Despite having reached its sixth season, the famous TV series of The Walking Dead was still orphaned of an official mobile game, given that the titles produced so far for smartphones and tablets all took inspiration from the original comic: a lack that is now being filled by No Man's Land, a strategic strategy developed by Next Games who, while not actually retracing the adventures of Rick Grimes and his companions, winks several times at the show's fans. Let's go now to find out if beyond appearances there is also a good game ...
Touch and run
Starting with the logo of the application, The Walking Dead: No Man's Land suggests an absolute starring role for Daryl Dixon, one of the most beloved characters of the TV series: in reality he merely acts as a guide during the very first stages of the tutorial, and once this task is finished, he literally disappears from the scene without ever returning to it. Fortunately, the feeling of having been taken a little for a ride is soon replaced by that of being faced with a strategy that may not be very original but competent in every aspect., which does not just rest on the laurels of a high-sounding name.
The user must guide a handful of people in their struggle for survival, dividing himself between the management of the base camp and the command of the individual units during the various missions. In the first case, the game behaves like practically any other belonging to the base building category: through a bird's eye view you have to build the various structures, upgrade them and exploit them to improve the characteristics and equipment of the characters, all while remembering periodically to collect the resources that are produced. The free to play nature of The Walking Dead: No Man's Land emerges forcefully in this area, with the costs of carrying out the various operations and related waiting times that are gradually increasing and forcing the user to a heavy "grind" or to get hold of your wallet by purchasing packs of the inevitable in-game currency. Nothing worse than what has already been seen in similar titles, however, with the possibility offered here too to earn valuable rewards by watching promotional films, often related to the television series itself.
The Walking Dead: No Man's Land does not invent anything new but it is a valid free to play strategy
A sprinkle of X-Com
These are not the only references to the adventures of Rick Grimes and associates: the story behind the game (although very simple and decidedly placed in the background) travels on a parallel track, touching on themes and places that will undoubtedly tickle the interest of fans and that we do not mention here in order not to incur potential spoilers for all those who were not even with the episodes.
During the missions, then, The Walking Dead: No Man's Land proves to be a sort of rose-water XCOM that is anything but despicable: the management of the movements of the characters is completely similar to the tried and tested formula of the Firaxis title (although with some inaccuracies from the point of view of the interface and the control system) but the range of actions that can be performed is much more limited and above all linked to double thread with the class to which the various units belong, with shooters for example who can hit multiple targets in a row, explorers who are lethal in close combat with their knives, and thugs who inflict less damage but can leave opponents stunned. Obviously aware of not being able to count on a great structural depth, the developers of Next Games have focused strongly on an unpredictability factor that actually works quite well: every certain number of turns the battlefield is invaded by new zombies, and there is no shortage of surprise appearances of walkers who can emerge from under a car or a garbage can, forcing the user to quickly change strategy. All in a context in which the main objective of most of the missions is not to eliminate all the enemies, but to collect certain objects or supplies and reach the designated escape area with the least possible losses: a pleasant change of perspective compared to to the average of mobile strategists, which in some way acts as a counterbalance to the very minimal originality of the product. Finally, it doesn't hurt that from a technical point of view The Walking Dead: No Man's Land defends itself quite well: the graphics are functional and defined and the sound more than dignified, while only some unfortunate stylistic choices and an initial loading of the application which is not exactly lightning-fast.
Comment
Tested version iPhone (1.1.1) Digital Delivery App Store Price Free Resources4Gaming.com7.7
Readers (2)7.5
Your vote
The Walking Dead: No Man's Land could have been a lazy tie-in pulled up at the least worst just to scrape together some money with the high-sounding name it carries, and instead it is a valid strategy with basic building elements: it does not invent anything new. and it does not show off great depth, but the Next Games title can still be played with pleasure, thanks also to free-to-play mechanics that do not tread the hand in an exaggerated way on the inevitable in-app purchases.
PRO
- Well oiled mechanics
- Pleasant emphasis on the survival element
- Not too intrusive in-app purchases ...
- ... but which still make themselves felt in the long run
- Originality is not at home
- A few too many inaccuracies here and there
