Reviews - Zombie Master 2 Mod for Half-Life 2: Deathmatch

Mar 17th, 2013 9 people agree 1 person doesn't

I was a fan of the original Zombie Master so when I heard that there was a sequel in the works (back when ZM2 was called ZMI) I was excited to see what could be done. 3 years later, it finally comes out and unfortunately I was disappointed for the following things:

This is a Patch, not a sequel: generally when a game has the number 2 attached to it, you'll expect to seem some amazing changes (new art assets, greatly improved engine, new gameplay, new maps, revamped everything, etc.) and unfortunately this isn't the case. With the exception of Z3R0's custom content, and the under the hood engine changes (most notably the conversion to Orange Box), the game is exactly the same as its predecessors, down to the heavy usage of HL2 models/textures/animations and gameplay.

The game itself hasn't aged well: ZM1 was fantastic back in 2007, and I was excited to see if ZM2 improved upon its gameplay. Unfortunately little has changed in the 'sequel' so it feels like a fossilized dinosaur. Having default HL2 values for movement/damage/etc. for humans (with high powered guns) and pairing them up against crippled Zombie AI (one would think they made large zombie horde navigation better; they still get stuck on one another) = not fun in 2013.

Questionable Design Choices: The autopick up feature for guns/ammo was fine back in 2004 for HL2 (which had one pistol, one smg, etc.) but for a Mod that has multiple weapons for each category, it gets annoying when I want to pick up a specific gun only to pick up a weapon I didn't want which was closer to me (this is a big issue in massive gun piles). I had no clue which gun accepted which ammobox (the ammo looks pretty but there's no clear indicator to what gun they're matched up with). The default keybindings also bugged me (why is B = drop gun when it's G for every other game?).

I hope this project succeeds in the coming updates, I really do but at this moment it's simply a glorified patch masquerading as a 'sequel'.

Mar 19th, 2013 5 people agree 1 person doesn't

I'll be very honest. Instead of ZM2 it really should be ZM 1.5.

There's just no cohesion between the game and its concepts. There also should've been more work to the viewmodels and world models, the SKS a blaring example as it doesn't even use the same rig.

I doubt I need to say much regarding the AI, hit detection, and path finding. In fact it's worse than the first iteration.

Yes this game is fun but only because the fact it only shines in what made ZM1 fun, by itself it's rather lackluster.

Mar 29th, 2013 3 people agree 0 people don't

Given the time between the original and this, I expected much much more.

Apr 12th, 2013 2 people agree 0 people don't

The gameplay mechanics of Zombie Master 2 still stay true to the original, people here are complaining about the lack of new features added to this sequel. I'm just happy that they didn't completely turn the game upside down and change everything, ZM2 is still ZM1 at heart.

Even though like other people I wish there had been more features (new weapons were an awesome addition to the game though), I'm still really content with ZM2 and it remains a fun game to play.

Mar 26th, 2013 4 people agree 2 people don't

First of all for those who aren't aware, this is not a real sequel to Zombie Master; nor a mod that branches off of it, such as Zombie Master Black Edition (http://www.moddb.com/mods/zombie-master-black-edition).

This is a fan-patch, on beta stages. Being ported directly from the 2004 HL2DM engine to the Source 2007 engine, the mod currently runs amazingly poorly during intense moments, a problem that wasn't really factor within the old mod until this engine change. The borrowed textures and models from different mods (NMRIH zombie textures)and even different games (The reskinned SKS weapon in the game utilizes the CS:S fingerless glove viewmodel) painfully contrast with the simple and dynamic architecture the game was built around of, making it aesthetically unpleasing.

Aesthetics aside, the fan-patch also plays poorly. New weapons were added even though they appear to be just skins and/or small tradeoffs with the stock weapons. "New" things include a rather new type of Zombie, which appears to be a healer that currently only serves as a huge glowing target and doesn't work like it is meant to. Some unknown mechanic lies within the Survivor side which appears to be some sort of battery system, though it remains a mystery.

The fan-patch also aims to fix what isn't broken, as it adds new and clunkier HUDs that ironically have less functions for the Zombie Master player to use(the guy who plays it RTS style) in comparison to the original mod; effectively making the game much harder to play out for his side. The A.I. for the Zombies got completely wrecked during the transition of engines and no longer works efficiently, having zombies stand still or spin in a circle at given times. The fast "ninja" zombie (banshee) suffered the most out of this fact.

TL;DR: This mod claims to be what it isn't, and tries to do what can't be done (which is pimping its graphics). It fails to improve, and ends up lacking. Currently unplayable, and a disappointment in beta stages.

Mar 17th, 2013 4 people agree 2 people don't

I was waiting this for 2 years, this is only a patch have got small changes this isnt ZM2 this is ZM1.5 with small changes when will be the real ZM2...

Mar 17th, 2013 4 people agree 2 people don't

not a lot has been added but its a beta i didn't expect much. only a few new weapons and new hud and all, still fun though

May 5th, 2013 1 person agrees 0 people don't

a very excellent hybrid. if i were to say anything about the gameplay. it would spoil it alot!

Apr 25th, 2013 1 person agrees 0 people don't

I have to say, I'm a bit disopointed at the mod because its to simmalar to the first one, but that doesn't make the mod bad. It's in beta so I hope to see some major updates and alot of user submited content. Its the same mod but, With afew new weapons and alot more bugs, but again its in beta. Hopefully they will be fixed. I give it a 7 for now. When the updates start flushing in and the bugs are fixed, I'll give it a 8.

Jun 16th, 2013 0 people agree 0 people don't

The lag is a pain in the *** but its rare. The bigger issue is the bunny hopping. Which is why I don't play the ZombieMaster.