This review is about 280 words, and I could fill the word quota by listing the titles of every zombie video game ever made. The subject has saturated gaming even more so than the film industry. If there is ever a real zombie apocalypse, it won't be the Defence Force decimating the undead - it'll be leagues of neck-beard gamers protecting what's left of the human race.
Widely regarded as one of the high points of zombie-slaying is Valve's Left 4 Dead series, and it is understandable that other games might try to ride on its blood-splattered coat tails. But at what point do you get so far up those coat tails that things start to get a little embarrassing?
Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition for PS4 is a follow-up to 2010's Dead Nation for PS3, and it doesn't bring much more to the table apart from some pretty graphics. They are admittedly impressive, and the use of lighting to create atmosphere is as good as you will find in any big-budget title. But were the game played from a first-person perspective, Valve could be firing off the lawsuits - even some of the non-zombie enemies are virtual clones from Left 4 Dead.
Dead Nation: AE is instead played from a top-down perspective and moving/firing is controlled by the thumbsticks. But even that isn't original enough to make it stand out. There are a host of other games, especially on Xbox Live Arcade, that do exactly the same thing.
This doesn't mean the game isn't fun, because it is - especially with a friend and considering the low price. Ian Knott
