Dead Alliance Review – Interesting but forgettable

Reviewed September 11, 2017 on PS4

Platforms:

Xbox One, PS4

Released:

August 29, 2017

Publisher:

Maximum Games

Developer:

Maximum Games

Dead Alliance is a new first person shooter mixing deathmatch with zombies. Few genres in video games are as popular as the First Person Shooter (FPS), arguably originally popularised by Wolfenstein 3D in the early 90’s. Doom then came along and brought with it deathmatch, a multiplayer game mode that continued to grow in popularity, especially after its success in Golden Eye 64. With the advent of online play we can now play deathmatch on almost any FPS we like. Whether we have friends or not.

Another increasingly popular aspect of gaming is zombies. Call  of Duty brought us WWII zombies, there is a Nazi Zombie movie or three, and even Yakuza has zombies. First Person Shooters and zombies naturally go hand in hand. So enter Dead Alliance, Deathmatch with zombies. A marriage made in heaven or hell?

To be clear, this game is about deathmatch plain and simple. You can play online or by yourself with bots.  Your standard set-ups are all there, team deathmatch, king of the hill, last man standing, etc. There are 7 different maps to choose from ranging in different sizes and terrain.

The graphics are fine but not PS4 quality. I also noticed small details that made the game feel slightly cheapened such as glass not breaking when you shoot it, for example. There are also no bullet holes in houses or fixed objects if you shoot at them.

The weapons have a nice sound when you fire them but your choices are limited. Crossbow is your primary for a light load-out (which is certain death), two choices of assault rifle for medium, and two heavy machine guns for heavy. Side arms are two types of pistols. You also earn money from kills for upgrades but they are marginal.

What about the zombies?! I hear you say.

Well remember this is deathmatch between players. The zombies inhabit the playing field for sure but your objective isn’t to kill the zombies but to capture the hill, kill your fellow man, etc. Where this game attempts to break from the norm is through special weapons. These will influence zombies to attack your enemy and come in the form of grenades.

The problem with this is that by the time you’ve used a distractor to lure some zombies and then thrown your grenade, chances are another player has already shot you. In fact, if another player is close enough to be attacked by one of your infected zombies, they are close enough to finish you off and run away.

Additionally, I  found that all of the zombies will go down with two shots regardless of their type or where you shoot them. I found them to be more of an obstacle than a threat. The classic press ‘R3’ to knife them takes them out too. So even if another player sends zombies after you, just shoot the player and knife the zombies (pro trick).

Dead Alliance Review – Interesting but forgettable
Dead Alliance Review – Interesting but forgettable
Dead Alliance Review – Interesting but forgettable
Dead Alliance Review – Interesting but forgettable

Overall, this game is a pretty standard FPS to be honest. There is no single-player campaign to speak of so you will need friends to play otherwise it will get pretty old pretty fast. Control wise, you can’t crouch and you can’t switch shoulders with your weapon. There is a jump button but it wont let you vault over a balcony, for example. The responsiveness of the controls is again pretty standard.

It is not a BAD game as such, but it’s certainly very limited and with all of the other games on the market it would be a big call to recommend this one. With most FPS releases, deathmatch is a feature. In Dead Alliance, it’s all you’ve got.

Positive:

  • Deathmatch with a twist
  • Multiple ways to use zombies as weapons

Negative:

  • Zombies are an inconvienience ultimately
  • Limited weapons available
  • No single-player campaign

Overall, it is a reasonably standard FPS. Retailing physically at AUD $69.95 I would have expected more, and I think most gamers will agree. Deathmatch is generally a feature rather than the core of a game. It plays okay and the presence of zombies adds an extra dynamic. But with the lack of a single-player campaign, unless you have friends that are buying it too you will be putting it on the shelf before too long.