World War Z, PS4

I wasn't really a fan of the movie, which paled in comparison to the excellent book of the same name, and licensed games tend to have a sketchy history at best in terms of quality, there had been little in the way of information provided about the game prior to it's release, and it seemed to appear very suddenly after what seems like ages stuck in development hell, so it was with some apprehension that I picked up it.The first question to ask then is does World War Z hit the mark in terms of a quality gaming experience? The answer is I'm pleased to say an almost entirely resounding YES!The game is set over four campaigns located across the world, with each campaign being made of several mission. The campaigns are as follows:New York: Your group of survivors start atop a Manhattan office building must survive the zombie infested buildings, streets and subways of New York to escape the city while the military attempts to take it back.Moscow: Your team must survive the zombie horde to find the safety of a secret Kremlin bunker.Jerusalem: Your military squad must rescue a top scientist from the fallen city to activate a weapons system on an abandoned satellite base.Tokyo: Where you form part of a volunteer search and rescue team must battle the hordes to protect the civilian population as they retreat to Tokyo harbor.Before each mission you can choose to play as any of four campaign-specific characters. Each character has their own back story about how they ended up in the zombie apocalypse and they come from a range of backgrounds that includes mob enforcer, doctor, scientist, SAS solder, firefighter, hacker, and journalist. This doesn't actually have any influence on how your character or the game plays, but gives it that little extra depth and there is a cool animated origin that can be unlocked for each character if you complete a mission with them.Once you have selected your character you can them assign them a specialisation, which unlike character selection is essential to how the game plays as this will determine your characters preferred method of exterminating the undead. The six specialisations available are as follows:- 'Gunslinger'. An expert with all forms of firearms- 'Hellraiser', An explosives specialist.- 'Medic'. Who is an expert in healing himself and his team members.- 'Fixer'. A supplies specialist who carries extra ammo for his team mates.- 'Slasher'. A hand to hand expert who specialises in getting up close and personal with the undead.- 'Exterminator'. Who gets bonuses to damage and specialises in dealing with swarms.Controls are simple and intuitive. You move your character with the left stick and run by pushing L3, whilst the right stick controls the camera. L2 aims your weapon, whilst R2 fires it. The shoulder buttons control special equipment such as grenades and unleash your melee attack respectively. The buttons allow you to switch weapons, crouch, climb/vault, and reload your currently active weapon. The directional buttons are used to apply med kits to you or your allies but are more commonly used in online co-op mode where they can be used to issue commands to your team mates.The game world is impressive looking. All around you are burnt out buildings and the streets are choked with crashed cars and the bodies of the dead (the ones who are really dead!). Doors are barricaded shut and the signs of the attempted evacuation and token resistance are all around in the form of suitcases and duffel bags scattered about and abandoned/destroyed military equipment. It immediately invokes a feeling of fearful anticipation in light of what you are about to face as you step out from your temporary safe haven to attempt your escape through a city where the undead wait around every corner...And what of the undead?In something of a departure from the movie and book, and due to the necessity to keep the game as interesting as possible, they come in several different varieties all of which provide their own respective challenges. The standard zombie is fast and nimble, and even able to take some basic evasive action to avoid your attacks, but they will generally run directly at you. They you have the creepers who rather than immediately reacting to your presence and mindlessly charging you will wait in situe, often in dark corners, for the best opportunity to leap at you and grapple you to the floor. There are zombies that wear hazmat suits who when killed release a noxious cloud of poison that will sap your health over time if you get caught in it. 