Open world zombie base-building game State of Decay due June on XBLA
Cadaver big impact.
Open world zombie game State of Decay, which focuses on recruiting AI survivors and building bases, is finally nearly here. The Microsoft Studios-partnered XBLA game will be released in June.
(There's a PC version too, but no word on its release date.)
State of Decay is also action-packed and brutal, as a new trailer demonstrates. There's plenty of driving around in cars, splatting zombies, and busting open melon-heads with baseball bats, pipes, golf clubs - anything substantial at hand, really.
The real hook though - as mentioned - is establishing a community of survivors. Structures like first-aid tents, sleeping quarters, kitchens, workshops can be erected. But pimping your base comes at a cost: resources. Food, water, ammo and building materials will need to be scavenged from the local environment, at abandoned supermarkets and so on. You'll need to take raiding parties out to recover those things.
Our Jeffrey took a closer look at State of Decay last autumn.
It sounds like a big game, which makes its XBLA release all the more interesting. Another reason it's interesting is because it's made by a studio - Undead Labs - founded and run by Jeff Strain. He was lead programmer of World of Warcraft, and he co-founded Guild Wars developer ArenaNet.
There's no multiplayer in State of Decay, despite its obvious potential - that was deemed a bit far-reaching for this first project. The masterplan is, however, for Undead Labs' next game - codenamed Class4 - to be that MMO. It will be another Microsoft Studios-published game, which hopefully means any barriers obstructing a persistent online game on Xbox 360/next Xbox will be removed.