It's the question with a million answers: what to do, who to trust, where to go. Weighed down with enough baggage to bring a survivor to his knees - of lies, half-truths and falsehoods - The War Z arrives at the door to its own semi-persistent, server based apocalypse with that very question, so listen closely and you can hear it asking itself "What now?..."
The sad irony is that its apocalypse, as most, is a setting beloved for its inbuilt silver lining, wiping past lives clean and providing second chances in an age where some of videogames' greatest stories have risen from roads to redemption, but The War Z's tactless past is dogged in its determination to stick like glue; haunting, as it should.
What better way to attract the masses than to scream "Me tool", and The War Z screams loud, like a money-man in the dark back alleys where videogames' greatest copycats push their wares, made of cheaper stock. Yet, for all of Hammerpoint's copy-and-paste trigger-happiness - League of Legends' name popping up in its terms of service, or The Walking Dead's art adorning its advertisements - there is little in the way of shared DNA between DayZ's craftsmanship and The War Z's brash Hollywood stylings. In its hobbled evolution from free-to-play shooter War Inc, Colorado - the site of this particular apocalypse - suffers at the mercy of these inexperienced hands.
A modest open-world, it's an expanse dogged by claustrophobia, made all the smaller with its corridor structure and repeating forests, hemmed in by unscalable hills that are seen from every vantage point and reveal its deathmatch style long before guns are drawn. At once dense with over-saturated detail and heavy with that familiar sinking MMO feeling of wasted space, Colorado is to be commended for growing fonder the heart of Dayrs workmanlike appearance. There is none of the modest grandeur of Chernarus to be found here, the captivating chill of Namalsk, nor the birds and palm fronds of Lingor.
Survival is no longer of The Fittest, which will come as sad news to those newly-captivated by the ideals of DayZ's sombre reality, who found themselves installing hunger mods for their favourite open-world games past. The hunt is still on for supplies and weaponry, of course, but the zombies that give chase float along like automatons that provide a good laugh more than a good scream. And your fellow survivors? Trained by a land overrun by hackers where you shoot, or you're shot, they rarely reply to the greeting of "Friendly?".
Death's punishment is stricter here, too - die, and your character is locked for an hour, forcing you to wait it out or create another in your available stable of six. Finally, a consequence with weight and a commendable finality.., if it weren't for how unfairly death finds you: from those who find joy in camping spawn points or who wait outside Safe Zones that were meant to combat this problem but have only managed to corral the innocent into an easier corridor. In Colorado, you are condemned before you begin.
The problems are many, saying nothing of its constant crashes and instability, witnessed most in Colorado's current state as not much more than a 3D trading room. Players like 'Things 4 Sale' and 'Gun for You' yammer back and forth about their collections of weaponry, hoarded in a Global inventory where, if not weapons, then supplies, can be bought for cold hard cash. Any remaining delusions of Colorado being founded on survival disperse like the game's dwindling player base. "How many would you like to trade for?" they ask, and you're left to wonder whether they're bandits making a living or hackers having their fun. And now they have them, what now?
Looking back, it's the easiest question to answer: nothing. There will be no second life for The War Z. No redemption story amongst the undead. Its baggage is, quite rightfully, too heavy a weight for it to handle, and even lifted and left to walk, its mechanical foundation - like this Foundation Release - crumbles at the lightest touch. How long can it last? There's no saying. But when it does finally collapse, there will be far too many lining up to say "I told you so". So what now? Best to pack up your bags; we're going back to Chemarus.
Developer: Hammerpoint Interactive
Publisher: Hammerpoint Interactive
Price: $15
Out: Now
Web: thewarz.com
