After forgetting about this game for a couple months, I finally went back and finished chapters 9 & 10 so it's beaten for now. It's a really good PSN game, but there are a few things that hold it back from being among the best.
1. I really wish there were persistent unlockables, meaning that upgrades would take longer, but they would be more meaningful and would carry over across multiple playthroughs and co-op outings. Now that I've beaten the game, I feel discouraged about starting over or moving up to a new difficulty with all my weapons and suit stats being reset. It's something so simple, but it would have added so much longevity and replayability to to the game. Unfortunately, though, I don't really have any motivation to start a new playthrough anytime soon.
2. There should have been more than just the campaign. The core gameplay is so good, and it's what I love most about this game, and the lack of modes like score attack or survival seems like a major missed opportunity, just like persistent unlockables. The game is a blast to play but I can't understand why they wouldn't have added more venues to enjoy it. Shit, I'd even pay for it as DLC but if they haven't patched in Mic support, I won't expect it. I want to keep playing the game, but my only option is to hit reset and return to where I started.
3. 1 # 2 are my major issues, but there were a few more minor complaints. As we all know, the lack of mid level checkpoints sucked. I like to be able to quit out when I get frustrated or just lose interest for the night, and it sucks to either grind forward or lose progress. Fuck that. Also, it felt a little unbalanced at times as some parts towards the end seemed to 'challenge' you by just spamming powerful enemies or the screamers at you. And lastly, I would have definitely appreciated a bit more variety in environments. Aside from a few areas, I felt like I was in the same place the entire time.
A few complaints, but only because this game could have been so much more. If 1, 2 and 3 could be fixed, this would be in my top 5 PSN games. It looks and sounds great, the atmosphere is killler and it's just damn fun to play. It makes killing zombies fun. I love turning a charging horde into paste by finding a choke point and mashing them with my shotgun, or tossing down a flare when things get crazy and torching them all with my flamethrower. It's intense as fuck and so much fun to play. I'd recommend it to almost anyone, but it still feels like a missed opportunity in many ways.
I don't know if I'll go back to Dead Nation anytime soon, but I can safely say I enjoyed it. A few poor design decisions keep it from being the game it could have been, but I had a great time with it regardless.
). The game should also save at every checkpoint, so that I'm not absolutely forced to finish a level every time I/we play. Makes the decision to continue playing after the level harder - "just a little more" isn't an option in this game. It's either not at all or the full level. Annoying.
