'Nation Red' Review (9/10)

One of the most entertaining games I've played as of late, Nation Red is fast-paced, arcade action game. It implements a tried and true formula of holding-out against the hoarde of creeps (in this case, zombies). To me, it is a modern take on Crimsonland, a classic shoot-em-up game. The multi-directional shoot-em-up genre is pretty well defined and there's not a whole lot that any given game of the genre can do to improve the formula. Thankfully, Nation Red sticks to the formula and simply offers a simple premise (zombies) and a fantastic graphical overhaul.




When I fired up Nation Red for the first time, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, the screenshots I saw on the Steam store were pretty impressive for what I thought to be a simple arcade game. The screenshots aren't touched up -- the game's ingame graphics match. The basic gameplay is pretty simple: you spawn in a zone (which you cannot leave) and zombies start to flood into the zone (presumably in an attempt to mash your face). The zombies fall into roughly five different subtypes:

1. Plain, simple zombies. These are the simple zombie's we're all familar with.
2. Plain zombies armed with basic melee weapons like axes and machets etc
3. Fat zombies. Just as the description says, presumably, they have more hit-points.
4. Suicide zombies. Similar to fat zombies, except they self-detonate when they close in on you.
5. Boss zombies. Tons of hitpoints and a weapon of some sort.

As you kill the zombies they may drop various powerups ranging from different weapons (both melee and ranged) to temporary boosts (such as spawning an auto gun turret for a short duration). You also gain experience which you can invest the subsequent skillpoints into permenant perks (such as improved accuracy, increased ammo etc).

In addition to 'missions' and freeplay modes (with the difference being that freeplay has an unlimited number of zombies coming for you), there is a barricade mode, were you need to prevent the (also unlimited) zombie waves from reaching a certain point.

While the environments are pretty plain and limited (really, they all boil down to a relatively small recatangle with some doodads for decoration/atmosphere), the sheer combination of different perks (there's about 50 of them!) and weapons and powerups (probably another 50 here too) means that each play will be a different experience.

On the whole Nation Red is a superb game however there are a few weakpoints (most of which stem from the subgenre as a whole):

• Performance in the later waves will hurt. While the graphics engine is relatively lightweight and efficient, facing down 1000+ ragdoll-physics-enabled zombies can be relatively streneous.
• It would be nice to have maps that didnt reduce to simple empty rectangles. It'd be nice to have doodads to run around for cover or even a couple natural chokepoints thrown in.
• There is a noticeable delay between when you select a perk and when you con resume shooting again. While this is a trival non-issue for quite some time at the beginning, later on, when you're surrounded by a few hundred zombies, it can be a bit 'exciting' as you mash the shoot button in an attempt to make the guns fire again!
• While I appreciate the attempt at co-op/multiplayer, it is very weak. Co-op multiplayer is supported on a single-machine (presumably with one person using a controller, the other using a keyboard mouse). It'd be nice to have real-multiplayer, as this is definitely a game that would play very well.

The game is definitely good fun. It's a bit expensive at $20 (a $10 price tag would be more appropriate), but I wouldn't (and don't) regret buying it at all. All in all, 9/10.

PS.
On a parting note, I think the #2 guy was thinking he was pretty cushy, having doubled the #3 guy. Then I come along and quadrouple him. Can't imagine he's too amused with me!