TaylorJD92
Deadly 30 is a 2D zombie survival shoot ’em up with tower defense elements and a few pinches of Metal Slug and Contra thrown in. Set in World War II, you play as three different soldiers, an American, a German, and a Russian, each with their own personalities, quirks, and weapons, trying to survive the sudden zombie horde. Split into day and night cycles, you jump back and forth between scavenging when its light out for scrap to fortify your base and holding off the nightly crowds of undead.
Beginning with the American, you explore five different areas in the game: the mountains, a cornfield, the black forest, snow world, and the castle. With your base resting smack in the middle of the black forest, each time the sun rises you venture forth to the other areas and look for as much scrap as you can find to purchase new weapons and increase your base’s defenses. After a few days, you’ll find other survivors who will join you in your quest. It’s very important to gauge the amount of light you have left. Early on, the undead are easy to kill, low in number, and don’t vary much. But as time goes on, you’ll have to keep your greed in check; that new gun or super turret will look nice, but if you get caught out in the open at night time, you’re as good dead. Thankfully, the game saves itself every dawn, so you’re never set far back.
The other two characters in the game, the Russian and the German, each use their own weapons; the Russian gets bolt-action rifles, the German pump-action shotguns, and the American automatic assault rifles. When found, the survivors will join you as AI companions. While not as competent as you, they are a big help in combat and are absolutely necessary to stay alive throughout the game; you can also switch between them on the fly. They can die, but never fear, you can find them again out in the different areas holding off zombies, waiting to be rescued. I particularly enjoyed the the small quips they had to say and the conversations between them – the Russian in particular. The humor in the small cut-scenes as the days pass is most excellent.
When at the base you can access a shop to purchase ammunition, medical supplies, armor for health, boots for speed, increase the strength of your barriers, and turrets to help you ward off zombies. I found the prices to be a little too expensive, but on the flip side that adds a strategic element. I wanted the boots early on so I could explore and get more scrap during the day, but the added turrets helped me watch certain sides of the fort when I had to tend to the other. I ended up restarting the game once around the fifteenth day and bought things in different orders.
The zombies themselves have a ton of variation, from slow to fast, weak, strong, etc. Some were giant and muscular, soaking up tons of bullets. The overweight zombies explode, but instead of dealing damage, if their goop gets on you, it summons more weak zombies to deal with. Even bird and dog zombies come into the mix later, keeping you on edge at all times. They will make the trek to the thirtieth day an absolutely hellish ordeal.
Over-all, Deadly 30 is a solid 2D shooter worth its asking price of $5. I did find it a little boring at first, but after a few nights the game’s difficulty ramps up and I felt the need to collect as much scrap as possible, pushing me onward to the thirtieth night. While managing other things, it took me over a week to finish the game. Unfortunately there were no unlockable items or modes given to me after completing the game, so besides going through it with different strategies, I couldn’t find another reason to endure it all again. Be warned, however, there are no achievements or a full screen option on the Mac version; only the PC supports those features.
(7 / 10)
Good
(7 / 10)
