had been cautiously optimistic for this game after hearing praise from friends and coworkers alike. Some even referred to it as the next Left 4 Dead, a game that I absolutely adore. Ultimately, I was left with a horrible taste in my mouth and the regret of wasting my money. 

The biggest problem with the story in World War Z is that there practically isn’t one to begin with. World War Z is loosely based on the book of the same name by Max Brooks, and is set in the same universe as the 2013 film adaption with Brad Pitt. Unfortunately there is no Brad Pitt and almost nothing pulled from the phenomenal stories in the book. What we are given is a collection of four inconsequential campaigns that take us across the world. Throughout the course of the entire game, we found ourselves in New York, Jerusalem, Moscow, and Tokyo. Each location contains its own set of four playable characters and their desperate attempt to survive. Initially, I liked the idea of hopping between different characters because it followed the same pattern as the books and allowed me the chance to see a global reaction to this sort of epidemic. However, I quickly found that having a cast of twelve characters ends up causing more harm than good for this game. Instead of having a core cast of survivors that end up as a family, we are given what feels like blank avatars that rarely interact with each other. If it wasn’t for the fact that a “Characters” tab existed on the main menu to learn about the playable characters, I would have never learned an ounce of who they were prior to the outbreak. On top of that, the mission structure follows the same loop as Left 4 Dead – only more repetitive and hollow. For each chapter story, you are given the task of getting from point A to point B. Whether it’s escorting a NPC with no checkpoints or searching bodies for the one key that you need, it never introduces a new concept that blows you away. In the end, all it made me want to do was let the zombies take over. 

In terms of gameplay, World War Z is a bit of a mixed bag. Zombies met in an individual encounter are inherently weak in this game. They only take a few bullets or melee swings to get them out of your sight. It is when they swarm together that they become an enjoyable challenge. Normally a wall or fence might stop the zombies from advancing to your location. That isn’t the case here. Like a hive mind, these zombies will climb each other and burst over any obstacle in their path. There were plenty of moments where I would stop playing just so I could watch this impressive scene play out. There are also special infected – just like one would find in Left 4 Dead. The bull is a tank that charges around and slams players to their death. Gasbags wear bright yellow hazmat suits and emit poisonous gas on death. And lastly, there is the screamer that alerts nearby zombies to your position. All of these sound threatening in concept, but come across as weaker imitations of another game’s content. Unlike other games though, World War Z features quite a lot of customization. When playing the game, you are able to select and level any class in which you want your character to specialize. You can play support to your teammates as a Medic or Fixer, control the flow of zombies as a Hellraiser or Exterminator, and even dive right into the danger as a Gunslinger or Slasher. Each class fits with various customizable weapons and abilities to suit any playstyle out there. Lovers of zombie slaying will have countless hours of replayability. For me, it will remain an eyesore of a genre that doesn’t live up to the hype. 

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