DayZ Standalone is a survival open world game created by Bohemia Interactive, who is also responsible for Arma 2. Will DayZ be the new best survival game out there?
Gameplay
DayZ plays like a standard survival game that had previously come from the Arma 2 mod, using the same map from the mod but with a few more extra towns and cabins. You think this is like any normal game? It is not you are dropped in a world with nothing but the clothes on your back. To survive, you have to immediately dare to scour towns for supplies, whilst competing against other players; itβs kill or be killed. If a player doesnβt get you, a zombie might. Bohemia sure isnβt going to make this easy for you.
To top it off, Bohemia scoffed at all those games with mere hunger mechanisms. Theyβve taken in a step further and added thirst to the mix. When the going gets tough, youβll find yourself fighting an enemy player for a grain of rice just to satiate your rumbling stomach, because food and water is extremely difficult to find. But when you get so hungry that a piece of mouldy, rotten food begins to look appealing, control yourself β rotten food leads to sickness. And letβs face it youβve got enough to contend with already!
As you might expect, weapons and tools are your best friends. Youβre forced to be resourceful β tins of food need to be opened, sending you on a hunt for something to break it open with. Be warned β some such tools can cause βspillβ, which means half your food is lost. In this case, crying over spilt milk is perfectly acceptable. The choice between a bat or a sniper can be the difference between life or death when faced with an enemy player. Ammunition is rare commodity, which adds a touch of realism to this zombie apocalypse scenario. This means that you will often find yourself wildly smacking at a zombie with a melee weapon, which conserves ammunition, but means you are more likely to be hit. And, you guessed it β a hit means bleeding.
You can customise your weapons by adding attachments, such as flash lights. The range of attachments you can use is vast, but itβs difficult to get your hands on them. Similarly, the range of cloths you can use, with which you can create anything from bandannas to motor bike helmets, is wide and fun. This gives you plenty of freedom to really personalise your character, even changing the colours of your gear and outfit. Just grab a colourful spray can and get creative!
Survival
Bohemia Interactive has honed the realism of DayZ by including numerous health hazards which can cause you to become sick, faint, or to die. Getting your hands on resources required for survival is complicated by factoring in the other players who are looking for the same thing. For some items, youβre forced to search in more specific locations, such as military bases for guns and ammunition. Items in DayZ do not come to your shiny and in their original packaging, however β not even ammunition. You will pick things up in either a broken, damaged or pristine state. Damaged ammunition can cause your weapon to jam, which is certainly not fun when you are mid-gun fight with another player.
Medical supplies are also varied, designed to match up to the various ailments you can pick up on your character. Painkillers, bandages and blood kits are rarities, sought after by all players simply because they could save your life. Even actions you have been doing in games for your entire life, such as leaping carefree into a river, has negative and realist drawbacks in DayZ. You can catch pneumonia, and will also find that your clothes are left damp and damaged, which will eventually lead to some other nasty sickness. Catching yourself your death is a very likely situation.
This cause and effect system makes DayZ feel as much like a real-life situation as possible. Your every move can have consequences.
Playing with a friend can increase you life span by just having two or even three people with you means you are safer and more aware, this also means you can cover more ground and split the goodies at the end, Itβs also nicer to have someone to talk to on your scavenge.
Overall thoughts and opinions
Baring in mind that DayZ is still in development, itβs very fun to play, there are endless possibilities that you are able to do, you really feel like you are a part of the game with all the customizations with eating and drinking bars thrown in there is a lot to think about. Feeling paranoid that you are being followed and constantly watching your back. Makes you pay attention really staying focused on your surroundings with your heart constantly beating if someoneβs around the corner.
The PVP system is fair with no other player getting any special privileges except from what medical and weapons that they have acquired, Playing with a friend defiantly makes the game more fun, with communication as there is no in-game chat, but can also cause problems between loot sharing as its always so precious but who doesnβt enjoy company in a apocalypse.
How ever there are a few problems/bugs with the game (as you would expect), Loot is one of the main issues with the game as Dayz has become so popular more players are beginning to join, but the loot has not been set to a high enough spawn rate, which causes players to die from lack of food or equipment. Also the melee combat system against zombies is slightly problematic when trying to get a hit on their head, the zombie with jump around or stay alive then hitting you causing you to bleed then dying after would.
Overall this game is worth a look. With DayZ doing constant updates, most errors will be fixed in no time. And more to come in the future.
Grab a copy of Dayz Here
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