Mr Viral
Zombie Army VR Review
Zombie Army VR from publisher Rebellion is their first foray into the VR sphere of gaming. The game is available on all VR platforms and is co-developed with Xtended Realities. This review is based on the PSVR 2 version. The events of Zombie Army 4 occur before those in Zombie Army VR. In Zombie Army VR, you return to the field as one of the Deadhunters, an elite squad that is hunting down zombie war criminals. For the uninitiated, the Zombie Army games are an offshoot of the Sniper Elite games.
The game’s setting is the bombed-out city of Nuremberg. Here, you will fight your way through the undead hordes. Your aim is to help Hermann Wolff, legendary leader of the Deadhunters. He needs your help to find his scattered family. This, plus you must fight to free Europe from the zombie apocalypse. Not a tall order at all.
When you start a new game, a couple of choices have to be made. You must choose whether you will play, seated or standing. If you change your mind later on, you can do so in the options menu. Then there is a choice of four characters to play as. This choice is permanent. There are two female characters and two male characters, one of which is a zombie sympathizer – Hector. You also choose your dominant hand and game difficulty. Once you make those decisions, the game whisks you to its Central Hub.
In the Hub, Wolff introduces you to the various functions the area serves, which includes the campaign selection menu. Here you can choose to play the campaign in single or co-op mode. After having played the game, it’s apparent that the emphasis is on the coop mode. The level design is such that zombies attack from two main directions. If you play single player, you need to be situationally aware in all directions. Fortunately, the 3D audio cues help you do that.
Sniper X-Ray Shots
The target range is also accessible in the Hub. Here, you familiarize yourself with not only the weapons available but the VR mechanics to use them, too. You learn how to aim, reload, and cock your weapon. Plus, you get experience with how each of them handles and how they aim. The PSVR 2 version of the game makes good use of the trigger force feedback for weapon fire. Your weapon arsenal includes the standard pistol, shotgun, various machine guns, and the franchise’s signature sniper rifle.
Sniper Elite fans take heart. The signature X-Ray kill shots are present in Zombie Army VR. You get the slow-mo replays of sniper shots with added visceral impact of their fully 3D representation that VR provides. Along with the target practice area, the Hub includes a workbench area where you can upgrade and/or customize your weapon. These additions become available by collecting weapon paint cans or finding upgrade kits in the levels you’ve completed.
Weapon upgrades are vital, especially in single-player mode. Upgrades include faster firing rate, larger ammo capacity, improved stability, and greater damage. These attributes improve not only your ability to survive but also the damage you can do. Scoring is based on chaining attacks together. The more consecutive kills, the greater the multiplier, and the higher your score.
You need to use to both hands to aim down the sights of your rifle and line up that perfect shot at range. You also need two hands to steady the recoil of machine guns. When things get up close and personal, you can use each hand independently to dual-wield pistols and submachine guns. The undead masses test your reloading skills as they close in from all sides. The pressure to reload while keeping zombies at bay will test your skills.
Graphical Control
Graphically, the game looks great on the PSVR 2. There is no sign of mura, and the game appears to be running at 90 FPS with no reprojection. The only graphical oddity comes if you move your game hands and/or weapons directly in front of your face. Then something akin to reprojection occurs where those objects stutter, i.e., they appear as somewhat blurry images. Fortunately, it only happens if you have objects really close to your view.
Otherwise, the image is pristine. The graphics are colorful, the colors pop, and the textures don’t break down if you move very close to objects. There is some noticeable aliasing on objects with straight edges, such as stairs or metal beams. Although it fits the established lore, it’s disappointing that dead zombies disintegrate and fade after death.
For the first time in a VR game, Zombie Army VR comes with some graphical options normally reserved for pancake games. You can adjust the brightness and contrast in-game. This allows you to tailor the game to suit your sensibilities. Making the game darker increases the feeling of dread and tension. If you want a starker looking game, then altering the contrast lets you do so. Depending on the headset, changing the darkness can partially address the weaker black levels of VR headsets that use LCD panels for display.
There’s a decent variety of zombies. Some are variants of the base model but have extra protection vis-à-vis helmets of various types and welder masks. Zombies with headgear take more shots to kill. Some zombies use weapons, but shoot them in random directions.
Missions Company
The gameplay loop comprises the initial zombie mop-up of a starting area of a level. You trigger a zombie swarm by accomplishing an initial goal, such as powering up a generator. You may receive a temporary power-up, such as a higher-caliber, faster-firing automatic weapon, when certain events occur. It could be a dual barrel one, too. When that happens, get ready to take on a much larger zombie swarm than normal.
There are also mini-boss zombies you must defeat when you reach the final stage of a level. These zombies can only attack at certain moments. These are troublesome because until you kill them, the zombie swarms will continue. All the while, via radio, Wolff and Edie, a mission specialist, keep you appraised of your objectives. Objectives are seen on screen by a marker, so there is no unnecessary backtracking.
Overall, Zombie Army is a solid package. There are only a few complaints. The X button controls the on-screen satchel. I often accidentally hit the X button, which causes the satchel to pop up and obscure your vision. The satchel only holds a maximum of three items. As mentioned, the level design favors coop over single player.
Zombie Army VR is a fun arcade shooter. Killing zombies never gets old, and the World War II setting is an entertaining mash with the undead genre. The game really gives off a Castle Wolfenstein vibe. However, some may find that the gameplay loop will wear out its welcome. The VR implementation is top-notch, with manual VR weapon loading mechanics that add to the challenge. If zombies are your thing, along with the X-Ray sniper rifle replays, Zombie Army VR will be right up your alley.
***Zombie Army VR Review key provided by the publisher.***
The Good
Great graphics
Zombie swarms in VR are intense
Challenging gameplay
78
The Bad
Annoying satchel button location
Repetitive gameplay loop
Levels tailored more to coop
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