In Candygun Games’ 1950’s inspired game Dead Block, you play as one of three characters: a construction worker Jack Foster, an overweight boy scout Mike Bacon, and a traffic warden Foxy Jones. Each character has a special set of traps and secondary attacks that you use as you move through a set of buildings that are being invaded by zombie hordes. Traps like Jones’ massive bomb are placed in windows and doorways while the other AI characters scavenge through items scattered throughout the level in order to find a speaker, amp, and guitar. Unfortunately, the set up for Dead Block sounds a lot better than how it actually turned out.
Jack values his brain
One of the main side objectives is searching through globes and cacti to locate items (like keys and coins) that can be used to advance you through each level. You’ll find yourself looking through books for bolts (to build more traps) and obliterating a bathtub with a wrench (to collect more wood for blockades). However, the core mechanics of the game become too repetitive, too fast, ultimately making you do the same thing in each of the ten single player levels. There is no way around it, this will be the most action your B button has ever gotten, as you’ll be spamming it to break up all kinds of furniture. To search through items in the environment, you’re required to alternatively pull the left and right triggers. My biggest complaint is that none of this feels very fun. There are so many objects in each room that your main goal of finding the equipment to rock out becomes tedious and boring.
That’s not to say that Dead Block is entirely a mess. I actually found myself digging the vibe set up by the introductions to each level and the basic idea of a more goofy (and strategic) zombie tower defense game. For example, if you don’t keep a close eye on the windows and doors around you, an overbearing number of zombies will be creeping up on you in no time. I was surprised by how smart the AI is, though having them traverse around on their own would have been more helpful. There is some change in the game play when you are given the task of killing X amount of zombies before activating a giant zombie killing machine. I found this deviation to be more enjoyable than the main game, as I felt that I could pretty much experiment and play the level however I wanted. The inclusion of different traps, weapons, and a multiplayer mode (local only, unfortunately) may keep some players coming back until they explore everything the game has to offer.
Foxy is one bad mamma jamma!
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Dead Block is a great example of an idea that sounds great on paper (or a story board), but fails to deliver when attempted to be fully realized. I feel as though the game could have greatly benefited if the campyness or zombie elements were better explored. More variation in the game play and better controls would have made the less interesting parts somewhat more bearable. The ending is abrupt and lacks any sort of climax to make the player feel rewarded for making it to the finish line. As it stands now, Dead Block suffers from a set of good ideas that drag along and are never fully brought together to make a core experience worth recommending for the asking price.
RATING: 4.0/10
Dead Block is available now on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network for 800 Microsoft Points ($10). You can try the demo, purchase, and queue up your downloads here!
glory by the gram 