[PAX Prime 2012] Contagion

[UWCrash]

Those who played around in the Half-Life mod communities may have heard of a little game called Zombie Panic (or the later ZP: Source). A couple years back the founder of Zombie Panic started an indie developer studio called Monochrome LLC, and their first title, Contagion, was playable at this year’s PAX Prime.

Contagion is a multiplayer zombie-based survival horror title, as you may have guessed from the name and the company’s roots. Playable on the show floor was Extraction mode. Extraction’s objective for human players is to meet up with an NPC survivor, fortify their position, and make a break for the escape vehicle when it arrives. There are certainly parallels to the last act of most Left 4 Dead campaigns here, but you’ll have additional tools, such as a nail gun and boards, to help barricade and defend your position until it’s time to flee the scene. Should a human player be taken down during the course of a mission, they’ll switch teams and join the infected horde.

Naturally the infected players will just be looking to munch on some brains, but they’ll have more than just teeth and nails to get the job done. They’ll be sporting an enhanced vision mode which highlights that juicy cerebral tissue and provides a wider FOV. They also have the ability to “roar”, rallying nearby NPC infected to follow in a charge against the humans.

Contagion is still in the alpha stages, so while the game was playable it was still a little rough around the edges. Right now only Extraction mode has been announced, but there will be a handful of different gameplay modes come release. There are also plans for different types of respawning as human players switch teams. There might not be much to go on right now, but this should be one to keep an eye on as more details emerge over the next few months. Currently, Monochrome is looking at a release around Summer 2013.

[Ghostbear]

Looks good to me, I didn't get a chance to look at it during the show. I look forward to giving it a try.

[menage]

Sometimes I miss the days of Alien invasions. Or dinosaurs.