Dead Panic – Review

Sure… I have a love for Zombie games, and there’s no shortage of them in the app store, but I’ve been waiting for the right type of Zombie TD game.  Now, I should say that I love, LOVE Zombie Attack!, but that game is a little too cartoony for me.  I’ve been wanting to see something that was like a zombie movie meets tower defense.

And now it’s here!  Sean Maher’s first game “Dead Panic” is almost exactly what I’ve been waiting for… and right now, I’ll take “almost” with a big smile on my face.

In Dead Panic you take on the role of a group of soldiers who are trying to stay alive and that means killing zombies… a lot of them.  The game uses an interesting mix of time management and tower defense to keep your players alive, and I have to say that I really like the mix.

As a level starts you see your soldiers on the screen.  You move your men into starting positions and then start the attack.  Keep in mind that they are there to stay so picking the right spot is really important.  As you progress through the levels you’ll also get to move some objects on the screen that will give you a chance to herd the horde into a gauntlet of bullets.

Keep in mind that your men won’t just fire on the nearest zombie, they will have to be facing the right way to make it happen.  You’ll see the range of their line of sight represented by a green zone.  By touching a man you can aim them where they’ll do the most damage.  This is the fun “time management” side of the game.  I really like the way that you can’t just place a gunner and then just let them shoot like you do in most TD games.  This is a real positive for me.

Graphically the game is good.  It’s not overwhelming, but remember that this is a game from an independent developer (and likely a one-man operation).  I think that a little chance to zoom in on things would really improve things, but it’s something I’m willing to wait for.

Much of the same thoughts can be said about the sounds in the game.  They’re pretty good and I like the shooting sounds, but music really plays a big part in all things zombie and Dead Panic missed that mark, just a lot of long notes that seemed to screech.  But I generally just play the game with the sound off so I’m not going to count that as a con for me.

Another thing I’m really happy about with the game is that the dev took some time to craft a story to go along with the game play.  It’s not heavy and it’s told in only text form, but to me it’s a great example how even a simple addition of a story can go along way.  That said, I still would like to have seen a little more graphical representation put into the story, or even a little voice acting.  The bits in the story are short so it wouldn’t have taken much to beef it out a little more.

Another area where the game isn’t quite where it needs to be is in the upgrades department.  One thing we all love in TD games is the chance to upgrade.  We like to make some money and spend it where we think it will do the most good.  It would have been nice to be able to buy some better weapons, armor, or even some extra fences, and then add that to the strategy factor of where we put these items.

Another easy addition to the game would be a survivor mode.  This would give you a chance to see what strategy you can come up with and how high you can get your score.  Hopefully we can get this in an update.

Dead Panic is a really fun game to play and a perfect example of why the app store is a great place.  You would never see an independent designer be able to put out a game for regular consoles or handhelds, and that means that you would never see a great game like Dead Panic.  And that would be a shame.

There are people who love TD games, those you love Time Management games, and those who love killing zombies… Finally we have a game for all three!  Start your dead run and pick up Dead Panic!

Positives: It’s A Zombie TD Game, Good Sense Of Strategy, The Bit Of Story Is A Plus

The Bad: Needs Upgrades, Needs An Infinite/Survival Mode