Today on PSN a shambling mass of rotting corpses have appeared and are threatening the safety of the human race on Earth. You can do your part to fight back the zombie hordes in our new game, Zombie Apocalypse, developed by Nihilistic Software and published by Konami. For $9.99 you’ll shoot loads of zombies with one to four players fighting cooperatively in an online enabled zombie kill fest.
When Nihilistic first sat down and thought about creating a downloadable title, we immediately wanted to do it in the horror genre. We’ve got a lot of zombie and horror fans here. Not to mention some hardcore fans of old-school shooters. Combining the two felt logical and Zombie Apocalypse was born.
Thematic inspiration was drawn primarily from classic zombie films of the 70s and 80s. Two films in particular are ZOMBIE (aka Zombi 2) by Lucio Fulci, and Nightmare City by Umberto Lenzi. The first level in Zombie Apocalypse is set in an airport which is a homage to Nightmare City. If you haven’t heard of either of these films and don’t mind some bad acting they are both incredible zombie gore fests. They are definitely not for the squeamish!
The game design was inspired primarily by two old-school shooters. The first was Robotron, a classic and innovator in the dual-stick shooter genre. In fact, the internal codename for Zombie Apocalypse during development was “Zombitron”. At the beginning of Zombie Apocalypse’s development, we held an internal Robotron tournament to get prepared. The second was gamer favorite Smash TV. We built upon the gore and arena combat of Smash TV by adding environmental hazards into our arenas that will tear zombies to shreds, blow them up, or light them on fire when you blast zombies into them.
Zombie Apocalypse is all about survival and scoring big. When playing with friends either on the same console or online, the team is working toward a shared score. So to do well and hit the top of the leaderboards you’ve got to work together. Here are three PlayStation Blog-exclusive tips for hitting as high of a score as possible, applicable to either single or multiplayer:
- The survivor characters all have chainsaws that you can pull out at any time. Use the chainsaw to grapple by pressing and holding the L1 button to score an instant kill on a zombie and to increase your score multiplier by three. Just be careful to not use the attack in the middle of a group of zombies, as it leaves you vulnerable for a moment as it ends. Try to lead a lone zombie away from the group then chainsaw them in half.
- Make use of the environmental hazards. For example, blast zombies with your shotgun into the wood chipper in the Logging Camp level. Each hazard kill gives you an additional 5,000 points on top of the points you would have scored otherwise.
- Use the zombie bait grenade not just to kill a bunch of zombies but to lead them to environmental hazards to score more points. In the Graveyard level you can throw the bait into the open grave and then shoot zombies directly into it to put them back to rest and get your hazard bonus.
If you reach the point where you think you can easily handle a Zombie Apocalypse and want an even bigger challenge be sure to unlock Hardcore Mode, one of our six unlockable game modes. Hardcore Mode restricts each survivor to starting with just one life and no extra lives are granted. That means you’ve only got one chance to try to score big on the special Hardcore Mode leaderboard. To unlock Hardcore Mode, complete seven consecutive days (missions) in the normal game mode without dying. Additional unlockable modes include Blackout Mode, where all the lights turn off except for one small light per player, and 7 Days of Hell Mode, where the survivors are tasked to survive through a week of sepia toned zombie mayhem.
So hit the store later today and get Zombie Apocalypse for PS3! But we are not just developers — we’re givers too! So to celebrate the launch of Zombie Apocalypse we will be giving away 25 codes for the game on the PlayStation Twitter feed. But make sure you’ve read this post, as there might be little pop quiz via Twitter! So keep your eyes peeled to Twitter later today after our PlayStation Store Update goes live!
Hope to see you online fighting back the zombie invasion with me!
(Average: 4.43 out of 5)
250 Comments // 15 Replies
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1
Gorvi | September 24th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
The mandatory question: Will there be a demo?
Mark Cooke replied on September 24, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Yes, there is a demo. Look for it today on the PlayStation Store.
2
my_katamari | September 24th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Awesome!!! Just reminds me of a more detailed version of Burn Zombie Burn
3
death_magnetic84 | September 24th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
games looks awesome. zombie killing for 10 bucks? yes please
4
JimmyHACK | September 24th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Demo will help decide if it’s worth waiting or not for Dead Nation
5
TGolem | September 24th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
i wasn’t expecting this so soon. looks very cool.
6
POLYERGOS | September 24th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
More zombie games. Great.
7
Twitch_City | September 24th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Very excited for this.
A couple questions: can you play with multiple players offline AND online simultaneously? (i.e. 2 people at my place, 1 somewhere else and another somewhere else)
Also, what are the controls like? Is it basically move with L-stick and shoot with R-stick? Basically just wondering about how pick-up friendly it is for people who don’t play many games.
Mark Cooke replied on September 24, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Hi there -
The controls are indeed the classic twin stick shooter controls, the left stick moves your player and the right stick shoots in the direction of the stick. Very easy to pick up and play but still difficult in later levels to survive the zombie hordes.
About mixed offline/online play – no, that is not supported. It’s a great idea though, I’ll be sure to mention it to the team here at Nihilistic.
8
Twitch_City | September 24th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
[sorry if this double posts...]
Very excited for this.
A couple questions: can you play with multiple players offline AND online simultaneously? (i.e. 2 people at my place, 1 somewhere else and another somewhere else)
Also, what are the controls like? Is it basically move with L-stick and shoot with R-stick? Basically just wondering about how pick-up friendly it is for people who don’t play many games.
