Post by diggergoreman on Dec 21, 2010 17:16:08 GMT -5
This game is a superior treatment of the zombie/Resident Evil genre and fits perfectly between simple, mindless (strange that adjective should enter my "brain") zombie games and more complex board/miniatures simulations.... This is what I wanted... expected... and happily received!
My initial Review:
I have to admit to being extremely pre-disposed toward both card games and zombie properties. So the Deluxe Contagion Survival Kit of Endicott Epidemic: Infectious Contagion was too much to pass up. I was hoping for something more involved/complex than Steve Jackson's "Zombie Dice", Looney Labs "Zombie Fluxx", Cambridge Games Factory "Zombies in my Pocket" and less so than Two Hour Wargame's "All Things Zombie". In this I felt I was well rewarded, as the game involves more decision making and strategy than the former three games mentioned, and not as much involvement as the latter board/miniatures game. We played 4 games at the initial sitting: 2x 2 player and 2x 3 player sets. All were at "Easy" rating.
The Good:
Card quality is excellent. Counters are abundant and the rulebook is in large font, making it easy to read. Card art is both functional and the zombies depicted are both "realistic" and full of character. Each zombie has an individual name and a sufficient amount of humor both in name, hit placement and at least one hilariously game changing "omission". Not a mistake, mind you, but our first game was progressing swimmingly with my partner making quite a few head shots... till he met "Joe". Of course, he rolled a head shot and reached for the card to add to his dead pile... till I showed him that headless Joe, indeed, had no head to head shot.... The counter-attacking Joe then killed/infected my friend and we lost the game! Outrageously funny, putting in a zombie that can't be head shot....
The second game we were looking good and getting toward the bottom of the deck when time ran out (the fourth countdown card was drawn) and MBI nuked us. The third game we ran into another nuking, and right as the TANKER zombie showed up (actually he was the next card after the fourth countdown was drawn). Obviously MBI wasn't going to let their errors evolve! The last game we found the Hermit, secured the incriminating data against MBI and hopped aboard the Chopper... one card before TANKER showed up again and two cards before the timer ran out for nuclear meltdown!!! Obviously this game has an excellent synergy of game play. Definitely challenging and worth many replays as there are three harder levels and even solo play.
Expandability is a plus for me. I like that the survival kit came with 6 additional game cards. An insert tells of at least 5 planned, themed expansions. Ninety-eight more cards covering MBI's insertion of Black Ops hunters, expanding radioactivity, an increasing/coordinating zombie Horde, a sinister Events Pack and threats in multiple towns.... I'm drooling like a zombie in a packed hospital ward....
The Mediocre:
Not much here (and that's good). The play aids (3x gaming mats that come as part of the Survival Kit) are merely functional, but well enough made to provide long play life.
The Not So Good:
Hate to do it, but gotta pick a few nits here. First is the ridiculous postage/shipping charge of $6.50 USD. For this, the box was sent in a paper/bubble-wrap mailer... and got partially crushed on one end. Too much for too little, and a testament to how much I love zombie games, as I almost didn't bite because of the shipping charge.
(Jim Mauro of TOG entertainment has graciously offered to send me another box.)
The insert, to hold cards and parts, is a disaster! It has no backing and won't hold the materials well at all. I had to cut and glue a back to it to make it functional. All the materials may not fit back inside.
(TOG is already redesigning the insert to correct this.... Nice!!!)
Third, and the only game concern, is the on-card rules explanations. They are in small, white print which is barely readable, even with my glasses on.
The Bottom Line:
This is a spectacular game that captures the hectic, desperate feel of a Resident Evil movie! The Core Deck is well worth having and you'll love the feel of play, whether a fan of zombie or Resident Evil genres. In-game replay and expansions will keep the game fresh and constantly in your game bag for the foreseeable future. If TOG Entertainment will reduce the shipping to cost, and improve the aide components/box, the expansion will also be well worth the cost. My advice: DEFINITELY buy this game!
Digger Goreman
Veteran Gamer (35 years)
__________________________________________
And now the questions/clarifications:
1) With the way the 4 decks are shuffled, the cure card(s) could find themselves below the last countdown card (as happened in one of our games)? If so, you guys are delightfully evil!
2) P8 of the expanded rulebook. "Item Card:" has the zombie card text under the header. What text should be there?
3) P10, et al., Even if you are carrying/equipping two items, can a drawn/left First Aid Kit be immediately used? May a left FAK be used in the presence of an existing zombie?
4) P12, et al., "Combat Modifiers": (clarification) If my modifiers are +3/-3, then I can use one of the following modifiers on any particular die roll... +3, +2, +1, 0, -1, -2, -3 ?
5) P13, "Dealing Damage": On one particular turn, you have a zombie in play. If I understand correctly, you must roll the combat die (over and over within the particular turn) until you either eliminate the zombie, or fail to achieve a hit, at which time the zombie successfully counter-attacks.
6) P14, "Items: Hide It" Can you place the card on top of the draw deck?
7) P16, "Reshuffle" I assume this includes reshuffling the discard pile into the draw pile and using this as the new draw pile?
8) P16, "Respawn" The skull icon is displaced in the second paragraph.
9) P16/17, "Respawn" If I have a 3 headshot zombie and a 2 headshot zombie, may I respawn my 4 icon character by overpaying the cost, or must I have a combination of 4 headshot zombies exactly? The wording is somewhat ambiguous....
10) P17-19, "Becoming Infected" Do headshots overrule the need to destroy your infected character's hit zone also?
11) P18, "Becoming Infected" If an existing zombie(s) do not have any wounds on them, is your infected character's turn effectively passed, as you have nothing to do?
