Nexon’s free-to-play FPS Combat Arms will be getting the zombie treatment tomorrow with its brand-new Quarantine gametype.
Everyone knows that nerds love zombies – perhaps a little too much, one might even say. As one caustic-tongued Brit noted last year, by the time most FPS games come out, some dedicated fan is almost invariably working on a zombie mod. Sometimes, though, it’s an official thing – as is the case with Combat Arms‘ new Quarantine mode, which launches tomorrow.
In-universe explanation goes as follows: People were developing a drug to create superhuman soldiers (naturally), it went wrong, now they’re zombies. Gee, how surprising. In-game, it’s pretty standard, too – players will start as either an infected host or a normal human. Infected players will have “boosts in speed, health, and stamina,” Nexon America producer Graham Kays told The Escapist, “to make up for the fact that they have fewer players to start,” as well as their lack of any ranged attacks whatsoever.
The humans win when they kill all the zombies, the zombies win when all the players are infected. Don’t reinvent the wheel, folks.
Beyond enhanced features, zombies won’t have any weak areas – unlike human characters, they won’t go down with a single shot to the head (or, in Combat Arms‘ case, the nuts).
The Quarantine gametype will launch alongside a new map called Overdose, a map “specially designed for Quarantine mode” that will let human players work the terrain to their advantage, said Kays, specifically noting fortified defenses, hiding places, and even deadly traps to set.
When asked if he was worried about the inevitable comparisons to Valve’s Left 4 Dead as well as other zombie mods and gametypes like Halo‘s “Infection,” Kays dismissed the idea. “Many games use similar thematic treatments, but that’s just one aspect of a game … we focused on creating a fun, unique, and enjoyable experience.”
The Quarantine mode will launch tomorrow: Wednesday, July 29th. Get your chainsaw ready.
(Does Combat Arms have chainsaws? I think it should have chainsaws.)
