The post-apocalyptic and zombie genres are rife throughout the gaming industry; they are genres that many find intriguing.  The world is at an end, the human race is lost and there are constant struggles every hour to survive.  Why is this the case?  Well, that is a whole different conversation for another day, but what makes a game within this genre stand out?

When I think post-apocalyptic, Fallout 3 springs to mind almost immediately.  The open-world setting, the morality system and the ability to do as we please.  Want to take on a mission and then once complete kill the person who gave you said mission?  Be my guest!  It was this choice that makes Fallout so re-playable, not to mention the amazing scope that the game was able to accomplish.  When I think of zombie games though, nothing quite stands out as the upper-echelon, the gold standard of the genre.

Fallout 3 Ghouls were zombie-like

Zombie games come in many forms, from the co-op first person shooter Left 4 Dead, to the tower defence game Plants vs. Zombies and then the latest game I have been playing, Dead Island.  Now, in some ways every one of these titles has its positives and in all respects are great games, but do they set the bar within the genre?  No, even though they all do something different, none take zombies to the next level.

As I said, my time recently has been dedicated to Dead Island and the entire time I was playing my mind-gears were cranking away thinking about the possibilities this game has to offer.  Not only that, but the ideas it could offer the entire genre.  Dead Island tries so hard to hit all the right marks but sadly technical issues, voice acting, and not defining the message the game wants to send holds the game back.

So what would make an amazing zombie game, a game that stands atop the mountain as the very best?  It needs to take the genre, make some tough decisions and be willing to stick its neck out to really make the game memorable.  So, I have compiled a few ideas that I think would improve on what Dead Island has tried to achieve, in turn making it something that is remembered for decades to come. Read the rest of this entry →