'Screamers' who's wail attracts more and more zombies to your location (hint: kill these guys asap!). Then there are the 'bulls' - larger then the rest and wearing thick riot armour and helmets that make them especially tough to dispatch.Naturally the best and most efficient way to dispatch a zombie remains with a head shot, but in order to not make the game to unforgiving it is the case that if you employ enough firepower to any part of a zombies body you will eventually stop them, and the games 'advanced gore system' provides a visceral and gruesomely satisfying experience as you can blow chunks and limbs from your enemies before finally putting them down for good.Of course you cannot kill zombies without weapons, and in this respect you are absolutely spoiled for choice.The variety of weaponry is nothing short of massive. These are split into 'primary', 'secondary', and 'heavy' categories, and your character can carry one of each at any given time. They include, but are not limited to, several different types of pistol, machine pistol, sub-machine gun, sniper rifles, shotguns, assault rifles, grenade launchers, crossbows, carbines, rocket launchers, and heavy machine guns. Each weapon has it's own strength and weaknesses, damage, clip capacity, reload speed, handling, overall ammo that can be carried, and effective range. In addition to firearms you can carry support weaponry that includes C4, Molotov cocktails, and fragmentation grenades.Contrary to what you might expect, World War Z is a little more than just your standard third person run-and-gun console game - although it's definitely built on a foundation of that. Missions are split up into several sections, each of which require you to complete a series of objectives, which in turn will require you to tackle them via a variety of different methods.Some sections require you to utilize stealth - stalking the corridors of a darkened building and picking of stray zombies with head shots from your silenced pistol to prevent them from alerting the larger horde. Other sections require you to dispense with subtlety and deploy maximum firepower in order to battle entire hordes that will pour over every obstacle like a wave or climb on top of each other to get at you much as they did in the movie. Other sections meanwhile involve the use of large set-piece battles in which you can pre-prepare your environment and turn it into a killing zone with heavy equipment such as barbed wire that will slow the dead down, electrical traps that will stun them, and static machine gun emplacements that you can use to slaughter them in their masses. Finally you may be required by an NPC to complete certain objectives of the 'go there/collect this' variety in order to complete your mission.Missions are not especially long, and they are all somewhat 'on rails' - limiting you and directing you in a certain direction - but they are all incredibly tense affairs with little respite as zombies attack you relentlessly in both small and larger groups. You will absolutely burn through ammunition and will never quite feel that you are properly equipped for the job at hand, but thankfully fresh weapons, medi kits, and resupplies are scattered around quite liberally.Thankfully - in another departure from the norm - in single player mode (yes, there IS a single player mode - something not made obvious from the promotional material) your three allies aren't as dumb as a bag of rocks and they actually hold their own in a firefight, will stick close by rather than wandering off, mirror the tactics you choose to deploy rather than going rogue, and help you when you need it - such as dispatching a zombie that has you pinned. There is the odd occasion where you can find yourself isolated, usually when you've sprinted ahead and left them behind.Between each mission you will also accrue an amount of experience for your character class based on your performance that - when enough has been gained - will allow you to level them up and unlock new perks and abilities to assist in your fight for survival. Weapons can also gain experience which is based on which weapons you use throughout the level, allowing you unlock new upgrades that make them more deadly and effective.In terms of complaints there really isn't much to criticise. First and foremost is the fact that the severs for online play started off really buggy and crashed frequently, but a lot of work has been done to rectify this early on and the game for the most part is playing okay now. There is a frustrating lack of any kind of save funtion in single player mode, which means if you die right at the end of a mission you're going to have to play the whole thing again, but as playing one mission does not require you to complete the previous one this isn't too much of a problem. Also the game is somewhat simple and straight forward in it's design and execution, and it's single player campaign is also relatively short, but it's online co-op and PvPvZ (player v player v zombies) modes give it plenty of longevity, and it is an unreservedly fun, tense, and exciting experience that completely exploded all of my preconceptions and reluctance about buying it.Recommended!

