StormBASIC has released their 3D survival shooter 7 Days of Apocalypse [link] into the App Store tonight.
The $1.99 game puts you only seven days away from the end of the world as an unknown virus has started turning humans into zombies. The only hope is a Dr. Kayla Cupper who has discovered the source of the infection. Your job is to protect Cupper while she is able to develop a cure for the virus.
The game offers two modes: survival and history with either “bird’s eye" or “back" camera views. Survival is your typical high-score last-longer game in which you are fighting back an endless stream of zombies and ghosts.
The history mode is perhaps more interesting with 7 distinct stages that represent days to the apocalypse. Each day involves accomplishing very specific goals. These include:
Day 1: The Beginning – You have to kill 25 zombies.
Day 2: Protect Cupper – You have to protect a Dr. Cupper from zombies as she (slowly) walks to the mansion.
Day 3: Infected – You have been infected. In this level your life is decreasing continuously, so your only option is kill as fast as possible, to get life items.
Day 4: BioHazard – You have to find some 10 Biohazard containers strewn across the yard
Day 5: Spectral Chaos – You have to kill 35 ghosts.
Day 6: Apocalypse – You have to survive a 5-minute onslaught.
Day 7: Last Hope – You have to protect Dr. Cupper again from zombies, as in level 2, but with more zombies and ghosts.
I actually found the history mode to be quite enjoyable, and felt the distinct goals made the game far more interesting. Trying to complete a specific level was much more of an incentive than simply starting up another survival match. The later levels also add a ghost enemy which can be harder to kill and requires some change in strategy to survive. While I was able to complete the history modes relatively quickly, others seem to be having some difficulty. Regardless, I felt the difficulty progression was a bit off as the 6th level seemed by far the hardest.
Developer’s gameplay video:
In the end, the game successfully delivers what it promises: an effective 3D survival shooter with good controls — and the game’s 3D engine is nicely done. That said, there are a number of fairly obvious “1.0" deficiencies. No global high scores and no difficulty level options are perhaps the most needed to ensure ongoing replayability. Meanwhile, there have been a number of requests to expand the current weapon supply which is limited to only 3 distinct weapons.
While the game’s likely worth the $1.99 in its current form, a few additional improvements could make this game become highly recommended.
Meanwhile, reactions in our discussion thread have been generally positive, with TouchArcade’s Big Albie offering his own first impressions.
App Store Link: 7 Days of Apocalypse, $1.99
