Assault fights The Walking Dead apocalypse

Available format: iOS

Reviewed on: Apple iPad

Rating: M

MANILA, Philippines – Fans of the TV series may recall the opening scene in season 3, episode one of “The Walking Dead“:

Rick bashes the front door of a house with Daryl, T-Dog, and Carl at his back to clear the room of its undead occupants with the efficiency of a ragtag SWAT team.  

The latest season may have just ended, but The Walking Dead: Assault may just be the perfect thing to pick up for those who may want to take matters into their own hands. As the game’s name implies, this squad-based real-time strategy (RTS) game lets the player experience how it is to go on the offensive against countless zombies while fighting alongside a handpicked team.

The game is based on the ongoing comic series written by Robert Kirkman. Rendered in black and white like the source material and inspired by the art of The Walking Dead artists Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard, the game areas are viewed from a top-down perspective with the option to zoom in and out, move the camera, and rotate the map. 

Although it is perfectly playable on the smaller screen of an iPhone or an iPod touch, the details really pop out when the game is played on an iPad. The monochrome cel-shaded graphics get a few splotches of crimson when Rick, under the player’s control, starts to encounter the “walkers” — zombies in The Walking Dead lingo.

Unlike the excellent story-driven The Walking Dead adventure game from Telltale Games, Assault is extremely light on narrative. The initial game starts as a chapter from the comics divided into 11 episodes. An episode consists of a map; it has a main objective and a few optional tasks such as rescuing other people.

The general objective for all episodes is to clear out all the zombies in the map. An onscreen counter tells the player how many zombies are left.

The game begins as in the comics and the show, with Rick waking up in an abandoned hospital which also acts as the training level. The player is given control of Rick as he makes his way outside. Controlling the character is as simple as tapping him then double-tapping the area where the player wants him to go.

If there are walkers nearby, Rick automatically fires at them when they are in range. 

There are items in the map which can be picked up such as ammo boxes and supplies. The supplies are used as in-game currency for unlocking new characters and upgrading their abilities. Some environmental objects such as cars can be activated to lure zombies from their hiding places. Downloadable content comes in the form of new episodes.

There is no multi-player option but players can log in using Game Center to compete for the fastest finishing time with friends.

Aside from Rick, the other unlockable characters are Shane, Glenn, Andrea, Carol, Lori, Dale, Carl, and Sophia. Fans of the katana-wielding Michonne are out of luck however since the character is only available in the next downloadable episode. Up to 4 members can be recruited in a squad.

Each character comes with his or her own unique weapon, team bonus, and special ability. The team bonus varies per character: Rick inspires his team to do headshots; Glenn makes the others run faster; Shane gives additional damage; and Carol gives the team a rapid-fire ability. The secondary abilities have a cool-down period once they are activated.

Rick  and Glenn carry pistols, Shane a shotgun, Carol a submachine gun, and Dale and Andrea use long-range rifles. A blue circle surrounds the character to denote their attack radius. Shane has a smaller circle and Dale has the longest range. Often, the ammo runs out  quickly so each character has a secondary melee weapon. There are exceptions, however, such as Lori who carries a flaming stick by default.

The game encourages the player to experiment with different squad mates to ensure greater chances at success.

Some strategy is required when dealing with the undead. If the team goes for an all-out assault, there is a chance that additional hordes will be attracted to the sound of gunfire. There is a meter on the left side of the screen that slowly gets filled up if the shots aren’t carefully paced.

Watch the trailer here:

The appearance of several hordes can totally overwhelm the team and end the game. On later levels, the game can be pretty punishing if the player is not using any strategy other than run-and-gun.

Characters can be controlled individually or they can be given commands as a team. If a character runs out of ammo and they have to rely on just their selection of weapons, they can also be individually killed by the attacking zombies. After they die, they will also turn into zombies which have to be killed by the surviving squad mates.

On the average, it takes anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes to finish a map.

Sometimes, some characters would get stuck and get left behind by the other team members. Although pathfinding is quite satisfactory for a real-time strategy game, there are instances in Assault where you have to carefully guide your team around obstacles.

For a RTS, the game is very replayable. Players can replay missions to gain additional supplies or try different team combinations for optimum survivability.

Until the next season of The Walking Dead comes out, there’s no better way to fill in the dead hours but to play this game. – Rappler.com

 

Ed Geronia Jr. is the chief information officer of Sari Software Solutions. He is the former editor in chief of PC Gamer magazine and Games Master Philippines magazine, and former associate editor of T3 Philippines magazine.