Not a bad game but as in all games what do you want to do when you die. Go again. This game takes forever to reload and by the time it has you've lost interest

The game was absolutely wicked.Laugh out loud.

Before I got my hands on this game I watched a handful of Youtube reviews and playthroughs before release. Honestly for the most part it gave me a stark impression that the game was a push over with some people completing it on insane and blowing through levels, with little to no sight of zombie hordes. Now before I knew anything of how the bots worked (as those reviewers couldn’t access the servers), they have infinite ammo, they change weapons regularly and randomly, they have the aim of a terminator with an aim-bot; but the brains of a toaster. They don’t carry health packs and will go down like normal teammates, thus leaving you to pick them up, they won’t place down emplacements either, also get you stuck in "get over here" since they don’t have the best navigational skills.It’s only when you play online with real people the game starts to shine, but shamefully dulls due to the lack of content (I will explain later on). As for online play you could be playing a game with three other people and all is going well, until one of your teammates or yourself goes into a dead zone and gets pounced on by a lurker. Sure your teammates will attempt to revive you but what happens when a gasbag and a bull set upon you and your team and a screamer keeps the zombies coming a toxic mix indeed. What was seen as an easy skirmish now has ended up as a death sentence to you and your team adding to the randomness of the game, which in my opinion is good for replayability. Also it has its downsides with some players not bothering to progress the story or just standing about as they away from the controller, really frustrating in those tense final area that need everyone to progress.Lobbies are mostly filled, I’ve played a fair bit with 1 or two players with bots as stand-ins until another player joins later on, but a lot with full teams. But lately it has been tapering. Many players just sit in lobbies and leave at random times when you press ready and get thrown into a game with bots if you are waiting on the class or weapon screen to see how you can spend your cash, some seem like small groups of people that don’t like random people joining as this doesn’t have private lobbies yet, shamefully when that happens I can see a large drop in players for most maps.In all the game has 4 mission settings: New York-3 chapters, Jerusalem-3 chapters, Moscow-3 chapters andTokyo-2 chapters (but a third is being added later on.) I’d say each mission will last around an hour or just over on normal and hard. So the game as it stands is about 3-4 hours long for the base story-like missions, making each episode 20-30 minutes long. In my honest opinion this game should have waited until had a lot more content [map wise] before releasing since the price of £34.99 (£32 I paid) does make you think is it a worthy investment, for me it has been a nice experience and worth it for me, others I don’t know.Now as for the game play, it is simply a zombie twitch reaction shooter with spray and pray for the most part, I say this because the hordes make you react quick due to their numbers. some slight tactical thinking of what to use and what to keep for later on. Now you are thinking “later on but he said it was short?” Indeed, when you meet a horde that you must defeat before you can push on, you will have access to heavy weapons and emplacements, you can use them up or hold onto one for the last area, your choice entirely but at a cost of security and chances to defeat them. Maps are concise and not overly complicated to grasp, so no maze running or hidden rooms all over the place; so linear in most aspects.As for classes the game offers (see below)Gunslinger: firearms based soldier uzi/grenadesHellraiser boom boom guy/gal c4/claymores shotgun/c4Medic: walking emergency room uzi/stim gunFixer: special bullets and support grenades SIR (standard infantry rifle/ammo box (explosive ammo)Slasher: swing away, swing away. Melee class basically uzi/stun gunExterminator: burn them with Molotovs! Shotgun/Molotovs—-The gun you see above are locked to that class and that is what you will start with unless you unlock a skill that allows you to use another weapon that again is locked by being a specific weapon to that class style.— unless they change it.Now each class is subtly different with a role to play on the zombie infested maps, but medics are the life line for harder difficulties. They have several separate skills. Take the fixer, he can carry an ammo box that gives you explosive rounds, but he can also unlock a special grenade, shamefully you can’t use them at the same time as you are only allowed to have one not two equipment based skills at one time. As for weapons they all have (except heavy, melee and few others) 5 levels that can be unlocked to get access to more advanced versions of that said weapon with two rows that allow you to choose power, accuracy or stability and shamefully I think this system is stupid... as soon as you unlock the highest tier and purchase it with the currency you earn from missions (no micro transactions) you have no need to go back and use older weapons, also you don’t have to unlock them in order you can unlock level 3 without buying level 2 variant once you earn enough weapon do of that said weapon.-melee weapons at the moment is just the machete, unless you have the lobo bundle and that will give you the military shove, called the lobotomizer or lobo for short; book readers will know what it is. Shamefully they are cosmetic and changing them does no real difference in stats.-You have tier 1/2/3/4 weapons. Tier 1 are basic weapons you start with depending what class you choose as classes are locked to specific weapons so no weapon loadouts on story mode (see class info above). Tier 2 and 3 can be found around the game to be picked up and tier 4 are heavy weapons that can only be picked up, if your class has a skill that allows you start with a specific weapon then early on that will give you an edge. As for difficulty the game offers easy, normal, hard, very hard and insane. Harder you go the less stuff to find and the zombies will hit harder and down you like a fly with a zapper, so a silent and suppressed approach is key to completing these missions, but keep in mind nothing goes to plan.think of this game as a left 4 dead style fast paced shooter that keeps you aware and on your toes, so not a wildlands game as one other reviewer stated.I’ve been kicked and lost connection only a handful of times and was playing day one without any major problems.If you’ve got that itch for a zombie game I’d say go for it and get as much fun out if it as you can, more content is coming and I hope this game thrives as the idea and zombie count is impressive for a none triple-A game.Tips below-Red acetylene type tanks are explosive and slightly hidden so keep an eye out for them.