Nation Red (Video Game Review)

Video Game Review
Nation Red
PC/Windows
2009
Developer: DiezelPower
Publisher: DiezelPower

There’s something appealing about killing zombies in video games. Games are sell well simply with the premise of zombie annihilation. DiezelPower’s Zombie Red is no different. The game is an arena-based shooter that lets the player only do one thing: killing zombies. For a zombie killing game, it’s enjoyable but it’s limited in its options. It’s fun at the beginning but then the gameplay begins to feel a little dead after a while.

The bulk of the gameplay comes from the mission campaign and the survival mode. Steam owners will also have access to more modes (including new weapons) as updates become available. The mission campaign pits you against a preset number of zombies that come after you wave after wave. The survival mode pits you against waves of zombies until you die. You start off with a simple gun to ward off zombies but then you’re able to pick up more advanced (or even more simplistic) weapons that dead zombies leave behind. There are also powerups that last for a few seconds that give you a bit of relief such as a shield and a “ghost” player that helps you gun down zombies. After killing enough zombies, you “level up” which allows you to unlock new weapons, access to improved power-ups, and improved abilities (among other things).

The game is tough though. Peggle fans should not even attempt this one. Few will complete the campaign mode on even a moderate setting. The survival mode is great for those with short attention spans since even lasting for a full minute is an incredible challenge. It’s a throwback to when games provided strong action and were incredibly rewarding when you accomplished even the smallest thing like completing a level. At least the game isn’t punishing to the point where you feel dejected with every failure. In the campaign, you never have to start over again at the beginning; only the last level you successfully completed. You can make the game easier by limiting the amount of zombies on the screen but it doesn’t feel as rewarding. Owners through Steam also have access to online leaderboards which encourages repeat plays to sneak one’s way up the rankings.

One major issue with the game is that despite its interesting premise and addictive gameplay, the graphics and interface could be a lot better. The game is an arena shooter which plays on a 2D plane although the graphics are modeled in 3D. While the models look nice, the colour palette is limited. There really is no excuse for this. The game isn’t really pushing graphical boundaries as the characters don’t exactly look photorealistic. There’s plenty of red (for blood) but the rest of the colours on screen look too similar to one another.

There isn’t much in the way of camera options. You can tilt the camera angle up and down by a couple of degrees a little bit but that’s about it. It hurts the game sometimes because you can get taken by surprise by some off-screen zombies causing almost certain death. Trying to move around the playing area can cause some problems with the controls too. While the keyboard and mouse setup is completely customizable, the mouse can be a problem due to the intensity of the action. Trying to navigate around the arena quickly with the troublesome camera, the mouse (which acts as the aim for your weapon) can be caught in the wrong position. While you can correct yourself in a couple of split seconds, the action of the game can be so hectic at times that you don’t even have those a single split second to waste.

DiezelPower’s Nation Red is an above average game plagued by problems that feels like had more time or effort had been given towards the development of the game, it would have been a much better experience. Although the design of the game sort of handicaps the game from having a prolonged experience, it still could have been a game that would be enjoyable for short bursts for a long period of time. The final product that was published is a game that’s has a short expiry date; meaning you’ll only enjoy the game for a short while after the first time you play it. If shooting zombies is your cup of tea, you’ll have some fun with this game. If you don’t like killing zombies, chances are you’re probably a zombie.

☆☆☆