| Game Review: Road of the Dead |
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10-31-365: Halloween/Horror Lifestyle
- By Tom G
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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.
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Filed under:
Games, General
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12/01/2010, 4:38 pm |
Rating: 0/0 |
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| Tragedy on the S.S. Governor |
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TheCabinet.com Blog
- By TheCabinet
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The Admiralty Inlet near Puget Sound, Washington was the site of a tragic shipwreck on April 1, 1921. Despite clear weather, the pilot of the S.S. Governor confused the running lights of the S.S. West Hartland as the fixed lights of nearby Marrowstone Point and preceded forward. It turned out to be a fatal mistake as the West Hartland rammed the Governor at the center of its onboard side, ripping a 10-foot gash into its side that immediately began to take on water.
Onboard the Governor was the Washbourne family who were asleep in their room with the father and mother (Harry and Lucy) on one-side of the cabin and their two daughters on the other. Their cabin was located at the site of impact and the bow of the S.S. Hartland sliced through the walls and divided the room, separating the family. Harry was severely injured, but Lucy was able to seek aid. Rescuers quickly descended and freed Harry from the wreckage, but the two young girls were completely trapped and there was no way to free them. The crew had little choice but to leave them and forcefully removed their now-hysterical mother. Once the crew had the injured husband and grieving mother topside, they moved immediately to transfer Harry over to the West Hartland with the rest of the passengers fleeing the sinking ship. As they were distracted, Lucy broke free from her rescuers and ran back into the ship to be with her children. She was never seen again.
The S.S. Governor sunk within 20 minutes of impact, taking only eight lives with it - including Lucy Washbourne and her two children. In close proximity to the wreckage is the Point Wilson Lighthouse, whose keeper that night witnessed the tragic accident. Today, members of the United States Coast Guard have reported seeing the apparition of a woman wearing a nightgown wandering the property as if searching for something before entering the lighthouse itself and completely disappearing. It is presumed the alleged spirit is that of Lucy Washbourne, still seeking her children all these years later. It is also only one of the many stories of paranormal encounters at the Point Wilson Lighthouse.
Read more on the history and encounters of the Point Wilson Lighthouse.
-Casey H. |
Filed under:
Games, Dark Destinations
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04/01/2009, 4:47 pm |
Rating: 0/0 |
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| Ghost Towns |
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10-31-365: Halloween/Horror Lifestyle
- By Tom G
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CNN.com is currently running a travel article on the past-time of of "Ghost Towning". The article is about the vast number of ghost towns across America. I was surprised to read that there are 14(!) ghost towns in the state of New York where I live. I think I may be visiting a ghost town or two before summer is gone now. The article can be viewed here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/getaways/07/25/ghost.towns.ap/index.html
Dark Destinations currently has two ghost towns listed among its entries.
Ghost City: A ghost town in Arizona said to be chock full of wandering spirits. A headless miner, a ghostly cat and spectral bordello madam are said to be among the large number of spirits still residing in Jerome, AZ. Click here to visit Ghost City.
Elkhorn, Montana: Story has it that this ghost town is haunted by the mass victims of a cholera outbreak. Click here to visit Elkhorn.
Ghost towning sounds like an excellent chance for hiking, exploring and photography. I personally love taking photos of abandoned, decaying buildings. There is something tragic, beautiful and lonely about abandoned spaces that has always intrigued me. Have any of you visited a ghost town recently or planning to in the coming months? If so, please feel free to share your experiences.
-Tom G |
Filed under:
Games, Dark Destinations
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07/29/2008, 10:35 pm |
Rating: 0/0 |
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