So I’m not going to compare The War Z to Day Z. I won’t. Nope, definitely not. Even though some things are a little similar. OK some things are VERY similar. But as we’ve seen zero gameplay it’s totally unfair to claim that The War Z stole from Day Z or to suggest that they’ll be direct competitors. Because it’s way too early for that, but more on this later.
What we can do is share some screengrabs, because whether you’re sick of Zombie games or not, it’s hard to deny that visually, The War Z is pretty striking.
These images remind me of The Secret World. In fact the curved road screams Kingsmouth to me. But again, are they copying other titles or is it a case of drawing from a similar well of good ideas? Because if you think about it, some sections of Alan Wake looked rather similar, it could be argued that many inspirational areas of the US (where most of these devs work) tend to look pretty similar if you strip away specific flora and fauna. So what about character models and enemies? Well, let’s take a look.
Yes, I know what some of you are thinking, but suggesting that because a character has a cap and a bag means they’ve ripped off Day Z is a reaching a bit. A bag holds your stuff and a hat keeps the glare from your eyes, it’s probably that simple. Hammerpoint do deserve some credit for pushing forwards with The War Z and not deliberately tweaking the style to differentiate it from the other titles mentioned in this article.
What we know at this point is that it’ll be an F2P MMO using the GW2 model of game purchase then no subscription, or micro-transactions nor paid updates. It’ll also have no levels (like The Secret World) and persistent worlds meaning players aren’t limited to their starting server.
If they can pull it off, then this could be a magnificent addition to the MMO market but right now it’s too early to say. Remember how much we loved Dead Island based purely on the trailer? Yeah. We’re not making that mistake again.
But if there is one thing that makes me think The War Z is worthy of attention it’s this quote from Hammerpoint’s Sergey Titov in an interview given to Now Gamer
A main goal for us has been to create tension and really immerse players in the zombie apocalypse environment. We completely designed the game world around a zombie apocalypse so that was one thing we felt was a necessity – visually.
If you get why that’s important then I think we’re on the same page. But if you don’t, then maybe you’re looking for something else in a game. And that’s just fine too.
