World War Z's co-op action actually looks a lark
No 'World War Zzzz' jokes here
My expectations for games based on movies are never high, so I'm surprised and delighted that World War Z actually looks quite fun in gameplay footage swarming out of E3. The four-player cooperative shooter looks a whole lot like a less-cheery version of Left 4 Dead, with a touch of defence-building and oh, swarms of up to 500 zombies who will form inhuman pyramids to reach you and eat your face. It's based on the movie, so yes, they are fast zombies, but those rolling waves of zombs were pretty neat-o. Anyway, click on to watch.
Here's World War Z designer Oliver Hollis chatting about the game with Ian Games Network over some pre-recorded b-roll footage.
So! World War Z is a third-person shooter made for four-player co-op in a L4D-ish way, sending folks through levels to shoot zombies (complete with L4D-y special zombs) and not die. But with a whole lot more zombies. When a horde comes in World War Z it can be hundreds strong, flowing like a wave of claws, climbing and trampling over each other. To help fend them off, at key moments the survivors will get to set up defences and fortify positions, laying down mines, barbed wire, gun turrets, and so on to hold the line. Also, rocket launchers. Plus character classes with persistent progression and skill trees, a bit like Vermintide.
It'll have three chapters, set in New York, Moscow, and Jerusalem, each with their own set of four characters. They're dipping across the world of World War Z, see, a bit like the book did.
I like the look of it! Those are some neat big hordes. I especially like them building into terrible towers of teeth. I also like this: if you die, you will respawn (you know how it works...) but your corpse will be reanimated and join the AI horde to chase your former friends. Not to mention that co-op with pals can be a lark in almost anything.
It's made by Saber Interactive, who you might most recently know for chipping in on Quake Champions.
World War Z is coming via Steam some time in 2019. If you fancy some L4D-ish action before then, Earthfall is L4D with aliens and leaving early access in July, and Vermintide 2 is a decent L4D with ratmen.
Check out our E3 2018 tag for more announcements, trailers, news, and goodness knows what else.