Despite a few hitches, the overall game is loads of fun to play.
Story 8/10
-Believe it or not, this actually has a good story. You're a photographer named Frank West. You are dropped off at a mall and you are to be picked up in three days. You need to investigate the situation in the town called Williamete. You soon find out that the issue is zombies roaming around the whole town. As you may have guessed, they make it into the mall. You will meet more characters along the way and discover interesting secrets. Oh, and it actually TELLS you the source of the zombie infection. I mean seriously, why can't other zombie games and movies do that? Not to mention, it's a creative twist on how the zombification process started.
The story isn't anything deep hearted or memorable, but it is nonetheless pretty engaging and has surprising depth for a zombie story. Also, you have different endings depending on your actions in the game and whether you complete certain missions successfully or not. The story overall will entertain you.
VISUALS 8/10
-These visuals are actually pretty darn sweet. Granted they aren't cutting edge by any means, but they do get the job done quite nicely. But what is really impressive is the amount of zombies on screen at a time and how the frame rate never drops while still maintaining the good visuals. This will definitely add to your experience of the game. Also, note the motion blur when you swing your weapons, which is pretty cool especially when you're killing zombies. The character face models aren't the best, but they still contain expression in them. I'd say this game does a fine job with the visuals.
SOUND 9/10
-The music in this game is awesome. It plays for every boss and it even has mall music (it's a little cheesy though). I can't think of a single song in this game that is no fun to listen to. It really pumps you up for the situation it takes place in. The voice acting is good too. There is a good amount of emotion depending on the situation coming from the characters. I mean sure, occasionally there is some average voice acting in there, but for the most part, it does a good job.
GAMEPLAY 8/10
-Don't be fooled by the footage of this game. It looks like a simple game like I said before, but it's not. It has a surprising amount of gameplay depth. Now before I get to the core gameplay, let me just say that this game could give you a weak first impression. During the first 10 minutes, you might be thinking "Damn, I just wasted my money" But once you understand how the game works and get used to it, it's a whole lot of fun to play. You have a camera on you at all times. You can take pictures with it to gain Prestige Points. The amount of prestige points you get depends on the quality and the situation of the picture. You can use these points to level up. There are a total of 50 levels. As you level up you gain more speed, inventory slots, skills, and life. You can also gain prestige points by escorting survivors back to the safe room and defeating bosses which are known as psychopaths in game.
The mall that the game takes place in has a great amount of detail and is a very believable place. Also, some of the tools in this game are hilarious to use as weapons, like the lawn mower. And yeah, this game is pretty gory too. There isn't too much guts dropping out, but there is so much blood in this game. But the highlight of this game which you have probably heard by now is that you can pick up almost anything in the mall and use it as a weapon. You even use food and toys as weapons. Granted that would be pretty useless but it's still a cool feature. But seriously you can pick up a bench, a pot, a knife, a wood pallet, trash can, you name it. It's pretty much what you would do if you were in the situation yourself. As you first play this game, it may seem annoyingly complicated at first, but once you get used to it, you will have a blast with this game. All this makes the game a whole lot of fun to play.
FLAWS
-Let's face it, the main reason people come to read review is to check out the games flaws so that they can be warned on what to expect. Yes, unfortunately, this game does a have a few nasty flaws. They aren't game killing by any means, but they definitely affect your experience. Let's start off with Otis's constant calling. There is a janitor in game who constantly, and I mean CONSTANTLY calls, even when you are in the most inconvenient of situations. Sure, you don't have to answer them, but you will be missing out on side missions you could use to get Prestige Points. Also, if you answer and he is in mid conversation, a zombie could attack you and cut you off, and he'll call again in 10 seconds! You have to finish the whole call.
Another serious flaw with this game is the difficulty. Don't get me wrong, I like challenge, but this game usually has cheap challenge. I mean when you start this game for the first time as level 1, you're gonna have an extremely difficult time with the bosses if you don't have the right equipment and strategy. Sure, it gets easier as you level up. But that's another problem, the game gets too easy when you are a really high level. But it does take a while to get to level 50 so rest assured you will face plenty of challenge.
One more flaw to discuss. This is a flaw that you will have most likely heard. The save system. While I don't think this flaw is as bad as everyone puts it, it still is a big issue. There is only one save slot, for all the modes in the game. You have to find a bathroom or go to your safe room to save your game. There are very few auto saves throughout the game. But the most crippling part about it is that if you save at a place where you can't get to your next objective in time, you're going have to start the whole game all over again, because remember there is only one save slot. But the bright side is that you can carry over your level stats from your previous save and carry them on to your new save, making the game easier the second time through. Also, if you are careful and watchful of your time, this can easily be avoided.
Now I know I ranted a lot about the flaws, but they weren't as hampering as I seemed to put it and notice that none of them were flaws about the core game mechanics. Just give this game a chance and you will have a lot of fun. I definitely recommend it. If you actually read this whole review, then thanks a lot.