9
mikemill | September 24th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Been waiting for this game for a while. I loved Burn Zombie Burn and this looks like a really cool M rated remix… very cool
10
vherousa | September 24th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
really looking forward to this game :)
11
Anubis80 | September 24th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Cant wait. This will go great with Resident Evil 5 and Burn Zombie Burn on my Zombie Killing Saturdays! lol
12
vherousa | September 24th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Awesome been waiting for this game for a while.
13
DMPrince | September 24th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Don’t forget we love DLCs including more levels.
14
Sindred | September 24th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Can you mix online and offline Coop? Like two people in the same room play with two people online?
15
MastahKillah82 | September 24th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
so many zombie games coming out. A couple of them look the same
16
Gregero | September 24th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
More than happy to get this one! I’m awaiting! Thanks for a zombie game!!
17
Cysquatch813 | September 24th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Nice, looks pretty fun…I might pick this one up.
18
xaos | September 24th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Robotron is an awesome starting point, IMO, so I’ll be checking this out. I must confess that zmbie fatigue is really setting in on me pretty hard, though. I may pretend like they are zombitrons and progs while I’m playing, if that won’t be too offensive to the dev staff :)
19
Manifest37 | September 24th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
May I make a suggestion for your next game: A side-scroller like Bionic Commando Rearmed, but with a jump button!!!
You’ll make millions.
20
Happy_man | September 24th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Online co-op makes this my zombie game to get.
21
WFMMK | September 24th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
I really hope I win a free code, I’m running low on cash this week. Insha’Allah.
22
GamerMoney | September 24th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
this is a buy
23
LN_MEXWARRIOR | September 24th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I’ve had my eye on your game but I have a question.
Will there be In-Game XMB Music? And if not will it be possible to patch at a later time?
24
kNoWlEdGe22 | September 24th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Game looks great… been waiting for it for a while… good question though LN_MEXWARRIOR!!!!
Will there be custom soundtracks of any sort? Whether through an in-game menu (like Burnout Paradise or Wipeout HD) or over the XMB?
25
eNriqueLeGrand | September 24th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Why the updates take soooooooooooooooo long?
I want my update early in the morning!
26
Scodo_Thope | September 24th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Offline coop?
Need to know before I lay down the Lincoln!!
Mark Cooke replied on September 24, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Yes, cooperative play in Zombie Apocalypse is both offline and online for up to four players.
27
findaway | September 24th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
I hope a demo will be available, looks fun
28
Scodo_Thope | September 24th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Nevermind, I should have read more carefully:
“When playing with friends either on the same console or online, the team is working toward a shared score.”
Demo?
29
Roverxk9 | September 24th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
A demo would be great, any word on this?
30
BigBoss712 | September 24th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Sounds fun, will give it a try.
31
DA_SHREDDER | September 24th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
No demo = No buy.
32
Hohlraum | September 24th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
arena based games get boring so fast it is crazy. next zombie game you guys release needs to be map based where you have an objective to move from one location to another. hopefully the one the Stardust guys are working on isn’t arena based. ugh.
33
finishpropcg | September 24th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
ahhhh yeah, the mandatory “haaay kids, it’s almost halloween. Don’t foget to spend all your money on zombie games”
34
Enforcer_X | September 24th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
@26 Scodo_Thope
I think you mean lay down an Alexander Hamilton not a Lincoln.
EPIC! 4 player online coop!
I am buying this ASAP!
This is going to rock!
35
Enforcer_X | September 24th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
@33 finishpropcg
DAMN RIGHT!
36
mike1318 | September 24th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Zombie Cash Guns Chaos?
37
VanilaGorila-x- | September 24th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
For $10 bucks, I’m all over some Zombie killing goodness…
Peace,
VG
38
Draicus | September 24th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
You’ve got my money.
39
hobb123 | September 24th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
will there be trophy support?
Mark Cooke replied on September 24, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Yes, there is a full set of trophies. Here’s one of them to go for – “More the Merrier” where you have to kill 10 zombies at the same time.
40
HELLKOMMANDER | September 24th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Ok, it’s the 24th, and I have been waiting for months. Where is broken steel? It is supposed to be released today. It is 3:58pm est, why isn’t it out?
41
VanilaGorila-x- | September 24th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
@40
What the hell does that have to with ZA?
VG
42
ThanatosDMC | September 24th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
It’s not on the store yet. :(
43
Chuckbait | September 24th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Is there custom soundtracks?
44
Savage1969 | September 24th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
When (what time) does the PS Store update?
45
VanilaGorila-x- | September 24th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
@40
What the Hell does F3 DLC have to do with Zombitron? lol
VG
46
gus_xl | September 24th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Me and my friend were looking for something that we could play online together. I think this is just what we were looking for.
47
BIGMUCKMACHINE | September 24th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
If a pregnant woman/zombie carries her baby to term, will the baby also be a zombie? Would she still have her motherly insticts? Or would she just eat her baby? ;)
48
Savage1969 | September 24th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
@47
That’s ALMOST a chicken and the egg story, lol.
49
Neil | September 24th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Hey I’m unable to access this site from Firefox. I keep getting this error:
“400 Bad Request nginx”
I’m using IE just to type this.
50
punk182fannfg | September 24th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
dude, this is like a futuristic Zombies Ate My Neighbors!! remember that game for sega and super nintendo back in the day? lol
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