The only good National Socialist is a dead National Socialist. Unless they’re the undead, in which case… Ah hell, there are no good National Socialists. But that being so, in Rebellion’s Zombie Army Trilogy, we’re given the tools needed to balance that equation right out.

Originally released as DLC for Sniper Elite V2, ZAT delivers remastered versions of those two zombie blasters, as well as a brand new chunk of brains to splatter across walls. Set in an alternate reality where Hitler, the fat handed twat, instead of blowing his brains out in his Berlin bunker, initiates “Plan C”, releasing a undead horror upon a dilapidated Germany. With the country now full of zombified Nazis, it’s time to break out the old Springfield and head for home.

That really is all that needs to be said about the “plot” for this game. And the game is all the better for it, since instead of having to plough through story for story sake, you can simply jump straight into shooting things in the face.

Anyone that has played Sniper Elite knows the basic score here. You’re a lone wolf with a sniper rifle, a trusty sidearm and your wits. Creeping slowly around the battlefield, using cover to get into position, and timing your shots to the thunder storms to pick off guards… Yeah, actually, this is nothing like that.

Gone are the days of sneaking. Gone is the need to disguise your shots. In fact, gone is pretty much everything that made Sniper Elite the exercise in tactical logistics that it was. What you have instead is actually a surprisingly creepy, desperate mess. And if that sounds like I’m saying ZAT is crap, it’s not. It’s bloody genius.

There are 8 playable characters to choose from, each with their own little background blurb. Since they all play the same however, which one you choose is only an aesthetic choice. Though it is nice to be able to jump into the zombie apocalypse in the boots of say, Anya Bochkareva instead of the usual American dude-bro.

But, let’s talk about that creepiness. Playing in a dark room with surround-sound headphones on, I quickly found that this game wants to unnerve you in a big way. You can hear the zombies all around you, but when you turn, there’s never anything there (except the times when there is). Then there is the whispering and mutterings that fill your ears throughout. Occasionally you catch a radio signal and hear the desperate pleas of the damned. It all works to make you never feel entirely safe, never letting you drop your guard. Always looking, always listening.

Now, the hallmark of the Sniper Elite games is the kill-cam, where your best shots are played out in glorious, gory slow motion. There really are few things in life as satisfying as shooting a Nazi through the bollocks. But those days are gone. Zombie Nazis don’t give a fig about their gonads, they’re after brains and a serving of lead between the legs ain’t stopping them. All that matters now are head-shots. And you can take my word for it, that when 50 zombies come spilling out of a barn and head your way, lining up those sweet head-splitters becomes a test of nerves unlike anything Sniper Elite ever threw at you.

Talking about those zombies, mostly we have the usual shuffling types that, alone or in small groups are easily manageable, but quickly get out of hand when they gather in large numbers. There are some heavy boss-like tanks who wield machine guns and take a LOT of firepower to put down, and there’s the more nimble sniper zombies who will frustrate you from a distance.

But there is one type that will fill your dreams with fear. The suicide zombie. These little fuckers come running, screaming, right at you and unless you manage to plant a slug between their eyes, the explosives they’re carrying will make a mess of the fine day in Zombie Germany you were having.

The mission set-ups are simple fare. Go to point A, defend against X waves of zombies, move to point B, resupply, move to point C etc. It’s not exactly inspiring stuff, but at the end of the day, that’s not what Zombie Army Trilogy is about. It’s about shooting Nazi zombies in the head, and to be honest, any attempt by Rebellion to furnish the game with a thick backstory or engrossing narrative would have felt disingenuous at best and probably plain cheesy at worst.

As it stands, ZAT is just about as good as zombie killing games get, in a genre that is by now feeling pretty tired. That’s not to say that the game is perfect. As mentioned before, the loss of the tactical aspects from the Sniper Elite games isn’t crippling, but it does make ZAT far more simple in terms of mechanics.

I was really excited about giving the co-op a try, since this is a game begging to be played with friends. However, I found the experience to be really laggy, to the point of being almost unplayable. It’s a shame as teaming up with some buddies and trying to survive the apocalypse together would be awesome. Maybe it’s something that can be addressed by a future patch, but right now it definitely brings the experience down a peg.

For the single player minded though, there are no such problems and I would highly recommend Zombie Army Trilogy for anyone looking for a no fuss zombie blaster with a creepy atmosphere and some stellar sniping mechanics.

Zombie Army Trilogy is out now on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

 

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