Dead Alliance

 Xbox One
Metascore
43

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 7
  3. Negative: 4 out of 7
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  1. New Game Network
    Sep 11, 2017
    45
    You'll want to steer clear of Dead Alliance, especially at its ridiculous $40 price tag. There is a decent game buried here, but digging through the bugs, shallow gameplay and underwhelming mechanics is just not worth it. If you simply love FPS and are quite fond of the idea of weaponized zombies, at least wait until a big price reduction, a number of major patches, or give it a rental.
  2. MondoXbox
    Sep 19, 2017
    40
    Even if based on a very interesting idea, Dead Alliance pitifully falls due to too many technical problems that make it practically unplayable.
  3. XboxAddict
    Nov 1, 2017
    30
    With a myriad of issues, especially extremely outdated visuals and poor performance, sadly this is a very bland shooter with awful execution. Normally I don’t tend to focus on the negatives, but instead talk about what a game does well, but there’s simply not that much done well here aside from a neat idea with poor gameplay execution. At the end of the day, and like its enemies contained within, this game should stay dead like its zombies.
  5. TheXboxHub
    Sep 20, 2017
    30
    I was hoping to be blown away by Dead Alliance, but a dwindling player base, poor gameplay, terrible bugs and a lack of content make this just another disappointment within a once great genre.

Awards & Rankings

57
#57 Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2017

User Reviews

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User Score
3.5

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 6
  3. Negative: 3 out of 6
  1. GBG_Jason
    Sep 28, 2017
    5
    Imagine playing Call of Duty Nazi Zombies and having your teammates completely lose it and attack you on a whim, picking you off from acrossImagine playing Call of Duty Nazi Zombies and having your teammates completely lose it and attack you on a whim, picking you off from across the map while you are evading the undead. Sounds like an adrenaline rush and a welcome change from the formula that Call of Duty has done again and again, right? That is the premise that Dead Alliance offers, with mixed results.

    At launch, there are a total of 6 maps; while not awe inspiring visually, they are well designed for intense firefights. Most of the maps consist of close quarter indoor locales, but there is some variety with the outdoor battlegrounds. While they do lack the nooks and crannies that Call of Duty and other FPS games offer, the levels are easy to navigate. I feel like this may have been a design choice to encourage constant movement, because you will find this is the only way to stay alive. The only real issue I have with the level design is the spawn points, as there simply aren’t enough of them and you will always spawn within a few feet of an opponent.

    You’ll find all of the token FPS game modes in the multiplayer suite, with Team Deathmatch and Free-For-All being the most populated playlists. I found FFA to be my go to, as there is currently an issue balancing teams. On multiple occasions, I found myself going solo against a full team. To add insult to injury, if you do happen to have a friend whom you surely talked into buying this game after reading my shining review, there is no guarantee that you will be placed on the same team. In addition to the balancing issue, there are issues with unstable connections, rubber banding from one end of the map to the other, intermittent lag, and a massive host advantage. During most occasions that I could confirm I was the host, it would take a swarm of zombies as well as 3 opponents in a group to kill me. While I enjoyed this, my opponents were likely ready to rage quit.

    The single player content is only available via add on from the Multiplayer Edition ($24.99), or included in the complete edition ($39.99). I would avoid the single player, as it only includes the option of playing the online mode against bots, or a basic survival mode where you battle or evade waves of zombies. While I found playing against the bots to be a smoother, if not more enjoyable experience than the multiplayer, the survival mode is a nightmare. You’ll be given a single pistol and set loose on a map that is covered in a green fog that will kill you if you stay in it too long. You’ll find random points that are designated as safe zones, in which you will simply stand there, typically in the open, and shoot zombies that barely move, let alone attack you. The fog is more of a threat than most of the zombies in this mode, or the remainder of the game.

    Completing objectives and racking up player kills will net you experience and money to upgrade your character and his arsenal. Sadly, the arsenal only includes a few classes, which are each available with 2 -3 weapon options and a handful of unlockable perks and killstreaks. You’ll need to reach the proper level and acquire enough funds to purchase the items you wish to use. Most of these are not available until your rank is in the double digits. On average, I gained approximately $1000 and a1 level every 2 to 3 games, so some grinding will be involved if you wish to unlock the better equipment. You’ll also have access to grenades and other abilities that allow you to send the meandering corpses into a frenzy, attacking your enemies. While it is not the most effective way to win, it does lead to some nice postmortem kills.

