[tab:Review]
Last year, PlayStation 3 owners got their hands on the zombie killing shoot em up Dead Nation. I really enjoyed the over-the-top action game back in its release. Thanks to the new Road of Devastation DLC, we have a new reason to get back into the post-apocalyptic world to massacre hundreds more undead.
Road of Devastation has the player once again controlling either Jack McReady or Scarlett Blake as they traverse a series of tests, in what looks like an underground facility.
The entire DLC has the player choosing paths to travel down in a series of rounds. The three paths can lead to money and health, new weapons and ammo, and better multiplier and armor. Choosing the right path for you when you’re looking for a new weapon or are running low on health is very essential. At the end of each path, there will be a final area that will be locked off and you are tasked with killing all the enemies in that area before continuing onto the next round. At the end of the round, your kills per minute will be tallied up, and you can gain extra health, money, ammo and multiplier, depending on your score.
The DLC offers up a few new weapons and some new environmental kills that can aide you on your cycle through the rounds. As you progress, enemies will have a higher percentage of health and strength, and the larger, more deadly enemies will begin to spawn more frequently. After hitting round 5 or so, the game becomes a brutal task of survival and choosing the right path will become a do or die situation. The only real problem is that once you do finally die, that’s it. Game Over. You start back at round 1 and have to trek through the entire game again, but I feel that Road to Devastation is meant to be played that way. It has a more arcade feel than the main campaign, but still, it breaks my heart when I have to start over just after hitting round 7.
The game still has that frantic feel that the main game had, and the lighting is still some of the most amazing effects I have seen in a game, especially during the lockdown parts when everything goes dark and only your flashlight and gunfire light up the surrounding area. Also, the new environments, such as the plants and thick brush, really change things up not only in visuals, but in game play as well.
The DLC can be played through single player or co-op, both local and online. If you have a buddy to play with, it makes the game just that much more awesome. I really like the set up to this new DLC. The round format is very nice and gives off that arcadey feel just like the main game did. Housemarque really knows how to put together a fine shoot ’em up.
All in all, Road to Devastation is a pretty fun time for $3.99. It’s definitely worth the price of admission, especially if you already own the full game. If you don’t already own Dead Nation, let me please suggest it to you as well. It’s one of my favorite top down shooters, and with this new DLC, it has solidified that thought even more.
Review copy provided by publisher.
[tab:END]
