I have never been a big fan of stationary defense shooters.  Most of them are simply the same thing over and over with little to no variety, and no real sense of accomplishment.  Today, I decided to give one of these games a try…

The Last Stand, by Con-Artists, is a zombie survival game where you stand behind a barrier and shoot zombies.  Yep, it certainly sounds boring already doesn’t it?

As I played this game, my first thoughts were… “Oh joy… another over-rated, generic defense game!” and I started shooting zombies with little enthusiasm.

Then as I finished the first round I fixed up my barricade, and found some other survivors….

As I continued to mash my mouse, I started to appreciate the artwork.  The zombies are all quite unique, using a variety of interchangeable parts to randomly generate several types of zombie.  The background changes from night to day as time goes by, and overall, it’s a nice looking game.

A few levels in and I started getting a nice crew of survivors, and had picked up some new guns, including a bad-ass shotgun.  I started becoming interested in seeing what everything else was like,

I hadn’t really given the audio much thought, but I suddenly became aware of the eerie ambient music that was playing.  It really helped set the mood, and managed to convey a sense of urgency without relying on a fast tempo.  I also noticed that, while the weapon and death sounds were all okay, there was a lack of zombie moaning and chatter from the defending humans.  This didn’t really hurt the game so much as keep it from feeling more like a movie.

Then I got the chainsaw.

While the gameplay starts out as any generic defense shooter, you begin to realize the weapons are all balanced in different ways.  Some are more offensive, like the hunting rifle which lets you kill efficiently from long-range, and some are defensive, like the chainsaw, which converts your barricade into a big-ass meat grinder.

The way the zombies vary in speed, and some even charge at your perimeter, keeps you on your toes as you have to decide what part of your base to defend, and how to defend it at any given time.

This game is so much more than a frantic shooting game, it has a real element of strategy to it that I actually found enjoyable.

As I finally realized this game was great, and that I was having fun… I survived day 20, and won the game.

In spite the fact I was angry that my fun was over, I can’t help but smile.  This title reminded me that you can never judge a game by it’s genre.

[ Play The Last Stand ]