    The presentation is a mixed bag of mediocrity. I found my teammates and opponents to be on par with what I found on Counter Strike: GO, which was released on last gen hardware a number of years ago, with the zombies simply appearing to be unfinished and bland. You’ll find less than 10 skins of the same lumbering zombies, with little variation between them, and animations so bad you’ll swear you’re playing a bootleg of an unfinished game from last generation hardware. There are missing frames, horrible animations, and lackluster execution scenes. The announcer, similar to the one featured in Call of Duty, sounds bored and as if he is about to fall asleep.

    The biggest issue with the game is by far the controls. While they are setup in an intuitive fashion, simply cloning the standard FPS scheme, the aiming and melee attacks are awful. The right analog stick seems to drag beyond when you stop, as if your controller is drifting to a specific point, and your melee only responds approximately every 3 times you try to stab someone, almost as if it’s on a timer.

    As far as bad games go, Dead Alliance is not as terrible as some others, and it could be turned around into an enjoyable experience with a few patches and some server maintenance. It's best experienced with friends after a few beers and extremely low expectations.    … Full Review »
  2. SuperkenGaming
    Sep 1, 2017
    5
    DEAD Alliance
    A decent game held back by its ridiculous grind
    Dead Alliance is basically Call of duty with zombies running around.. There    DEAD Alliance
    A decent game held back by its ridiculous grind
    Dead Alliance is basically Call of duty with zombies running around..
    There is a competitive online mode, a single player mode where you play with bots or in survival
    There is no campaign here…
    It’s a 4v4 multiplayer shooter where zombies are running around the map that you can use against your opponent...
    this is the twist of the game and it’s a really great twist..
    There are 3 classes, light, medium, and heavy, with their own weapons, but you’re also able to customize a loadout and choose the grenades you take with you and the kill streaks and perks you earn...
    these aren’t your typical grenades though…
    they all have to do more with effecting zombies than they do your enemies…
    you carry 2 different types.. one for example you can use to lure zombies to one spot and then throw a grenade to turn them on your side and they will run towards the nearest enemy
    it’s fun playing with different combinations in the matches…
    You can’t choose the match type you play though which I don’t mind too much as this is a smaller game.. It’s probably hard enough to fill servers as it is...
    instead you’ll play the games 6 modes at random, those being king of the hill capture and hold, team death match, free for all capture the flag, and attrition.. Your typical competitive shooter modes across, 6 different maps...
    these maps aren’t anything special but I was still having tons of fun with this game…
    And then my fun just stopped…
    And this is because the game is asking way too much from a player to unlock new abilities, perks, weapons, and items for those weapons…
    I was cleaning house in these matches, one match getting close to 100 kills for my team and I never felt I was rewarded efficiently for this…
    After my first hour and a half of playing and dominating most matches, I was only level 7 with a little less than $6000 earned…. The average single attachment is anywhere from 10 to 25000
    that’s just for one attachment, grenades around 15,000 all the way up to 50,000, with perks being the only decently prices items ranging from $3000 to $35,000, but even then some have ridiculous level requirements… like level 35 or level 50
    so on average you’re going to be making around 4k per hour of playing
    you’re looking at 3 hours just to try out 1 single new attachment for your weapon
    let alone the 4 more hours you’ll need to try out a new grenade… or 1 to 2 more hours on top of that to try out 1 new perk…
    It’s a joke how little this game pays out..
    You need hook and variety is how you do that...
    you need players playing with different combinations and making different loadouts for specific match type…
    you don’t want them playing to unlock those things…
    you want them playing with those things behind this wall for them to find their perfect combinations and mastering them…
    I’m not saying have everything unlocked from the start, but 3 hours just to try out 1 new attachment,
    get out of here with your unpolished feeling call of duty with zombies nonsense
    0 respect for the players time
    I give Dead Alliance
    a 5/10    … Full Review »
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