The fantasy of defending humanity against zombies comes back to life in time for Halloween.
Apocalyptic themes have always captured the collective imagination, but it certainly seems to have taken hold in a new way. The film and gaming industries have seen scads of end-of-days stories where chaos reigns and society disintegrates into a mass of flesh-eating monsters. Thanks to advancements in digital technology, we can now experience the fear with shocking realism.
At this time of year, with Halloween and Dias de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) just around the corner, it’s fun to venture a guess as to the macabre appeal of the zombie mayhem. Maybe it’s because beyond the terror there is a thrill attached to the sudden absence of order, a meltdown of the system. Work and school no longer apply when our very survival is on the line. The opening scene in 28 Days Later has a somewhat harrowing shot of London’s streets completely vacant of its populace after a complete zombie takeover.
Maybe, like in Shaun of the Dead, it’s the transformation of the everyman into the superhero: we saw a lazy, aimless loafer suddenly rise to the challenge, discovering that he had a gift for zombie slaying. If that guy can defend his people against a mob of ravenous humanoids, then anyone can.
When it comes to the gaming sector, there are certainly many offerings that go all in for the guts and destruction, but many developers have seized the opportunity to branch out in several different directions, incorporating strategy, tower defense, and precision shooting with the grim task of terminating the undead as the objective.
Perhaps the zombie genre is so popular because it easily overlaps with charged military interaction and it satisfies our predator-prey instinct without breaking any rules. It’s clear who the bad guys are, and it takes some well-rounded gaming skill to conquer the siege.
A great example of this mash-up is Zombie City Defense, a next-level gaming now enabled for Intel® Atom™ processor-based tablets for Android*. That certainly qualifies as a crossover with all the excitement that accompanies high-threat strategy. This next-level game makes the hungry hoards nothing more than a suggestion, focusing on war simulation with holographic night vision-style graphics in sharp 3D. In the simulation vein, the narrative is based on building layers of strategy to combat waves of attacks and each triumph rewards the player with new military might.
Gaming bloggers have received Zombie City Defense warmly, noting that it is a standout among the plethora of tower defense because of its richly detailed cityscapes in striking x-ray visuals that give players a top down or angled view. Modeled after Google Earth*, the game allows players to zoom in and out and the landscapes become more complex as the game progresses. Multiple views of the action heighten the overall gameplay experience and each level up provides more infantry, weapons, and capabilities. After all, if you are going to take out zombies, you need all the tools and tactics you can get.
Whatever the draw is, these games see an uptick in interest around this time of year, when it is extra enticing to get totally terrified for the sake of some heart-pounding fun. The shorter days, colder weather, and of course, Halloween, set the tone for some hair-raising, and Zombie City Defense optimized for Intel-powered devices delivers some truly terrifying entertainment.
To check out Zombie City Defense, visit the Google Play store here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mozglabs.citysiedge&hl=en