Horror Blogs > 10-31-365: Halloween/Horror Lifestyle > Game Review: Road of the Dead

10-31-365: Halloween/Horror Lifestyle - By Tom G

Game Review: Road of the Dead
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Road of the Dead is a free on-line flash game made by EvilDog and SickDeathFiend. The games places its players in the driver's seat of a sports car in a city that is being overrun by zombies. The player is trying to make it out of the city alive, the only problem (besides the hordes of undead) is that the military has placed the city under quarantine and don't want anyone getting out. In particular they seem determined (obsessed even) with stopping the driver of the sports car. The game is surprisingly fun and addictive despite the limitedness of it being a flash game. The road being traveled upon is completely straight with no curves to go around (though you have plenty to dodge around) and there are a limited number of zombie animations so you seem to be running over the same three zombies over and over again (though this same thing happens in a number of zombie games you pay to play). The basic thrills of zipping through a zombie-infested city in a sports car and added little details make Road of the Dead fun. My favorite small details are the windshield wipers and car horn. It adds that little bit of realism (and ridiculousness) when a player has to use the windshield wipers to remove blood from the windshield or blast the horn to warn pedestrians to get the heck out of the way as the car speeds along. The game also features a CB radio that allows you to hear what the military is up to during all the chaos. It adds to the atmosphere of the game greatly, along with the sounds of emergency vehicles and the screams of the frightened civilians. The game's soundtrack was provided by Symphony of Specters, a musical team that has also provided music for a number of other games. It is also a nice nod to George Romero that the first two levels are called Evans City and Monroeville (filming locations for Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead respectively). The game has action movie logic and physics, the hero (and I use that term loosely based on the fact that he doesn't even try to save any civilians along the way) and his car are incredibly tough and can keep on driving after having crashed head-on into multiple vehicles and being shot up by soldiers and helicopters. He's like John McClane from the Die Hard films, he ain't got time to die and when he does, he just comes back for more. Just check your brain at the door and don't question things like why is the military running around the city when they apparently have no interest in saving anyone in it? Just ignore the zombie behind the curtain and hit the gas pedal. The game allows the player to upgrade the driver and his vehicle, making them even harder to kill, faster, increasing maneuverability and adding other items (such as a louder horn). The player earns Road Points (RP) by running down enemies (both zombies and soldiers) with the car and loses RP by killing the civilians who run randomly about in confused panic. The player can spend the RP to upgrade after aborting a mission or dying. It begins to feel a bit like the movie Groundhog's Day as you basically have to purposely damage your car and go on suicide missions to earn the points needed to upgrade enough to progress to the next level of the game. As of yet, I have not completed the basic game (The Great Escape). Road of the Dead also offers harder versions titled Highway to Hell, Police State and Dead on Time. The latter game calls to mind the movie Speed, only you have to keep running down zombies in order to keep a clock from running out, blowing up your vehicle. Tips -Use the handbrake. It increases your maneuverability greatly if you master using it during steep turns. -Blast the horn a lot. You'll run down less civilians and more zombies that way. -Zombies that are walking are worth points. The ones that are feeding don't seem to be worth any points. -Use over-hanging road signs to take out the helicopter. -Don't punch out the windshield unless you are really having trouble seeing through it due to cracks. Even with limited visibility, it is still helping to deflect bullets. -You score more points for hitting an enemy straight on with your car, but they are going to obscure your vision with the blood and gore they'll spread across your windshield. Play Road of the Dead at Newgrounds: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/550714 Play Road of the Dead at Zombie Games (in case Newgrounds is down): http://www.zombiegames.net/games/Road-of-the-Dead.html If you are the sort who likes cheat codes, you can play a hacked version of Road of the Dead at Hacked Arcade Games: http://www.hackedarcadegames.com/game/3480/Road-of-the-Dead.html Video walkthroughs are available on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCPGvYolIYg This entry was edited on December 1, 2010, 5:00 pm.
Filed under: Games, General	December 1, 2010, 4:38 pm | Permalink | 0 Comments
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