State of Decay 2 more than just a zombie game
State of Decay 2 Rated M for Mature (XBox One,PC)
The zombie game that made death permanent, and the action scary, is back with a sequel.
The new game has seen some evolution from the first time around. The visuals have seen some updating with the camera closer to the action than before. The character and enemy models are more detailed than the first game with better animations.
The game starts with the player selecting three members of your community. Each of the character in your community has a list of stats. Each of these stats can help with different aspects of your community. If you have a person that is a great gardener, your food harvesting will increase.
These stats can increase with use as you play the game. Your task is to survive and to help your community thrive. The world has gone to the zombies and you have to work with your community to survive this threat.
A new addition is the co-operative feature. Players can call in help at anytime by pressing the D pad. You can help your friends survive and make their community thrive. The entire focus on this community lends itself well to co-operative game play. You, as the player, must not die, as death is permanent. All the work you have done from building up skills, etc, will be lost, making each zombie encounter that much more nerve racking.
The stats upgrade like a roleplaying game with each use. The game isn’t your standard zombies that you’re used to. These zombies run faster and even have different varieties, from exploding bloated ones, to huge juggernauts that can stop your speeding truck in its tracks. The game’s controls are easy enough to pick up and play.
The player can move the character with the left thumbstick and use the X button to attack the different enemies. You have to keep track of the red stamina gauge as it drains with each swing or running. If the gauge empties, you are easily attacked and can be extremely sluggish.
Fighting more and more enemies will help your stat increase and make your fighting skills that much more effective. Players must constantly balance if fighting is needed or if running or sneaking gives a better chance of survival. The game’s map is quite large with tons of buildings to explore. All these building can hold resources for your community. You can also use them as additional outposts which can add resources each day and even more space for your growing community. There are other communities of survivors out there that can require your help from time to time. The way you choose to deal with them is up to you.
You can help them or can even confront some to eliminate them and take over their base. With all your different actions, players will gain influence points. These points are used to acquire better bases, call in for help and more.
Bases or communities are a major focus. Players can select what to build and where in your community. The balancing act comes back into play, with you having focus on food, medical, ammo and other resources or people will become fatigued and won’t recover.
Each community only has a certain amount of building areas. You must plan out bases as if your community depends on it. The map has buildings that are full of infected groups that can be cleared to make the map safer for your group. There are plague hearts which have large amount of infected zombies. These hearts will also sound an alarm when attacked to make zombies attack you.
With the game still not fully released until Tuesday, May 22, I didn’t have a chance to try the co-operative play as much as I would have liked. For the small entry fee of $39 for the standard edition and up to three friends joining in the zombie killing. State of Decay 2 is easily a recommend to buy game. Sascha Heist is a Penticton gamer. Feel free to contact Sascha at sggall@telus.net with gaming questions and more. On XBox One : acehardy13 On PSN: acehardy13 This column appears Saturdays.