Head ‘em Off at the Pass!
Nobody said starting a new life in the territories would be easy, but when the recently departed rise from their graves to devour the living, it makes a train robbery seem quaint by comparison. Zombicide: Undead or Alive takes players out West for some zombie-fighting action. For this new, standalone entry into the Zombicide series, the designers developed some exciting new twists to the gameplay that fans know and love. Let’s take a look at some of them.
The changes start with the Survivors themselves. There are four new classes that players can choose: the steady-handed Gunslinger, the rough and tumble Brawler, the pious frontier evangelist Faithful, and the everyday, salt-of-the-earth Townsfolk. Each class has its own unique skill and preferred weapon. Gunslingers, as would be expected, like to let their shootin’ do the talkin’ for them. They’ve honed their skills to the point where they can rapidly unload a whole mess of shots at once using their Fanning ability. Meanwhile, Brawlers like to get up-close and personal. A chair-breaking saloon fight is just a good Saturday night for them, and their rugged frames provide them 3HP, along with allowing them to Charge right into the mix!. The Faithful bring the power of heaven everywhere they go. The strength of their convictions can stop an entire horde right in their tracks with the powerful Vade Retro ability. Finally, the Townsfolk have been in town for so long, they know the place like the back of their hands. This allows them to Search multiple times for what they need and ignore Line of Sight requirements while indoors!
And what about the town itself? The terrain tiles that players fight on are all-new and provide fresh opportunities and challenges. Some buildings feature balconies, elevated spots perfect for setting up a sniper’s nest to take out the undead. However, with only one way in and out of them, Survivors need to make sure they don’t get trapped up there!
Hear that whistle? That’s a train a-comin’. These iron behemoths of steam and coal were part of everyday life back then, and now they’re an exciting new mechanic in Zombicide: Undead or Alive. As the train speeds through town, any zombies it runs over will be instantly eliminated. Survivors better be smart enough to know when to step out of the way, even if it is dramatically right at the last moment. All aboard the Zombie-Crushing Express!
The zombie spawning rules have been upgraded as well! First up, every building has a room with a Corpse Pile. When entering a building for the first time, instead of doing the regular Zombie Spawn in each room like in previous versions, activate a Corpse Pile Spawn Zone from which Zombies will continually emerge until Survivors purify it with Holy Water. There are also Abomination Spawn Zones, that only activate when there’s an Abomination around.
That’s hardly all that’s new in Undead or Alive. There’s the Gatling gun, how Survivors’ favored weapons work, or the Bang/BOOM noise token! And then of course, there’s the dynamite. Check out the campaign for even more game play reveals.
Zombicide: Undead or Alive is coming to Kickstarter on February 17 at 3pm Eastern. See ya at the campaign, pardner.
