I’m purchasing an Xbox Live Indie Game (XBLIG) every day, seeking out the quality titles that got lost in the shuffle and are not well represented in the top 50 lists on the Xbox Dashboard. Today is day #174, and today’s game is “Zombie Estate”.
I haven’t played too many games with “zombie” in the title, but this one came highly recommended. An up-to-4-player shooter with an 8-bit feel, an isometric view, and pixel-thin characters fighting through a survival horror zombie nightmare, with a huge cast of (often zany) 30 characters to play as, 24 weapons at your disposal, 8 enemy types, and even different ammo types to further vary the large number of guns in the game? If that sounds a bit like an 8-bit version of Left 4 Dead then you’re right.
First, from the developer (JeremyVerchick48):
“Survive 25 waves of zombies in this retro-3D shooter! 30 characters to choose from, over 20 weapons at your disposal, and thousands of zombies to kill! Play with up to 4 players in this action-packed adventure! Can you survive in Zombie Estate!?”
This game came recommended to me by “Sidious Strange”, a fellow Kotaku user, who had this to say about it:
“Zombie Estate is a roughly 8-Bit looking top down Zombie shooter that supports up to 4 players locally. You choose your skin (funny choices range from Robots to Ninjas to Ducks) and your initial weapon loadout. Then you proceed to mow down the undead and collect cash and ammo. Once the round is over, you hit the shop to buy more weapons and ammo and get ready to rinse and repeat. It is good simple fun for a $1, especially with some mates over to play. I don’t think it supports XBL play though, which would have been even better. But still, for a dollar, it is hard to complain. I liken it to what Left 4 Dead may have been like if it released on the NES.”
Zombie Estate is an enjoyable, though short-lived, experience played solo. The replay value comes from playing through it co-operatively with friends in the local multiplayer mode. That’s where the game really sings, and what will bring you back again and again. I like the wide variety of enemies, including some that dive at you and don’t simply follow the traditional shambling zombie mentality. It’s (pardon the pun) dead easy to get enough play value out of it multiplayer, and even those who’ll only ever play it solo will likely feel it’s worth 80 Microsoft Points.
Click here to download “Zombie Estate”, and then please come back after playing to rate the game.
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