Dead Pixels

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Game Information
Release Date: 9/15/2011
Developers: CSR-Studios
Publishers: CSR-Studios
Platforms: PC and Xbox
Genre: Action, Indie
Players: 1-4 (local)
Rating: 8/10

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Synopsis

A toxic waste spill finds its way into the water supply, causing the recently deceased to rise from their graves. Now it's up to you to blast your way through the hordes of undead if you're going to escape the city. On the way to your rescue, you'll search stores and houses for supplies, and trade with other survivors.

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Plot

Dead Pixels:

It all started in New Hexington, New York on July 15th 1938. A major toxic waste spill occurred at a chemical plant that soon leaked into the water supply for the whole city. Three days passed and the undead began to rise from their graves. A week passed and only five percent of the people in the city could be considered alive. The army was sent to clean up the city, but were soon forced to retreat. On the other side of the city are a group of survivors who have a way out. Fight through the hordes of zombies to escape the city once and for all!

The Solution:

You are chosen for a mission to be the "solution" towards the zombie epidemic going on in the city. Since the army has been forced to retreat you are the one chosen to go to the city's power plant and to activate the trigger system while making it out alive. Good luck!

Last Stand:

This takes place 3 days after the army were forced to be pulled out of the city. The survivors were close to the airport after days of fighting. They have low amounts of ammo and cannot survive any much longer. When they get to the airport they find out that there is a large horde of zombies surrounding it. Hurley got the attention of the horde and both him and Nate lured them into the mall clearing a path for the rest of the survivors. They were both trapped and now have to make this their last stand.

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Gameplay

Dead pixels is a fun and addictive 2d side-scrolling game that takes you on a journey throughout New York in order to escape the city of Hexington. There are three different game modes to play, Dead pixel, The Solution, and Last Stand. Last Stand has two mini game modes to play which is the timed and survival game mode. All three of the game modes have there own story and set of characters making it very interesting to play. There are different difficulties to play each game mode on ranging from easy to hardest difficulty. Each difficulty increases the amount of streets to cross by 10 in order to reach the escape point. As you play there are many different zombies to encounter such as normal zombies, zombies that spit acid at you when you are at a far distance from them, and even fast zombies. This isn't a game where you can sit in one place and kill every zombie. You start a game with only a certain amount of ammo and equipment so scavenging for weapons and equipment from marked buildings is a top priority. Once in a while you will run into shops where you can buy and sell medical supplies, weapons, and unneeded equipment. You can also upgrade your character's stats while you play making it a bit easier to pass future levels. At some points you will have to make some fast thinking decisions on whether to run by zombie hordes or to blast them to pieces. You get money from killing zombies as you play which can benefit you in the long run if you save up. There are many weapons and equipments to use while playing such as grenades, shotguns, and pistols. The gameplay gets a bit repetitive as you play for hours which I don't really like. Co-op is also only local so you cannot play with your friends online. Overall I think this game is good to play in short bursts, but with repetitive gameplay and lack of co-op options I don't see this being a game to play for long periods of time.

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Graphics

This 2d side-scrolling game has some pretty good graphics. The 8-bit look of the game makes it feel retro and sort of old school. As you play the city is colorful and the apocalyptic setting really sets the moods as you play. Killing zombies feels great as certain parts of the body falls off when shooting them or blowing them up with explosives. Each character in every game mode or story has great attention to detail including the zombies as well. Things such as clothing, guns, buildings, and characters have different amounts of detail in them to make them unique and to make them really stand out. Different levels have different scenery in the background which I really do like a lot about this game. Overall the graphics for this 8-bit game are spot on and I think they really did a great job with it.

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Controls

The controls are pretty simple for this type of game. It's pretty much a point and shoot style which I kind of like. They have a tutorial on how to shoot and use certain equipments so that you can get right into the game. The user interface seems clunky at first, but is actually easy to get used to after a period of playing the game. Moving the character feels fluent and I only really encountered one problem while playing. At times when hordes come at you they sometimes glitch into your character making him unable to move and vulnerable to the rest of the zombie hordes nearby. This did cause me to die at some points, but I rarely encountered it often. The user interface does look smooth and clean and easy to understand. Overall I think the controls are easy to get used to and fit the game well.

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Ratings (Personal)
Plot: 8/10
Game play: 8/10
Graphics: 8/10
Controls: 8/10
Overall: 8/10