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Pardon the dust! This page includes some jargon that hasn't been added to the site's glossary yet. I'll be around to fix this later, but sorry for the inconvenience in the meantime. |
Review: Nation Red
At a Glance
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How to Save and Pause:Your progress is saved automatically at the end of each game. There's no way to save during a mission or level, so make every shot count. To pause the action, bring up the game's menu by pressing ESC. Time needed per session:How much time you'll need to set aside for this game depends on your skill and what mode(s) you'll play. For example, ten minutes is probably enough to clear a couple of missions, but you may want to plan on longer sessions for the other modes.
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Does this game pose issues for Christian players?
 | Some players may have concerns While the zombies are normally green with mud and decay, they do manage to make a bloody mess when shot or killed. |
Screenshots
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/nation_red_0.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/nation_red_1.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/nation_red_2.jpg)
Game Overview
This game is a prime example of what happens when developers want to make something specific, and then pour everything they've got into making it the best there is at what it does. Nation Red is a top-down arena shooter where the player spends the entire game fighting off large hordes of angry zombies. This might not sound like an original idea - and it's not - but there's a twist: these zombies have figured out how to use basic weapons!
Thus, the zombies you'll be facing in this game aren't the run of the mill shambling idiots we've come to expect. Rather than mindlessly rush the player, these undead monsters are smart enough to break off into separate groups or wait near the sidelines for a better opening. Special boss zombies also appear, weilding more formidable weapons like meathooks, shotguns, axes, or even a minigun. These special zombies also tend to be much tougher than their rank and file counterparts, so keep an eye out for them.
Now, while there are several ways to play this game, they all function in roughly the same way. You'll start out with a simple pistol and a few zombies heading in your direction. During the battle, you'll slowly gain experience and eventually earn skill points that can be used to purchase upgrades, called "perks", that will help you fight better. Which perks are available to purchase depends on your gameplay options - they could automatically be assigned or selected from a pool of options, or you could simply gain a randomly chosen perk. They're all pretty useful, though some border on game-breakingly powerful.
Zombies can also drop powerups and new weapons when they die. Collecting them is generally optional; you can carry any two weapons, and once you've found something you like, you can "lock" the weapon slot to prevent yourself from accidentally picking up something else. Each weapon has its pros and cons, so experiment a bit early on to figure out what you like best. Just remember that more powerful firearms either take forever to reload or cause you to move slower - both are serious disadvantages in a game like this.
While there's not much else to say about this title, it's a great little arcady game for some simple zombie killing fun. The obvious downside is that it's not afraid to make a bloody mess, which may be too much for some players. Of course, fans of zombie media are probably already used to this, so to each his or her own.
Thus, the zombies you'll be facing in this game aren't the run of the mill shambling idiots we've come to expect. Rather than mindlessly rush the player, these undead monsters are smart enough to break off into separate groups or wait near the sidelines for a better opening. Special boss zombies also appear, weilding more formidable weapons like meathooks, shotguns, axes, or even a minigun. These special zombies also tend to be much tougher than their rank and file counterparts, so keep an eye out for them.
Now, while there are several ways to play this game, they all function in roughly the same way. You'll start out with a simple pistol and a few zombies heading in your direction. During the battle, you'll slowly gain experience and eventually earn skill points that can be used to purchase upgrades, called "perks", that will help you fight better. Which perks are available to purchase depends on your gameplay options - they could automatically be assigned or selected from a pool of options, or you could simply gain a randomly chosen perk. They're all pretty useful, though some border on game-breakingly powerful.
Zombies can also drop powerups and new weapons when they die. Collecting them is generally optional; you can carry any two weapons, and once you've found something you like, you can "lock" the weapon slot to prevent yourself from accidentally picking up something else. Each weapon has its pros and cons, so experiment a bit early on to figure out what you like best. Just remember that more powerful firearms either take forever to reload or cause you to move slower - both are serious disadvantages in a game like this.
While there's not much else to say about this title, it's a great little arcady game for some simple zombie killing fun. The obvious downside is that it's not afraid to make a bloody mess, which may be too much for some players. Of course, fans of zombie media are probably already used to this, so to each his or her own.
Points of Interest
18 Missions
There's no "story" mode for this game, but there is a "mission" mode. This mode challenges the player with 18 different scenarios, each of which come in fifteen levels of difficulty. Completing a mission on the lowest difficuly automatically unlocks the next scenario, so you don't need to be an expert at each level in order to move on. There is an achievement for players who manage to complete all of the missions at the highest level of difficulty, however!
Plenty of options
There are a ton of perks to choose between, but most levels aren't long enough to earn more than five or six of them. So, even if you've set things so that you can choose your next perk, you still won't be able to plan your build very far in advance, ensuring that each round is unique.
Additional modes
The mission selection is only one of the four modes available. There's also a Survival mode and a Barricade mode. In these modes, you'll stand your ground against an endless horde of hungry zombies. The main difference is that Barricade mode also provides you with some protective walls and repairable turrets to help you last a little longer.
Steam community features
This game offers over 140 achievements for serious zombie hunters to collect during their missions. Many, if not most, of these require the player to try some unusual (and often quite risky) maneuvers during a round, which will make earning them a lot of challenging fun. Several can only be earned during multiplayer games, so be sure to bring a friend if you're interested in collecting all of them.
Lastly, there is a set of Steam trading cards available for this game.
Lastly, there is a set of Steam trading cards available for this game.
A tad repetitive
There's a pretty wide variety of zombie designs and several different environments, but since every level follows the same formula, things can get old after a while. This is especially true for the mission levels, as you'll need to replay each one fifteen times to earn the coveted Gold 5-Star rank on them all.
Concerns and Issues
Blood and minor gore
It's pretty common for games about zombies to feature a lot of blood and gore, and Nation Red isn't an exception. However, the decay on the zombies themselves is depicted as a gross greenish color rather than bloody red, which dulls the impact a bit. That said, many of the menus and cutscenes show close up views of specific zombies, which can be a little nauseating as a few of them appear to have thrown up.
During the game itself, blood splatters whenever zombies are struck, and it collects on their bodies over time. When they die, their bloodied bodies remain on the ground for a few moments, creating large piles of the re-dead.
Lastly, it's possible for a powerful attack or explosion to reduce zombies to gibs; there's even a perk that increases the odds of this happening.
During the game itself, blood splatters whenever zombies are struck, and it collects on their bodies over time. When they die, their bloodied bodies remain on the ground for a few moments, creating large piles of the re-dead.
Lastly, it's possible for a powerful attack or explosion to reduce zombies to gibs; there's even a perk that increases the odds of this happening.