Dead Block

In the ‘50s Rock’n’Roll music was spawned straight from hell and was so evil that it turned dead people into Zombies!

Released: 6 July 2011
Platforms: PlayStation 3 PlayStation Portable Windows Xbox 360
Genres: Action Strategy Zombie
Developers: Candygun Games UG
Publishers: Digital Reality
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: Third person
Themes: Action Horror Survival Comedy
Engine: Unreal Engine 3
Country: Germany
Age ratings: ESRB T

About

Dead Block is a third-person action-strategy video game by German developer Candygun Games and publisher Digital Reality, in which three survivors of a zombie outbreak attempt to keep zombies out of a safehouse. It was released on the Xbox 360 on July 6, 2011 via Xbox Live Arcade, and on the PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Network on July 20, 2011 in North America and July 27, 2011 in the PAL region. A Microsoft Windows release followed on January 26, 2012.

In the game, three characters use a combination of blockades, traps and weapons to fight off attacking zombies. It was developed with the Unreal 3 Engine. While critics gave the game high marks for its music and comedic premise, they expressed disappointment in the lack of online multiplayer.

Keywords

zombies
tower defense
guitar playing
achievements
digital distribution
wasd movement
rock music
quick time event
horde mode
undead invasion
avatar awards
pax prime 2011

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Story

Dead Block is set during the 1950s where a zombie outbreak coincides with the emergence of the rock and roll genre of music during that time period. The three playable characters are Jack Foster, a tall and slovenly dressed construction worker, Mike Bacon, a courageous boyscout, and Foxy Jones, an armed city traffic warden in uniform.

The game is primarily a variant on the tower defense game mechanic. Players must build traps and fortify doors and windows to keep a horde of zombies from entering a given building. During gameplay players can also scavenge the building for additional powerups, items and things that can assist in keeping the zombies at bay. The game can be played locally with four players in a splitscreen format, and includes ten single player levels along with an additional eight multiplayer co-op levels.

Development

Dead Block was first announced on May 5, 2011. It is powered by Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3. It was released July 6, 2011 for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade, and on July 20, 2011 in North America and July 27, 2011 in the PAL region for the PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Network. A release for Microsoft Windows followed on January 26, 2012.

A downloadable content pack entitled the More Dead to Block Map Pack was released on August 17, 2011. It features four new locations including a Motel, a Turkish Bath, an Office Building, and a Slaughterhouse.

Reception

The game received "mixed" reviews on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic, which reported a wide range in scores for the Xbox 360 version, with the lowest score of a 20% approval given by Nick Hartel of Video Game Talk to an 83% approval from ZT Game Domain's Michael Futter.

Critics were divided in their opinions on Dead Block's gameplay mechanics. Arthur Gies of IGN called the controls "clumsy [and] clunky". He criticized the process of breaking down items in a safehouse for scrap. He felt that the process was too long and boring, and that it slowed the pace of the game.