- other players can blow up your c4/claymore explosives so place them strategically.-Red barrels that have leaking black oil can be shot and made into a fire wall for a short period of time, aim for the oil not the barrel. Once used they cannot be used again.-melee sometimes doesn't work/connect to Zombies so be careful when spamming the melee attack.-weapons when being picked up have tier markers above them tier 1: basic weapons. Tier 2 improved weapons. Tier 3 military grade weapons. Tier 4 heavy weapons.-Stealth is optional (but highly recommend for hard difficulty and up) for thinning out the horde and getting the upper hand early on.-Hard difficulty has no health packs on starting the game so be wary and careful, but a few are placed around the game.-Hazmat zombies can be shot in the head to stop them leaking their gas, only use body shots when they are at a distance.-Hold L1 as the medic to use stim on other players, it will show a white aura around the player you want to use the stim dart on-Aim for the neck or base of the climbing horde for maximum effect or go boom boom crazy on them and use a sweeping motion of left to right when firing or up and down depending on where you are standing at the horde.-LMG can be hip fired and assualt shotgun is fully automatic so spray like you mean it.-Shotguns reload 2 shells at once-Pistols can be swapped for other secondary weapons in the game.-Charger/Bull should be always be avoided in narrow spaces and he can grab you when falling/climbing objects. But the bull can be tricked to fall off certain areas and negate his danger completely. He has a weak spot on his back-LMOE (Book readers will understand) will get you get killed and pinned. Keep being Rambo to the dvd collection.-When you die you turn into a Zombie and you can you own zombie self; pretty cool.-Breach charges can be found around certain areas so keep your eyes peeled.-Also weapon/equipment bags fill your inventory items so use those spare frags/stims etc beforehand or they will be wasted.-Showing scoreboard will show an in-depth table on what your allies are carrying or squint at the right side for a mini board that shows other players health.-sentry guns can be restocked with ammo and make sound cue when they need restocking.-Zombies are sneaky and never rely on areas that are covered by other players as some can slip by.-don't waste all of your heavy weapons straight away, hordes come in separate waves.-equipment such as stationary gun, automatic turret, barbed wire, electric fence and mortar can be held onto for a later horde.-higher difficulties offer better endgame cash so you can buy better weapons/skills faster. All skills are viewable so buy what you need and use that spare coin on other things.-mix and match weapons as all weapons except melee/heavy/throwables have experience bars so they can unlock higher tiers of that specific weapons.-playing as different characters unlocks a short bio video in collection menu after completing a mission with that character, also they have a short description.-aim at head height for a faster kill and easier targeting, as zombie stay at a constant height. Some zombies can dodge when you aim at them so adjust for those.- sharing is caring, health packs can be a lifesaver for other players short on health.-press r3 to change camera angles and get the upper hand on hiding enemies; useful peak tactic.- unsuppressed weapons will alert dormant hordes and suppressed weapons need to be headshots or instant double/triple tap to keep them down, once up they will alert other zombies or horde in the area-if your reticule is red then that zombie is alive. So keep an eye out for dormant floor zombies.-1.02 patch fixed Lobo bundle... Kind of.-melee weapons are the same in attack and range and do no difference when changed. At the moment there is only the machete and Lobo (if you have the Lobo bundle) in my opinion messes up the guns a bit.-when confronted with several zombies keep away from spray and pray. Be methodical and shoot in bursts or taps as reloads in the wrong moments will get you swarmed.- you panic you lose, be a pied Piper and make the zombies follow you than you running in fear.-zombies run/move faster than your normal movement so sprinting is wise to make a gap.-recover downed team members that are able to be saved, keep an eye and ear out for specials as they will be lurking close by.-read the book or buy the audiobook!-skill equipment cannot be stacked so pick wisely example fixer has explosive ammo or masking grenade you can't carry both.-characters are cosmetic and hold no special skill attributes except for dialogue of who they are or information on your surroundings like enemies near by or random facts of the area or what's going on.-be fast in picking weapons while playing as other players will take what you want.-bots have infinite ammo and terminator like targeting, also they don't carry health packs and start off level 1, easy to spot in online play.-some sections can be progressed with 3 out of 4 players in certain zones as they teleport to you when you hit a trigger, others like end zones need all players so make sure they are up and ready.-zombies that near the top of climbable areas will not fall when the horde pyramid falls and must be dealt with separately.-specials give off sound cues like L4D. Also press up to mark specials.-some areas change layouts ever so slightly to throw you off.-some doors can be closed to halt zombies for a short time.-use the map to see where the zombies are coming from.-Hold up for "follow me" hold left for "Agree", hold right for "disagree", hold down for "heal me". Honestly this goes unheard or unused.-playing without auto aim will make your aim slightly better as auto aim is sticky in my experience.-teabag first and let it sit a few, milk second and stir for a good cuppa.

World war Z. I feel was not a very good game to play graphics and action very lame

A little like left for dead series. Pity that there is no traditional multiplayer! Hordes of zombies, guns, explosions. I think it is a fun game for teens and above. Another great zombie game that I would recommend more, is the Dead Rising series of games 🤗

Fantastic game so far, really enjoying it. No micro-transactions ruining the game either yet, hopefully it stays that way. Also really hoping the developers produce more episodes in the future.

Game is good well what I’ve managed to actually play, I’m yet to play online due to losing connection never have any issues with my other games. Even whilst playing the game offline it seems to crash a lot! So wouldn’t buy this game until they sort these issues out. Shouldn’t have risked preordering it. for some reason the gold weapons aren’t unlocked either which I should have access to for pre ordering it. Haven’t made my mind up if I’m going to be selling this or keep it to see if they sort the problems out. Isn’t filling me with confidence considering it’s already become a couple of quid cheaper on its first day of being released.