Sep 26, 2018 The 2017-2018 flu season was one of the deadliest in decades according to the CDC. An estimated 80,000 Americans died of flu and its complications last winter. Cheapest price for Dead Age on Xbox One in all regions, updated daily. Set a target price and we'll notify you when it drops below! 07 Sep 2018: Survive the zombie apocalypse with turn-based.
No fictional creature has seen the amount of attention in games equal to that of the zombie. They're slow, easy to (or not to) create a backstory for, horrifying, and easy to identify – they are the easiest enemy force to implement. Not just as enemies mind you, they've been on both sides of the spectrum, with games such as Stubbs the Zombie giving players the chance to play as the token monster. We've seen them popping up in everything from shooters, beat 'em ups, as well as more kid friendly fares, but rarely are they the focus in a turn based RPG: that is, until Dead Age came along.
This plays out much like The Oregon Trail with a zombie twist. Each run begins with a basic scenario that plays out via text boxes and still images showing the beginning of the zombie outbreak. Serial 1 3 5. Initially, you are limited to the pre-outbreak role your character brings to the 'new' world, with a handful of alternates being unlocked as you progress. The static prologue which works as a tutorial will have you trying to leave a major metropolitan city along with your sister who went missing post-car accident. With only a handful of seemingly randomly generated items, you set forth on your own to find your missing sibling.
The game eases you into the turn based combat, often pitting you against a handful of the undead. The zombies featured in the game each have their own visual characteristics, often taking on the guise of nurses, military, and prisoners, amongst others. Each of the types will have their own attack patterns and abilities, with most simply rushing in for a melee attack or spitting on you from a distance. Your task will be to manage your inventory, as bullets are scarce, and survive each encounter. These battles are more casual fare for the genre, with the only options outside of attacking/healing being to use your turn to buff your character (or party, but we'll get to this in a bit). With no real defensive option in place, you are basically trading blows with the enemies until either you or the undead lay on the ground passed out. It is possible for you or the zombies to be knocked out, requiring the character to either suffer repeated attacks or be revived by a comrade.
As the story progresses, you'll meet other survivors. Depending on the choices you make during the initial interaction with these characters, you can possibly add them to your group. In most cases, they'll ask for some sort of item or consumable from the get-go; giving into their ransom demands can lead to them becoming friendly, whereas declining their request will probably piss them off or lead to their untimely demise. This is going to be instrumental in your success, as going solo against more than one or two of the enemies in multiple back to back situations will end lethally for your character.
The story plays out in the form of days, which will bounce between inventory management, battle segments, and the occasional RPG style decision making. At the end of your first day, you'll likely make it to a camp of survivors that require you to pull your weight to maintain your status within the group. At the start of each new day you can visit a vendor to trade or set off on one of a group of offered paths, each giving you a hint at what you could potentially earn if successful. There are also certain modifiers or stipulations set in place, such as going in during the cover of night (the zombies seem to be a bit more aggressive at night) or solo, with more difficult challenges netting better gear or drops.
This wouldn't be an RPG without a leveling system, which is implemented in a unique way that borrows heavily from popular rogue-lites. You'll earn standard XP by completing scenarios and battles, allowing you to level up your attacks or survival abilities. Upon your untimely demise, you'll be able to spend an alternate set of points on your character for future runs but will lose any squirreled XP, standard levels, or inventory. This makes the permadeath situation a bit easier to stomach, but feels slightly uneven.
The overall presentation is a bit of a disappointment, with most of the game taking place in the menu; the story bits play out between the actual battles in small windows, or in the battle sequences themselves. I would have liked to see more effort put into the way the story is presented with a bit more flare, akin to that found in Hand of Fate. The same can be said for the battle sequences, showcasing dated character models that bounce and bob as if they are about to throw down at a rap battle when not actually in the process of attacking. The backgrounds offer a bit more detail with meandering corpses and desolate landscapes that paint the post-apocalyptic setting in a better light.
The inventory and mid-battle menus are just as ugly, if not worse. Much like State of Decay, the tabs and subtabs are overly convoluted and require more steps than needed to complete the simplest of actions. Making matters worse, the inability to adjust the screen size left me having to guess how to complete actions due to the prompts that are partially displayed at the bottom of the screen falling just outside the safe zone of my television.
Dead Age offers a fair bit of replayability thanks to the randomized aspect; however, there aren't that many variations on how the game plays out to inject a feeling that each and every scenario will play out differently. Each of my attempts attempt had at least one of the previously seen choices pop up more than once on a new playthrough. Many of the 'situations' such as finding a locked trunk that out of all the other trunks presented in the game must have something in it are duplicated even more, often resulting in the same event being drawn back to back.
