Dead Nation PSN

Get off the damn computer, and play with your TV, it misses you!

Moderators: Funkmasterr, noel

Post Reply
Fairweather Pure
Super Poster!
Super Poster!
Posts: 8509
Joined: July 3, 2002, 1:06 pm
XBL Gamertag: SillyEskimo

Dead Nation PSN

Post by Fairweather Pure »

This is a twin stick-ish shooter based on... Zombies! I say "stick-ish" because instead of just moving your sticks to move and fire, instead you actually have to press your number to fire your shots.

The game itself is by the same company that made Super Stardust HD, so that was enough reason alone for me to give the game a shot. It's a co-op, top down shooter. Basically like a top down L4D. The graphics are great, with an amazing amount of zombies on screen at once. It's fast paced and can get really frantic at times.

However!

The game is waaaay too dark and there is no way to up the gamma in-game. It can get really frustrating at times due to this single issue. Also, the default weapon is a single shot rifle, so you have to push the bumper every single goddamn time to fire. In a fast and frantic twin stick shooter, you'll be doing that A LOT. As in, thousands and thousands of times. There are other weapons, but your rifle is the only one with unlimited ammo, so it is easily your mainstay. The other thing is that save points are few and far between. I played for about an hour but had to leave, so instead of pausing and leaving my PS3 on, I opted to shut it off and lose all my progress instead :(. Over all, as hyped as I was for this game, I cannot help but be a bit disappointed with the end result.

At least you have to use more strategy than usual for this type of game. I also enjoy the upgrade options for both weapons and armor. Nice additions.

Zombie Apocalypse, although vastly inferior in terms of graphics and overall package, it's still more fun for what it is trying to do. Dead Nation is trying to take the "arena shooter" to the next level, but the little issues end up holding it back a great deal IMO. Alien Swarm is free in Steam and basically does what Dead Nation is trying to do a heck of a lot better (and it's free). If Housemarque would fix just a couple of nagging issues, this would be easy to recommend.
User avatar
miir
Super Poster!
Super Poster!
Posts: 11501
Joined: July 3, 2002, 3:06 pm
XBL Gamertag: miir1
Location: Toronto
Contact:

Re: Dead Nation PSN

Post by miir »

Yea, it's way too dark.
I've got 99 problems and I'm not dealing with any of them - Lay-Z
Fairweather Pure
Super Poster!
Super Poster!
Posts: 8509
Joined: July 3, 2002, 1:06 pm
XBL Gamertag: SillyEskimo

Re: Dead Nation PSN

Post by Fairweather Pure »

* Online co-op voice chat
* Checkpoint save
* Brightness calibration screen
* Jack and Scarlett now have their own laser sight colors
* You can now also buy a laser sight for your SMG, Shotgun, or Blade Cannon
* Detailed statistics menu
* Bullets can no longer hit cars beyond the screen
* Game saves can now be copied
Looks like all my concerns were addressed. I think I'll be firing this up again!
User avatar
miir
Super Poster!
Super Poster!
Posts: 11501
Joined: July 3, 2002, 3:06 pm
XBL Gamertag: miir1
Location: Toronto
Contact:

Re: Dead Nation PSN

Post by miir »

Right on!

I'll have to give it another go.
I've got 99 problems and I'm not dealing with any of them - Lay-Z
User avatar
Aslanna
Super Poster!
Super Poster!
Posts: 12469
Joined: July 3, 2002, 12:57 pm

Re: Dead Nation PSN

Post by Aslanna »

I agree. Was too dark! I couldn't see shit. I think I only played the first two missions.
Have You Hugged An Iksar Today?

--
Fairweather Pure
Super Poster!
Super Poster!
Posts: 8509
Joined: July 3, 2002, 1:06 pm
XBL Gamertag: SillyEskimo

Re: Dead Nation PSN

Post by Fairweather Pure »

I DLed the patch and fired it up. The difference is literally night and day. Much, much more enjoyable. You can only adjust the gamma during the game.

