PAX East First Impressions – World Zombination

I joke a lot about the absurd obsession pop culture currently has with zombies partly because I just don’t see the appeal (but hey, I’m not exactly disappointed in the golden era of comic book movies we’ve entered into, so to each their own), so the irony is not lost on me that I’m about to cover yet another zombie game.

I joke a lot about the absurd obsession pop culture currently has with zombies partly because I just don’t see the appeal (but hey, I’m not exactly disappointed in the golden era of comic book movies we’ve entered into, so to each their own), so the irony is not lost on me that I’m about to cover yet another zombie game. That said, to refer to Proletariat Inc.’s current project, World Zombination , as merely “yet another zombie game” certainly does the game a huge disservice. In fact, for fans of both zombies and real-time strategy, Zombination may be a match made in heaven. (Or wherever it is zombies go when they die… again.)

An online RTS/tower defense hybrid by trade, World Zombination pits humans and zombies against one another in a conflict spanning the globe. Beginning in North America and trotting through every continent, humans will be tasked with defending their home turf while the zombie players must, to put it simply, overrun each city. Obviously, the human side is tower defense, while the Zombies implore RTS tactics. Each city has a unique aesthetic, and any landmarks present are representative of the county/continent on which players are fighting for survival/dominance.

The Zombie units come in a variety of flavors. Among them, there are tank-like zombies who can absorb big hits, zombies that explode when killed, infecting and reanimating the corpses of nearby fallen humans, and then your classic run-amok default zombies, whom players can spawn in droves to rush down on the hopelessly outnumbered humans. On the Human side of things, players control a number of different character-types, each often useful for specific purposes. (Following the traditional Rock-Paper-Scissors ability matching most RTS games provide.)

As if having a vast number of tactical options via multiple character types wasn’t enough, there’s also a CCG aspect to World Zombination that enables units to be upgradeable over time. Cards earned during play can be spent to upgrade units by “feeding” them to other units. This is done by allowing the unit player’s wish to upgrade to absorb the other card, which essentially boosts it’s experience level until the unit levels up, increasing its stats. The cards do not have to be the same unit as the one being improved, so players can feel free to offload their useless doubles and put them to good use. For the Zombies, this is a process called “consume and evolve”, for Humans, it is known as “train and upgrade”.

The maps in World Zombination are procedurally generated, so ideally no two play sessions will ever be the same. This potentially makes the game considerably more challenging when attempting to earn the highest rating of 3-stars on the level ranking system. It also means players have to be quick-witted and ever vigilant of their surroundings, as the landscape is different every time they enter a city. Zombies have the advantage of unlocking new spawn points as they make their way across the city before reaching the Human stronghold, at which point victory is secured, whereas Humans have the tactical advantage of owning the terrain.

While the game is still in development, most of the hard work is done, and as such the team at Proletariat Inc. are targeting a release sometime this Summer. World Zombination will be available for PC, Mac, iOS, and Android at a price that is TBD. The team also mentioned that they plan to support the game post-launch with a steady stream of content updates, so be on the lookout for additional details about that as well. More information can be found on the game’s website, and those interested can keep up with Proletariat Inc. via Twitterand Facebook.