a.s. Archives - Frugal Gaming

A group of FGUK writers get their hands on Dead Effect, here’s their thoughts…..

Let us just get the awkward stuff out the way first. The movement in this FPS feels particularly odd, the enemies are stupid and, at times, ridiculously cheap, the script is truly awful and the voice acting appears to have been carried out by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s understudy and a bloke from down the pub. The controller support is frankly lazy and the whole game feels rushed from tablet with very care having been taken over the port.

But through all of this, through each stage of irritation, there is something enjoyable in here. After a while the head popping of deranged bad guys becomes kinda fun, and the continued circle strafing, while not as outright bombastic as something like Serious Sam or Doom, is still a pleasant distraction. Somehow I found myself slowly working through this game and before I knew it the end had been and gone (be warned the ending is particularly abrupt). It will not be memorable but as a six or so hour experience to vent some frustrations I have played much worse.

By the standard measures this is a thoroughly average game, but one that had a surprising ability to keep me playing. Keep an eye open for it.

Adam Belcher’s Thoughts……

On paper, Dead Effect looks like your two favourite Sci-Fi gaming franchises in Dead Space and Mass Effect spliced into one horror RPG.

It starts off in space, you awake from hyper-sleep and it’s apparent rigor has initially frozen your hands in front of you, you find a weapon quickly followed by a small number of hungry un-dead. So far so good, right?

In grabbing their attention the blood thirsty enemies start shuffle towards you in a ‘Shaun of the Dead’ fashion, as you unload your recently discovered pistol rounds looking for the head-shot.

Searching the ship you can find cash, ammo and even Kindle tablets lying around which try and help you make sense of the madness that has taken over the ship..

The game does control OK, and offers controller support however engaging with anything a pop up suggests you use the keyboard instead, the reload speeds are agonisingly slow, however at the end of the mission there is an opportunity with the cash & gold found in game to purchase weapon upgrades such as damage, mag size, reload speed and accuracy as well as restocking ammo and grenades.

Graphically, the game does look slightly dated, however the enemies are varied in detail and scary enough to be effective and the lighting and gas effects adds to the atmosphere, interior ship detail is also adequate and there is no need for a map as you are directed to your objectives using either the green or the red doors. The narrow corridors create an element of claustrophobia along with the sound effects as you move forward, and you know damn well that there’s a Conga line of misery around every corner.

At the end of each level you get your mission stats to show you how well you did to scratch the completionists itch you no doubt have. When you eventually get eaten alive your ability to re spawn requires your in game cash accumulated to continue, which is slightly different and feels very much like pay to play, which paying the current price of £5.59 maybe shouldn’t be necessary?

Ultimately the game works, offers a by the book Zombie shooter in space, and if that floats your boat, then give it a shot.

Ian P’s Thoughts…………..

Originally available on iOS and Android, Dead Effect is a first person shooter set in 2045 aboard the spaceship ESS Meridian. Waking early from a cryogenic sleep we find the ship has been infested by zombies. We must discover the source of the outbreak, eradicate the walking dead and save the ship. It’s a budget release, currently priced at £5.59 on the Steam store, so I was expecting too much.

There are three game modes to keep you occupied. A story mode, which will take roughly four hours to complete, more if you want to start new game plus to collect enough cash to buy all the available weapons and upgrades. All are pretty standard fair, pistols, shotguns, rifles and the predictable chainsaw make their customary appearance. Then we have the Survival and Biohazard modes, these are basic challenges maps designed to test your zombie slaying prowess. Sadly there is no multiplayer which is a shame.

The graphics are palatable, it does, manage to represent what a spacecraft may look like, the lighting effects do a fairly decent job and zombies look somewhat convincing. Character movement is a little rigid, even for the undead, there is a slight mannequin feel to the whole proceedings. The sound effects do a reasonable job of creating an eerie atmosphere, without ever really being convincing.

Overall would I recommend Dead Effect? No, not unless you were a die-hard FPS fan. The controls are poorly implemented, the story is very short, the game mechanics are misguided and poorly judged. There are worse games you could play, but there are also so many that are so much better.I am still not convinced that iOS ports to PC are a good idea and Dead Effect has done nothing to convince me otherwise.

My Thoughts……….

If you’re after for something cheap to fill your time, Dead Effect will satisfy that hunger. I thought for the price, it looked rather splendid given it was a port from a game built for tablets. The controls are a let down though, sometimes it felt like I was fighting against them. But, there is something very moreish about this game.

If you like horde-mode type games and have a few quid spare, I would say give it a pop, but do bear in mind what the braniacs above me have written in their criticisms.

Currently available on Steam for £3.99 HERE

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Dead Effect PC Team Review