With a bit more polish and some additional content, Dead Age could have been a fun diversion, but the lacking presentation, boring mechanics, and repetitive nature leave the player feeling like most of the trunks you stumble across in the game: empty
4 out of 10
Pros
- Initially Offers The Oregon Trail Vibe
Cons
- Boring Combat
- No Visual Safe Zones
- Repetitive on All Fronts
Dead Age was developed by Silent Dreams and published by Headup Games. It launched on PC in 2016, and X1 on September 7th, 2018 for $14.99. The game was provided to us for review on X1. If you'd like to see more of Dead Age, check out the game's Steam page.
Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.
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No fictional creature has seen the amount of attention in games equal to that of the zombie. They're slow, easy to (or not to) create a backstory for, horrifying, and easy to identify – they are the easiest enemy force to implement. Not just as enemies mind you, they've been on both sides of the spectrum, with games such as Stubbs the Zombie giving players the chance to play as the token monster. We've seen them popping up in everything from shooters, beat 'em ups, as well as more kid friendly fares, but rarely are they the focus in a turn based RPG: that is, until Dead Age came along.
This plays out much like The Oregon Trail with a zombie twist. Each run begins with a basic scenario that plays out via text boxes and still images showing the beginning of the zombie outbreak. Initially, you are limited to the pre-outbreak role your character brings to the 'new' world, with a handful of alternates being unlocked as you progress. The static prologue which works as a tutorial will have you trying to leave a major metropolitan city along with your sister who went missing post-car accident. With only a handful of seemingly randomly generated items, you set forth on your own to find your missing sibling.
The game eases you into the turn based combat, often pitting you against a handful of the undead. The zombies featured in the game each have their own visual characteristics, often taking on the guise of nurses, military, and prisoners, amongst others. Each of the types will have their own attack patterns and abilities, with most simply rushing in for a melee attack or spitting on you from a distance. Your task will be to manage your inventory, as bullets are scarce, and survive each encounter. These battles are more casual fare for the genre, with the only options outside of attacking/healing being to use your turn to buff your character (or party, but we'll get to this in a bit). With no real defensive option in place, you are basically trading blows with the enemies until either you or the undead lay on the ground passed out. It is possible for you or the zombies to be knocked out, requiring the character to either suffer repeated attacks or be revived by a comrade.
The story plays out in the form of days, which will bounce between inventory management, battle segments, and the occasional RPG style decision making. At the end of your first day, you'll likely make it to a camp of survivors that require you to pull your weight to maintain your status within the group. At the start of each new day you can visit a vendor to trade or set off on one of a group of offered paths, each giving you a hint at what you could potentially earn if successful. There are also certain modifiers or stipulations set in place, such as going in during the cover of night (the zombies seem to be a bit more aggressive at night) or solo, with more difficult challenges netting better gear or drops.
This wouldn't be an RPG without a leveling system, which is implemented in a unique way that borrows heavily from popular rogue-lites. You'll earn standard XP by completing scenarios and battles, allowing you to level up your attacks or survival abilities. Upon your untimely demise, you'll be able to spend an alternate set of points on your character for future runs but will lose any squirreled XP, standard levels, or inventory. This makes the permadeath situation a bit easier to stomach, but feels slightly uneven.
The overall presentation is a bit of a disappointment, with most of the game taking place in the menu; the story bits play out between the actual battles in small windows, or in the battle sequences themselves. I would have liked to see more effort put into the way the story is presented with a bit more flare, akin to that found in Hand of Fate. The same can be said for the battle sequences, showcasing dated character models that bounce and bob as if they are about to throw down at a rap battle when not actually in the process of attacking. The backgrounds offer a bit more detail with meandering corpses and desolate landscapes that paint the post-apocalyptic setting in a better light.
The inventory and mid-battle menus are just as ugly, if not worse. Much like State of Decay, the tabs and subtabs are overly convoluted and require more steps than needed to complete the simplest of actions. Making matters worse, the inability to adjust the screen size left me having to guess how to complete actions due to the prompts that are partially displayed at the bottom of the screen falling just outside the safe zone of my television.
Dead Age offers a fair bit of replayability thanks to the randomized aspect; however, there aren't that many variations on how the game plays out to inject a feeling that each and every scenario will play out differently. Each of my attempts attempt had at least one of the previously seen choices pop up more than once on a new playthrough. Many of the 'situations' such as finding a locked trunk that out of all the other trunks presented in the game must have something in it are duplicated even more, often resulting in the same event being drawn back to back.
With a bit more polish and some additional content, Dead Age could have been a fun diversion, but the lacking presentation, boring mechanics, and repetitive nature leave the player feeling like most of the trunks you stumble across in the game: empty
4 out of 10
Pros
- Initially Offers The Oregon Trail Vibe
Cons
- Boring Combat
- No Visual Safe Zones
- Repetitive on All Fronts
Dead Age was developed by Silent Dreams and published by Headup Games. It launched on PC in 2016, and X1 on September 7th, 2018 for $14.99. The game was provided to us for review on X1. If you'd like to see more of Dead Age, check out the game's Steam page.
Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.
Looking for More?
