At E3 2017, we got to look at the zombified first person shooter Dead Alliance from Maximum Games.
Dead Alliance puts a new spin on the FPS genre. Yes, there are guns and teams and customizable loadouts like every other FPS has. Dead Alliance take those mechanics and adds in AI controlled zombies that roam around the map. The player can control these zombies in various ways using Z-Mods.
Z-Mods are special items and weapons you can carry with you that will make the AI zombies react in different ways. For example, the one we used the most during our hands-on demo was The Enrage-r. This Z-mod, when thrown at a zombie, allows it to become bigger, stronger, and faster as it runs around in search of enemies to kill. It’s an interesting mechanic for sure and one that can turn the tide of battle quickly in any game mode.
Speaking of game modes, the three we tried out were Team Deathmatch, Attrition, and King of the Hill. Team Deathmatch is your standard run around, shoot-em-up, get the points game mode but with the addition of the Z-Mods, you’re not only fighting the player in front of you, but the horde of zombies they might send after you as well. King of the Hill plays much the same way but we took great delight in throwing Z-mods at packs of zombies and watching them defend a point for us while we went off in search of other things to capture or kill. Attrition is the most interesting game mode, and the one that we really got the best play experience out of. Attrition is a MOBA like game mode where you and your team must take control of two to three enemy towers and then take control of their main base. This lead to some insane tactical decisions being made between my team mates and I as we ducked in and out of these tower control points while sending waves of zombies towards our enemies. When we captured a point, we would then send yet another zombie horde to defend it in case of an incoming attack. It was the most fun I’d had in an FPS I just picked up in quite some time, and I look forward to playing this more in the coming months.
We didn’t get to check out any of the customization options for each role, but did note that there were many different customization options in the character selection screen and when I tried to press for a little more information, got a few uneasy looks so we’re assuming it’s something that’s still in final development.
Release wise, a beta will be happening sometime in July, you can check out their website for more information on that and make sure you check out our interview with the Dead Alliance team below.
When it launches, Dead Alliance will release for PC, Xbox One, and PS4.
We’ll have more E3 2017 coverage for you in the coming days.