Continuing the proud tradition started with the remake of Sniper Elite, Rebellion has just released the sequel to their perhaps most oddball and fun title, Nazi Zombie Army Trilogy. Called Zombie Army 4: Dead War, it gives you the ability to return to the war-torn and zombie-gnawed Europe, to kill Nazis once again – this time even deader. It’s available for PS4, Xbox One, and of course, PC (though only through the Epic store at the moment).
The Zombies so Far
Originally released as DLCs for Sniper Elite V2, the Zombie Army series was remastered and released as a unified Trilogy after the release of Sniper Elite III in 2015. Pitting players against Hitler’s last-ditch attempts to reverse the tide of the war – zombies, a whole lot of them! – it spanned three chapters that culminated in them putting a bullet through the decomposing noggin’ of Austria’s most famous college dropout. However, zombies, being undead, have trouble grasping the idea of not rising up in arms (or legs, if they’re missing them) against the living, so the Dead War will continue!
The Zombies to Come
Dead War is bigger, badder, and bloodier than its predecessor and the regular Sniper Elite series, with the X-Ray Kill Camera making a gloriously gory return, alongside the ability to remove unneeded body parts from zombies, which are more varied than before. Liberated from the confining demand for realism and authenticity (Sniper Elite III and its Ratte fantasy notwithstanding), Rebellion focused on crafting monsters that result in unique gameplay challenges, rather than Elite’s “crawl forward – kill Nazi – crawl forward again” approach (not that there’s anything wrong with killing Nazis).
Facing the undead and demonic legions is once again the Survivor Brigade, with a robust melee combat option, heavily customizable weapons that can be modified to suit your desire – including supernatural upgrades. As you fight zombies, you will also be able to customize your survivor using an extensive skill system, and play dress-up, thanks to an array of outfits, emotes, and taunts. Nobody said you can’t ride out the dusk of humanity in style!
Braaaains…
Finally, the game will include an upgraded and expanded Horde mode, where the maps grow bigger and more expansive the longer you manage to survive against the horde of mindless undead. The same applies to the regular co-op mode, where you and up to three other players will be battling the hordes of hellspawn across huge maps much like the ones that defined Sniper Elite IV: Italia.
In short, Dead War is a textbook sequel: More of what made the original tick, less of what made it skip, all married to the trademark Sniper Elite gun play, ballistics, and everyone’s favorite brain-munching mooks.
Be sure to visit the Sniper Elite Wiki to brush up on what happened before and prepare for the joy of liberating limbs off zombies!
