2 minute read
STaTe of decay 2
If you join someone else’s game in co-op and die, it still counts as a perma-death
Publisher microSoft StudioS DeveloPer undead labS Format xbox one, xbox one x
You can Run aWaY, But can You Run a hR depaRtMent?
ETA SPRING 2018
as we’ve learned from zombie fiction, the undead apocalypse is no place to make friends. Sure, they may have a can of beans, or access to drinking water, or a winning smile. but is that huge black wound across their torso really a razor nick, as they say? and were they really sneaking into your ammo stores in the dead of night “just to make sure it was all still there”? these are the kind of questions that’ll keep you awake at night in State Of Decay 2.
Because although teaming up with other survivors is always a horrible idea that brings with it a shambling horde of problems, it’s also often necessary for your survival. State Of Decay 2’s NPCs are built with personalities defined by over 1,000 traits, which is to say they’re a pretty
Right “Right i know, this looks bad. i was just… sniffing them. Y’know, checking they were really dead.”
BeloW Feeling lonely out there in the wilds? Recruit a few survivors for company – mind they’re not psychopaths, though.
diverse bunch, and their motivations vary depending on those traits. The latter point is particularly important when you’re assigning leaders to communities across the game world – more than before, State Of Decay 2 is Dead Rising meets The Sims – because if their objectives don’t chime with your own, you might find yourself in a great big mess.
Inhuman resources
This depth of social systems is reflective of the game’s grander ambitions and greater refinement than its predecessor, and although zombie fatigue set in about a decade ago in the games industry, Undead Labs look like they’ve hit on something fresh. We’ve shotgunned a thousand reanimated heads, but never before have we had to worry about who to leave in charge of the infirmary – or even whether to build one in the first place. Bring on that new depth. n Co-op zombie Combat
this sequel gives players the chance to team up with three friends and take on zombies together for the first time. When first conceived, undead labs thought about creating a persistent mmo world, before that idea evolved into a drop-in, drop-out experience. this is partly to ensure that your xbox doesn’t need to be connected to the internet at all times.