No fictional creature has seen the amount of attention in games equal to that of the zombie. They're slow, easy to (or not to) create a backstory for, horrifying, and easy to identify – they are the easiest enemy force to implement. Not just as enemies mind you, they've been on both sides of the spectrum, with games such as Stubbs the Zombie giving players the chance to play as the token monster. We've seen them popping up in everything from shooters, beat 'em ups, as well as more kid friendly fares, but rarely are they the focus in a turn based RPG: that is, until Dead Age came along.
This plays out much like The Oregon Trail with a zombie twist. Each run begins with a basic scenario that plays out via text boxes and still images showing the beginning of the zombie outbreak. Initially, you are limited to the pre-outbreak role your character brings to the 'new' world, with a handful of alternates being unlocked as you progress. The static prologue which works as a tutorial will have you trying to leave a major metropolitan city along with your sister who went missing post-car accident. With only a handful of seemingly randomly generated items, you set forth on your own to find your missing sibling.
The game eases you into the turn based combat, often pitting you against a handful of the undead. The zombies featured in the game each have their own visual characteristics, often taking on the guise of nurses, military, and prisoners, amongst others. Each of the types will have their own attack patterns and abilities, with most simply rushing in for a melee attack or spitting on you from a distance. Your task will be to manage your inventory, as bullets are scarce, and survive each encounter. These battles are more casual fare for the genre, with the only options outside of attacking/healing being to use your turn to buff your character (or party, but we'll get to this in a bit). With no real defensive option in place, you are basically trading blows with the enemies until either you or the undead lay on the ground passed out. It is possible for you or the zombies to be knocked out, requiring the character to either suffer repeated attacks or be revived by a comrade.
As the story progresses, you'll meet other survivors. Depending on the choices you make during the initial interaction with these characters, you can possibly add them to your group. In most cases, they'll ask for some sort of item or consumable from the get-go; giving into their ransom demands can lead to them becoming friendly, whereas declining their request will probably piss them off or lead to their untimely demise. This is going to be instrumental in your success, as going solo against more than one or two of the enemies in multiple back to back situations will end lethally for your character.
The story plays out in the form of days, which will bounce between inventory management, battle segments, and the occasional RPG style decision making. At the end of your first day, you'll likely make it to a camp of survivors that require you to pull your weight to maintain your status within the group. At the start of each new day you can visit a vendor to trade or set off on one of a group of offered paths, each giving you a hint at what you could potentially earn if successful. There are also certain modifiers or stipulations set in place, such as going in during the cover of night (the zombies seem to be a bit more aggressive at night) or solo, with more difficult challenges netting better gear or drops.
This wouldn't be an RPG without a leveling system, which is implemented in a unique way that borrows heavily from popular rogue-lites. You'll earn standard XP by completing scenarios and battles, allowing you to level up your attacks or survival abilities. Upon your untimely demise, you'll be able to spend an alternate set of points on your character for future runs but will lose any squirreled XP, standard levels, or inventory. This makes the permadeath situation a bit easier to stomach, but feels slightly uneven.
The overall presentation is a bit of a disappointment, with most of the game taking place in the menu; the story bits play out between the actual battles in small windows, or in the battle sequences themselves. I would have liked to see more effort put into the way the story is presented with a bit more flare, akin to that found in Hand of Fate. The same can be said for the battle sequences, showcasing dated character models that bounce and bob as if they are about to throw down at a rap battle when not actually in the process of attacking. The backgrounds offer a bit more detail with meandering corpses and desolate landscapes that paint the post-apocalyptic setting in a better light.
The inventory and mid-battle menus are just as ugly, if not worse. Much like State of Decay, the tabs and subtabs are overly convoluted and require more steps than needed to complete the simplest of actions. Making matters worse, the inability to adjust the screen size left me having to guess how to complete actions due to the prompts that are partially displayed at the bottom of the screen falling just outside the safe zone of my television.
Dead Age offers a fair bit of replayability thanks to the randomized aspect; however, there aren't that many variations on how the game plays out to inject a feeling that each and every scenario will play out differently. Each of my attempts attempt had at least one of the previously seen choices pop up more than once on a new playthrough. Many of the 'situations' such as finding a locked trunk that out of all the other trunks presented in the game must have something in it are duplicated even more, often resulting in the same event being drawn back to back.
With a bit more polish and some additional content, Dead Age could have been a fun diversion, but the lacking presentation, boring mechanics, and repetitive nature leave the player feeling like most of the trunks you stumble across in the game: empty
4 out of 10
Pros
- Initially Offers The Oregon Trail Vibe
Dead Age (2018) 19
Cons
Dead Age (2018) Death
- Boring Combat
- No Visual Safe Zones
- Repetitive on All Fronts
Dead Age was developed by Silent Dreams and published by Headup Games. It launched on PC in 2016, and X1 on September 7th, 2018 for $14.99. The game was provided to us for review on X1. If you'd like to see more of Dead Age, check out the game's Steam page.
Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.
Dead Age (2018) Ultron
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