1) Game Experience: Medium
2) Game Value: High
3) Quiche’s Recommendation: Solid zombie-bashing good time
Tie-in F2Ps usually guarantee two things: ads and terrible gameplay. The Walking Dead No Man’s Land has ads, but it doesn’t suck. It’s actually an enjoyable F2P to kill a few minutes each day.
One of the first things that pop up when you play the game are advertisements for the show itself. I started the game on a weekend and sure enough, got hit with the ad. Not intrusive but gave me a bad vibe right off the zombie-smashing bat. Here we go, another lame F2P tie-in, an agenda item on AMC’s marketing campaign.
Ads like this are what tie-ins are all about.
And the F2P-ness is there, too. The familiar home base that requires time and money (both in-game and real) to build and upgrade. In-app purchase to speed things up or purchase rare items. And of course, stamina meters and lame videos you watch to get additional items. Just another cookie-cutter F2P.
Look familiar?
But what is fun about this game is the turn-based tactics. Again, nothing new. You have a squad, each member with a unique specialty and purpose. You move them around using movement points, position them, and then kill zombies. This isn’t exactly innovation; however, I caught myself playing it over and over. Each scenario became a bit of a puzzle.
Be smart if you want to live.
Most maps require you to open a number of storage bins, doors or car trunks in search of supplies. Once that’s done, you have to make the exit. Simple enough, but because of the walkers and an incoming horde, you need to use tactics and the special skills of each squad member.
There are different classes including bruiser (stun power), scout (kills with knife) and hunter (rifle). The rifle is the best weapon of course, capable of killing several zombies with one shot. Bullets are not limited, but it attracts more walkers, so you need to use it sparingly.
Using the hunter effectively is one of the interesting parts of the game. I’m constantly thinking how to line up the biters to kill several at once. It often takes some thought – wow, I’m actually thinking on an F2P!
Sometimes, it’s better not to fight, but to run. That takes strategy, too. You have to walk around the walkers in a way that doesn’t catch their attention.
Like all F2Ps, I’ll run out of patience with it at some point, but it surprisingly has been more playable than expected.
Happy zombie bashing!