I'm amazed something like this made it past play testing. It seems someone would've brought the darkness up at some point. Oh well, 3 months later and I'll finally play through this.
User avatar
miir
Super Poster!
Super Poster!
Posts: 11501
Joined: July 3, 2002, 3:06 pm
XBL Gamertag: miir1
Location: Toronto
Contact:

Re: Dead Nation PSN

Post by miir »

Fairweather Pure wrote:The difference is literally night and day.
:lol:
I've got 99 problems and I'm not dealing with any of them - Lay-Z
User avatar
Aslanna
Super Poster!
Super Poster!
Posts: 12469
Joined: July 3, 2002, 12:57 pm

Re: Dead Nation PSN

Post by Aslanna »

This is onsale. Not sure how long maybe just this week.
Dead Nation – Best PlayStation Network Exclusive Game (Sale price $10.49, Plus price $7.50, Regular price $14.99)
Have You Hugged An Iksar Today?

--
User avatar
Aslanna
Super Poster!
Super Poster!
Posts: 12469
Joined: July 3, 2002, 12:57 pm

Re: Dead Nation PSN

Post by Aslanna »

It still gets too dark when the waves start coming so I can't imagine how it was before. I know the lights go off to let you know it's coming and to make it more suspenseful but it's just annoying especially when then dark skeleton kinda zombies ambush you out of nowhere. Not only that but why is the character traveling at night when zombies are roaming around.. Duh!

The default controller config sucks why would you place weapon switches on the left? Very cumbersome to switch weapons when you're running for your life. Luckily that's configurable so I put them on the right side of the controller. A lot more intuitive for me.

Other than that it's ok for a downloadable game. Some of the waves of enemies go on way too long. The trophy for completing it on Morbid difficulty is also unnecessary. Why do companies add those in? Other than to force people to replay the game again. They already have a trophy in there for killing 54,000 zombies which means you'll be replaying it at least 3 times already.
Have You Hugged An Iksar Today?

--
Fairweather Pure
Super Poster!
Super Poster!
Posts: 8509
Joined: July 3, 2002, 1:06 pm
XBL Gamertag: SillyEskimo

Re: Dead Nation PSN

Post by Fairweather Pure »

Aslanna wrote:It still gets too dark when the waves start coming so I can't imagine how it was before.
Completely unplayable. I say that with absolutely no hyperbole at all. I was unable to play the game at all prior to the patch.
Fairweather Pure
Super Poster!
Super Poster!
Posts: 8509
Joined: July 3, 2002, 1:06 pm
XBL Gamertag: SillyEskimo

Re: Dead Nation PSN

Post by Fairweather Pure »

DLC is coming out for this game called "Road of Devastation". Looks like fun. I'll probably grab it at some point. The original game was given away as part of the "Welcome Back" package so the user base has grown significantly and I bet they hope that the free downloaders check out the DLC. Pretty smart!
Fairweather Pure
Super Poster!
Super Poster!
Posts: 8509
Joined: July 3, 2002, 1:06 pm
XBL Gamertag: SillyEskimo

Re: Dead Nation PSN

Post by Fairweather Pure »

Almost a year alter and I finally finished this one. The changes in the game are all for the better. I agree with Aslanna that some of the waves went on way too long though. The last level was kind of a bitch, but it was pretty awesome when we beat it (took 3 tries). Man, the SMG was useless. Flamethrower was fair at best, but the blade gun and rocket launcher more than made up for them! If I had to do it all over again, I would level rifle, shotgun, rocket launcher, and blade cannon as well as all the renewables. It took us around 6 hours to beat and I thought that was the perfect game length for this type of game. It was just starting to feel like it was over staying it's welcome when we beat it.

My wife and I played this from start to finish over a 3 night period. Man, she was really into this game! It has made her want to play more co-op games. I think the twin stick Laura Croft game is up next. Looking over my collection, I really do have a plethora of co-op games!
Post Reply