Pandemic Express is a zombie FPS offering on PC from tinyBuild. The game is online multiplayer only with an option to practice by yourself. Additional content is unlocked by leveling up your account as you play matches. The objective of the game is to board a train and escape the area while remaining a human.
All Aboard the Pain Train
Each match begins with 30 players in a locked room with a countdown timer. Once the time expires, a player is randomly selected to become the first zombie, who then has a short time to attempt to turn additional players before the room is unlocked.
At this point, it becomes a frenetic game of cat and mouse. The human players attempt to reach and board the train. While the zombie players attempt to turn the remaining humans.
The human players are able to find and utilize a multitude of different firearms and health boosters. Firearms include pistols, shotguns, sub-machine guns, and sniper rifles. You must also find ammunition for these weapons as the match goes on. Humans can also find and utilize vehicles in order to cover more ground faster.
While the zombies have an infinite number of respawns, each time giving them the chance to gain a special zombie power. These include invisibility, exploding on death, and a Narwhal-like horn that can be used to impale humans and drag them to your zombie compatriots. Zombies are also able to catapult each other, which makes a great tool for ambushing humans.
The gameplay is crisp and responsive. A simple control layout and intuitive controls allowed me to jump right into the game and feel comfortable navigating the environment. I experienced no lag or frame rate drop at any point, despite there being 30 players on screen. One downside to the gameplay is the occasional player who insists on being rude and vulgar over the mic, which is a shared lobby for all humans and a separate lobby for zombies. This is easily mitigated however with an easily navigated mute function.
The Zombies Always Win…..
The only complaint I can lodge about this game is that it seems extremely unbalanced. Over the course of play for this review, the humans were never able to ride the train out to the station. The zombies always spawn in areas that are in front of the train, usually with a height advantage. There is definitely some balancing that could be done.
However, even with that complaint, it is still a fun experience. The matches are short enough that you can complete 3-5 in an hour. I experienced no technical hiccups during game-play. Overall, I would rate this title a 3 out of 5. Should the game become better balanced, I would change that to a 4 out of 5. Currently Pandemic Express is available on PC. This review was completed on PC with Keyboard and mouse.