Trapped Dead has several original ideas and use the zombie apocalypse setting as no one else has ever done. Pity then that it falls under the blows of too many defects and a rough implementation.
This game puts more emphasis on Tactics rather than mindless button mashing "just to kill as many as possible" unlike recent zombies games. 3 zombies at the same time can be a problem, hence, kiting and careful ammo distribution is critical to your survival. All of this coupled with a "Command & Conquer" interface where each of your survivors can be given an order. You can even move the camera to see the horrors that lies ahead and plan carefully.
The atmosphere and the setting is highly detailed, especially the map props. Any fans of George A. Romero's zombies and movies will feel right at home. Heck, the first 2 playable characters are direct cameos of his movies. It's like a big party and everyone was invited.
I haven't tried Multiplayer, but thinking about it makes me shiver... Having "mean" players on your side, hoarding all the guns and ammo, talking trash in the chat saying "he's the boss and he doesn't give a f because it's the zombie apocalypse", closing doors leaving you behind with a horde, shooting you to death because you're bleeding and bleeding in this game attracts zombies... stuff like that... :P
Last note... This game is for hardcore zombie movie/game fanatics only. Only these people may appreciate the great value of this game. That includes me, which is why I'm giving it 10/10.
New on Steam for 8 Euros, the game is worth the money.
Its not very fast but more tactical, you control a few guys in the style of Party RPGs and battle against several zombies. Leveldesign is ok, story not bad. For a Zombie Fan a nice game for the fun in-between
Earns points for originality, but with better pacing and a heftier casting budget, it could have been a much better zombie game contender. [Nov 2011, p.79]
Killing the first few zombies in the tutorial level alone shows the violence and tactical planning that could have made the game something special. As you progress however, all the bugs, all the inconsistent controls, all the unbalanced gameplay, and the awful checkpoint system completely ruin the experience.
Returning to the horror genre's roots might be a good idea, but Trapped Dead doesn't offer convincing evidence of the idea's merits. It fumbles at every step except -- with the possible exception of mimicking comic books in its menus and cutscenes.
This game have a lot of bad reviews because bugs when it was released, but now days these bugs are no longer. Is not a perfect game, but I like it a lot, simple strategy and the possibility to order character while game is paused.
Just remember to use attack with left **** pressed to order "auto attack", really useful. Is a good game for people who want a simple stategy / adventure game, also it have simple but good plot and level design.
I was very excited about this game, but once i tried it, i felt that something was missing. It could have more strategy and less clicking. Unfortunately it doesnt, and that ruins it for me.
There's a lot to be liked about this game. The atmosphere is right for a zombie apocalypse setting and the controls actually work well, once you remap them to something that works for you. Where the game loses appeal for me is in the micromanagement of each of the characters. Your characters (1-4, depending on the stage of the game) just stand there like Happy Meals on legs, as Spike would put it, unless you actively manage all of their actions. You can (and should) pause the time to plot out their individual actions and not try to handle them all at once, but this gets tedious. Adding some character AI to let you manage as many or as few of them as you want would have gone a long way toward making this a pretty awesome game. Even just basic behaviors like "follow this other character", "if you see a zombie, run away from it" or "if you have a weapon, use it" would have made a world of difference. Most tactical games have some degree of autonomy for the units, even when micromanagement is the goal. But if you don't mind having to micromanage the 4 characters... ALL THE TIME, the game is quite fun and during its good moments, kind of feels like an isometric version of Left 4 Dead, which is not at all a bad thing. Hear that, Steam? An isometric version of Left 4 Dead would be awesome! Just saying. :-)
This game could be much better. In fact, I had some fun with it until it became unplayable due to frame-rate issues. Not sure what that's all about, but if that never happened I would have put some more time into 'Trapped Dead'. The premise is every generic zombie movie you've ever seen, but the game could be decent if the developers fleshed out more of the ideas and if the many bugs were addressed. Simply put, there are just too many technical and non-technical issues with this game to recommend it to anyone for any price.
What's wrong with 'Trapped Dead'? It basically feels like a beta release. The controls are terrible. The graphics are terrible. The sounds are terrible. There are frame-rate issues. The characters have no depth. The story is boring. There isn't enough player guidance. Everything just feels incomplete and in need of work. As if the developers got sick of working on it and decided to release it, hoping that nobody would notice. Treat this game like the zombies it attempts to portray and run as far and as fast away from it as you can. You have been warned.