Hovernotes

Zombie Lane an improvement on the social game concept, but still super annoying

Yearsago,backwhenFarmvillehadbecomepopular,Igavethesocialgamingexperiencea whirlbysigningupforYoville.AlittlelessrusticthanFarmville,Yovillemostlyinvolved decoratingyourapartment,thenvisitinganyofmyotherfriendswhohadalsosignedupfor Yovilleaccounts.Inbetweenfixingupmyapartmentandshoppingfordecorationsformy apartment,thereweretheopportunitiestochangemyclothesorappearance,andstopatthe localcoffeeshopwhereIcouldpretendtodrinkcoffee. Asyoucanimagine,therewasntawholelottoYovilletokeepmecomingback.Infact,there wereseveraltimeswhereIwouldjuststareatmycharacterashestoodoutsidetheapartment complexwherehe(I)lived,surroundedbyalloftheothervirtualcharacterswhowerealso standingaround,wonderingoutloudwhatthehelltheyweresupposedtodonext. Imrecallingthisexperience,becauseZombieLanedoesntsufferfromthisproblem.What YovillelackedbutZombieLaneoffersisasenseofpurpose.Thatpurpose?Killzombies,stay alive,saveyourneighbors,blablabla. IhadswornoffplayingtheseFacebooksocialgamesaftermyexperiencewithYoville,andafter Farmvilledidntreallygrabmemuch.But,beingafanofTheWalkingDead,andhavingquitea bitoffreetimetokill,IfiguredIwouldcheckitout. Duringthefirsttenminutes,ZombieLanedeliversonitspremise.Yourneighborhoodisbeing overrunbyzombies,anditisuptoyouandyourfriendstobandtogetherandstopthem.The

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gameisintroducedviaaflashvideowhichdidntplaycorrectlyonmycomputer.Iactuallyhadto reloadFacebookacoupleoftimesbeforeIcouldgettoapointwhereIcouldskipthevideo,and juststartplayingthegame.Yeah,fightzombies,stayalive.Gotcha. ThegameisintroducedviaBobtheneighborhoodsecurityguardwhoyoumustsavefroma bunchofzombies.Hethanksyouforsavinghim,andofferstherewardofashotgunwhichhe cantusebecauseheonlycarriespepperspray.Whymyneighborhoodemployesasecurity guardIdontreallyknow,butIdontmindtheshotgun.Thanks,bud. Fromthereon,thezombiekillingactionisguidedeveryonceinawhilebymissions.Inone mission,youmusthelpBobfindhisradio.Missionsbuildoneachother.Forexample,onceyou findBobsradioyouareabletotalktoyourwifewhoinformsyouthatsheiswalkingthedogand willreturnsoon.Yourmission,afterthat,istofixupthehousebeforeshereturns.Ikindof wonderedifthismadesenseinazombieapocalypse.Imean,wouldntyoujustwaitforyour spouseandthengettheheckoutoftownwithoutworryingaboutwhatthehouselookslike?But, whatever,Ifixedupthehouse. Thisiswherethegamebecamealittlefrustrating.Muchlikemostgames,youarerequiredto maintainorpurchasedifferenttypesofresources.InZombieLane,youmustoftenrestock bulletsforyourgun,andenergyintheformoffood.Othertypesofresourceswhichcameinto playasIwasplayingwasnailsandscrewsforfixingthehouse.Therearesomemixed messageshere,becausewhenyoutrytofixyourhousethegametellsyouthatyouneedto purchasesupplies,butlateronifyoukillsomemorezombiesyouwillfindonethatdropsnails andscrewsafteritdies. Energyisthebiggestdrainonmomentumforthisgame.Bobhelpsyououtbygivingyouafree hotdog,butthatlastsforonlysolong,andafterthatyouwillbeconstantlyrefuelingyour character.Imean,Igetitthatevenvirtualgamepeopleneedtoeat,butmyproblemisreallywith thefrequencyforhowlongyouneedtorecharge,andthewaythatyouareinformed.Whenyour characterrunslowonenergy,awindowpopsupalertingyouandsuggestingthatyoucaneither buyfoodorbuyenergy.Thesetakecash,somethingthatyoucanonlygetbyusingrealworld money. HopefullyyouarefollowingwhereIamgoingwiththis.Thisgamewasdesignedsothatyou reallycantgetveryfarwithoutshellingoutsomeactualmoneyforthingslikesuppliesand energy.Or,inotherwords,itisespeciallychallengingforsomeonewhowantstojustplaythe freeversionofthisgame. Thegamehassomeotherquirks.WhenIvisitedafriendsneighborhood,IdiscoveredthatIhad runoutofmyallotmentofactionsfortheday.Saywhat?Thismeantthataftersomanyzombies killed,somuchdebriskickedaside,andetc,Iwassuddenlypreventedfromdoinganything exceptstandaroundandbeingattackedbyzombies.Iamguessingthisistopreventfriends fromhelpingeachothertoomuch,butstillthiswasreallyannoying. Then,duringthelastmissionIwasplaying,Iencounteredthissuperzombiewhocouldntbe

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killedwithamereshotgun.Oookkay..thanksfortellingme,like,now.ThegametoldmethatI neededtomakehomemadeweapons.Ireturnedtomyhousewhereaworkshophadappeared minutesearlier,buthadntbeenaccessibletomycharacter.Nownotonlywasitaccessiblebut anewscreenappearedwhichexplainedthatIcouldcombineobjectstocreatehomemade weapons.Gasolineandboxingglove,forexample,becameaflamingboxingglove.Thiswas great,exceptIhadtradedinmyboxinggloveformoneysoIcouldbuymoreenergy,whichof courseIhadalreadyusedup. Iknowthatthisisonlyagame,sothemostIcansayaboutitisthatImnotgoingtobereturning toZombieLaneanytimesoon.ThisisjustanotherFacebookgamethatistryingtotrickpeople intospendingmoneyforvirtualthings.Itotallygetthatthecompanyneedstomakemoney,butI dontagreethatthisisthebestway. Forexample,thereisaWalkingDeadgamethatIplayedawhileback.Idownloadedthefirst chapterforfree,withtheunderstandingthatIdhavetobuymorechaptersifIwantedto continue.Otherthanthat,thegamingexperiencewasnotinfluencedatallbythefactthatitwas beingplayedforfree.Myexperiencewassogood,infact,thatIprobablywouldhavepaidto continuethegame.EventheWalkingDeadsocialgameinsideFacebookprovidedamore completeexperiencethanZombieLane. So,ifyouareaskedtohelpsomeoneelsewithZombieLane,Idhavetosaythatitsnotworth thetimeoreffort(Unlesstherequestcomesfrommecuz,really,Icouldusesomehelp).Ifyour teenmentionsthattheyvebeenplayingthisgame,Idbealittleweary.Warnthemthatthegame willconstantlybeaskingthemtobuyvirtualthings,andexplainwheretheirlimitsare. Update:Ihavefoundthattheenergyrebuildsifyouwaitafewhoursbetweenplaying,butIstill dontthinkthatitgivesyouenoughtimetodomuch.