Ice Station Z

What's Ice Station Z, and where did it come from? At first opinion, one would believe that the game is a result of a zombie-obsessed artist searching for new mediums to set their post-apocalyptic fantasies. That description almost hits the nail on the head. The title is an open-world zombie survival game set in the confines of a freezing weather station in the arctic.

Ice Station Z's concept isn't sparking intrigue or ruffling any feathers. It's been described as a game with mechanics we've seen a thousand times before. So why would the title be at all interesting to those even who are loyal to the genre? Well, zombies. And not just the living dead; its zombies on ice! So we're going to have to try it and be pleasantly surprised!

In the Dead of Winter

Let's get right to the point here. Ice Station Z is not bringing any surprises. Within the first 10 minutes of playing the game, you'll understand that it's poised to serve more frustrations than anything. The game could be more mechanically appealing and visually delicious and integrate more basics of what a zombie survival title should do; keep the player on edge.

Players are immediately plonked into an icy world with little rhyme or reason for what to do. Your bottom 3DS screen will feature an inventory chest telling you to go and survive when there's little or no challenge. All you're doing is running into polygon-blocked zombies, which you and your team will eliminate quickly. It leaves you wanting to find more rather than survive.

You will run out of resources eventually, so players will have to seek out more items randomly scattered around in this procedurally-generated fridge box. What makes matters worse is how such a simple game features a trove of game-breaking bugs. On more than one occasion, you'll walk into a random plot of land and suddenly die, giving little incentive to continue.

Ice Station Z feels more like a portfolio game than anything and does not translate the zombie survival genre to the 3DS. The combat is awful, the survival mechanics barely work, and the immersion factor is non-existent. It will make you and your friends look at each other and wonder why you dropped your hard-earned cash in this cold piece of dead meat.

Nobody Wants to be Assigned to the Ice Station

You've probably already established that Ice Station Z is not a good game. There are too many great open-world zombie titles on the market to give this game a second glance. If you're hard-up for a zombie game in an icy world, a Dayz mod can undoubtedly cure that itch for you.

Round-Up - Pros & Cons

Pros:

• The procedurally-generated world keeps exploring somewhat interesting
• The smartphone-style UI is well-designed
• Combat can get interesting sometimes

Cons:

• Visuals are basic and blocky
• Simple survival mechanics are barely functional
• You'll find game-breaking bugs often