Zeno Clash
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Zeno Clash is a different experience, the game is developed by the Chilean ACE Team and uses the classic source-the engine the same engine used for Half-Life 2 and Left 4 Dead. The game is certainly bizarre and has a functional and interesting melee-mechanic for a first-person shooter.
Welcome to bizarreness
Zeno Clash is set in the strange fantasy world Zenozoik, where the character Ghat fleeing his hometown Halstedom for the murder of his hermaphrodite parent “ mother-father “. Dressed in a pair of leather pants, a pair of leg protectors, a shield and various kinds of weapons, you defend yourself against enemies with the game’s most interesting feature: The melee-mechanic.
Zeno Clash is basically a first-person shooter, and with this the developers have implemented a relatively deep combat system. With different combinations using the keyboard and mouse you can block and perform different kinds of melee-attacks.
In addition to the melee, the game also have a couple of ordinary projectile weapons. The game uses an “arena” type of progression, each level is either a small or a bigger arena, after each area is cleared from enemies you progress to the next level, between these levels a story sequence often take place.
It’s unfortunate, the world of Zeno Clash is so interesting that it would be fantastic if the world was bigger, I believe that a open-world concept to this game would be really nice. The story itself is just as bizarre as the game, but not really deep or engaging. It feels like the developers have put more focus on making the game attractive and unique, with the game’s combat system as their main focus. This makes the game fall some in my eyes. The variation in the missions, characters, dialogue, and especially game mechanics are lacking. The game is short, maybe around 4-6 hours long and even though it’s short, it feels repetitive.
The world is rich and colorful with an interesting and unique design, this also applies to the characters and weapon designs. I am very impressed considering that the game is an indie game, they have achieved something that is very rare and incredibly fascinating. The screenshots says it all, the game is incredibly beautiful. The depth of field is a welcomed addition to the source-engine.
Conclusion:
There are few indie games that actually sticks to 3d, and this game is incredibly impressive, although it can become slightly repetitive, even though the lack of variation of gameplay it’s still enjoyable and a different and bizarre experience. I desired it to be a first-person shooter/RPG, and therefore I became a little disappotioned, but do not let my negative words discourage you from this indie game. It’s definitely worth the money.
