"Zombie Army 4"

"Zombie Army 4"
Reviewed by: Carless Yen
Developer: Rebellion
Publisher: THQNordic
Platform: XBOX ONE X
Release Date: 2/4/2020
Price:49.99

I don't know if you can really call this a review. When you are a huge fan of this franchise, and your just really naming off all the great additions to the series, and why you think it's the best one yet. I guess that is a good thing though. Sequels hardly ever live up to the originals, but Zombie Army is the best of the series. I'm not just talking Zombie Army series, but Sniper Elite series as well. That is saying a lot because they have released some amazing games. Zombie Army just brings so much more to the table though. So I'll mainly start off by telling you what's new, and why to grab this one even if you have played the others.

First off there are new collectibles. You can grab Comics that have amazing art on them. Every time you find one you just have to stop and check it out. m I wish you could read them be even better. There are no longer wine bottles to find on the map instead zombie hands. They will hide, and run around making them hilarious to find. They all have names as well. There are some creepy dolls on the stage as well that pop up in different places as you shoot them. I know there is more to it, but didn't want to spoil it by looking it up. It adds a real Call of Duty Nazi Zombies vibe to it. There are also a ton of new zombies as well. Armored zombies, Crawling zombies, green glowing zombies that throw gunk at you blinding you, Zombie sharks, zombies that are strapped with explosives, zombie tanks, I could go on and on. They certainly put a lot of time adding new things to this game to make it fresh. There are new grenades and traps. They added flame, electric, divine, and bait to the grenades. Flames will catch the ground on fire, electric will travel through a horde of zombies shocking them, Divine will heal your entire team that stands in it's energy, bait will pile them all up. The same energy is applied to the traps as well. Trip wires that burn or shock enemies. There are even environmental traps on the maps not just the typical exploding barrels You will see targets to shoot that will shoot electric through the ground or even wake a sleeping sharp to gobble them all up. It's just so cool how much really was added to this game.

Another new addition is a weekly event. It changes every week adding more replay value to it by getting an objective that is different every time. Like unlimited secondary ammo, while using only secondary weapons. It will give you XP and a new item like a emote. This week was a Karate Kid Crane Kick. You can't beat that pretty awesome. The horde mode is a lot different as well. You unlock new areas as the rounds advance. It's a blast alone or with a team. The campaign feels so much longer then the ones before it. There are nine levels, each with four chapters, so it will take you awhile to finish it. It's also so much fun as soon as you do, you will more than likely start it all over again. One of my favorite thing about the campaign they added were upgrades to your weapons. You can find upgrade kits in the levels that add perks to your guns like explosives, critical shots that get you health, increased damage and magazine size. Just a bunch of things that make it easier to play alone. When you hit an exploding shot it will wipe out a ton of surrounding zombies and it feels so cool. They also add character perks as well. Things you unlock as you level up like faster revives, increased melee, down but not out that allows you to get up if you land a head shot, and so much more. There are tons of perks to aid in playing as a team or by yourself. There are also power ups for chaining kills together. You can get a shot with your sniper that slows it down while blowing up everything around your target on bullet contact. Your secondary power up you slow down time for like 30 seconds just blasting everything around you in bullet time. Pistol power up allows you to tag multiple enemies I think up to four and then blasting all of them with head shots in a row. Killing zombies really has never been so much fun.

It really has a "Left 4 Dead" feel as well. The safe houses just feel like more of the story now, then just trying to get from one to another. That is one of my favorite points of the game. The story is just so much better and rewarding. Unlocking items also gives it much more replay value. You can unlock weapon skins, and new hats to wear. It really just feels like a lot more time went in to this one then previous. It really is a complete and addicting title. I had a hard time getting this review done because I wanted to play it more and more. I can't wait to play it with friends. I know it is only the second month of the year, but Zombie Army 4 is my favorite title so far this year. I really hope there is more to come from Rebellion. I really love these guys games, and they have delivered some of my favorite titles to play with my buddies this, and last generation. These sniper games are a blast. Zombie Army with it's all out action, and Sniper Elite with it's stealth and precision shooting. There aren't many games that deliver the Coop fun they do, and I'm glad I've got to enjoy all their titles over the year with friends, and alone.

Pros:
Tons of new content
Looks and sounds amazing
Loaded with items to unlock and replay value
Non stop action and fun
Fun alone or with friends

Cons:
We now have to wait awhile for another title from Rebellion
Aren't enough hours in the day to kill all the zombies I want
To fun,neighbors complaining about my cheers of excitement

Overall 9.0
Zombie Army 4 is the best in the Sniper Series from Rebellion. There is no question this title is loaded with so much new content that it just feels so fresh this time around. Usually sequels don't live up to originals, but Zombie Army surpasses the games before it, and I'd say it's better than everything else I've played this year. I'm out of here now to play even more of it.