12) P19, "Becoming Infected" Is a Cure Retrieval attempt in addition to your action, or is it your action? I.e., may you draw a card after a CR attempt? May you make a CR attempt with another zombie in play?
Thanks for the answers and thanks for A GREAT GAME!
DG
My initial Review:
I have to admit to being extremely pre-disposed toward both card games and zombie properties. So the Deluxe Contagion Survival Kit of Endicott Epidemic: Infectious Contagion was too much to pass up. I was hoping for something more involved/complex than Steve Jackson's "Zombie Dice", Looney Labs "Zombie Fluxx", Cambridge Games Factory "Zombies in my Pocket" and less so than Two Hour Wargame's "All Things Zombie". In this I felt I was well rewarded, as the game involves more decision making and strategy than the former three games mentioned, and not as much involvement as the latter board/miniatures game. We played 4 games at the initial sitting: 2x 2 player and 2x 3 player sets. All were at "Easy" rating.
The Good:
Card quality is excellent. Counters are abundant and the rulebook is in large font, making it easy to read. Card art is both functional and the zombies depicted are both "realistic" and full of character. Each zombie has an individual name and a sufficient amount of humor both in name, hit placement and at least one hilariously game changing "omission". Not a mistake, mind you, but our first game was progressing swimmingly with my partner making quite a few head shots... till he met "Joe". Of course, he rolled a head shot and reached for the card to add to his dead pile... till I showed him that headless Joe, indeed, had no head to head shot.... The counter-attacking Joe then killed/infected my friend and we lost the game! Outrageously funny, putting in a zombie that can't be head shot....
The second game we were looking good and getting toward the bottom of the deck when time ran out (the fourth countdown card was drawn) and MBI nuked us. The third game we ran into another nuking, and right as the TANKER zombie showed up (actually he was the next card after the fourth countdown was drawn). Obviously MBI wasn't going to let their errors evolve! The last game we found the Hermit, secured the incriminating data against MBI and hopped aboard the Chopper... one card before TANKER showed up again and two cards before the timer ran out for nuclear meltdown!!! Obviously this game has an excellent synergy of game play. Definitely challenging and worth many replays as there are three harder levels and even solo play.
Expandability is a plus for me. I like that the survival kit came with 6 additional game cards. An insert tells of at least 5 planned, themed expansions. Ninety-eight more cards covering MBI's insertion of Black Ops hunters, expanding radioactivity, an increasing/coordinating zombie Horde, a sinister Events Pack and threats in multiple towns.... I'm drooling like a zombie in a packed hospital ward....
The Mediocre:
Not much here (and that's good). The play aids (3x gaming mats that come as part of the Survival Kit) are merely functional, but well enough made to provide long play life.
The Not So Good:
Hate to do it, but gotta pick a few nits here. First is the ridiculous postage/shipping charge of $6.50 USD. For this, the box was sent in a paper/bubble-wrap mailer... and got partially crushed on one end. Too much for too little, and a testament to how much I love zombie games, as I almost didn't bite because of the shipping charge.
(Jim Mauro of TOG entertainment has graciously offered to send me another box.)
The insert, to hold cards and parts, is a disaster! It has no backing and won't hold the materials well at all. I had to cut and glue a back to it to make it functional. All the materials may not fit back inside.
(TOG is already redesigning the insert to correct this.... Nice!!!)
Third, and the only game concern, is the on-card rules explanations. They are in small, white print which is barely readable, even with my glasses on.
The Bottom Line:
This is a spectacular game that captures the hectic, desperate feel of a Resident Evil movie! The Core Deck is well worth having and you'll love the feel of play, whether a fan of zombie or Resident Evil genres. In-game replay and expansions will keep the game fresh and constantly in your game bag for the foreseeable future. If TOG Entertainment will reduce the shipping to cost, and improve the aide components/box, the expansion will also be well worth the cost. My advice: DEFINITELY buy this game!
Digger Goreman
Veteran Gamer (35 years)
__________________________________________
And now the questions/clarifications:
1) With the way the 4 decks are shuffled, the cure card(s) could find themselves below the last countdown card (as happened in one of our games)? If so, you guys are delightfully evil!
2) P8 of the expanded rulebook. "Item Card:" has the zombie card text under the header. What text should be there?
3) P10, et al., Even if you are carrying/equipping two items, can a drawn/left First Aid Kit be immediately used? May a left FAK be used in the presence of an existing zombie?
4) P12, et al., "Combat Modifiers": (clarification) If my modifiers are +3/-3, then I can use one of the following modifiers on any particular die roll... +3, +2, +1, 0, -1, -2, -3 ?
5) P13, "Dealing Damage": On one particular turn, you have a zombie in play. If I understand correctly, you must roll the combat die (over and over within the particular turn) until you either eliminate the zombie, or fail to achieve a hit, at which time the zombie successfully counter-attacks.
6) P14, "Items: Hide It" Can you place the card on top of the draw deck?
7) P16, "Reshuffle" I assume this includes reshuffling the discard pile into the draw pile and using this as the new draw pile?
8) P16, "Respawn" The skull icon is displaced in the second paragraph.
9) P16/17, "Respawn" If I have a 3 headshot zombie and a 2 headshot zombie, may I respawn my 4 icon character by overpaying the cost, or must I have a combination of 4 headshot zombies exactly? The wording is somewhat ambiguous....
10) P17-19, "Becoming Infected" Do headshots overrule the need to destroy your infected character's hit zone also?
11) P18, "Becoming Infected" If an existing zombie(s) do not have any wounds on them, is your infected character's turn effectively passed, as you have nothing to do?
12) P19, "Becoming Infected" Is a Cure Retrieval attempt in addition to your action, or is it your action? I.e., may you draw a card after a CR attempt? May you make a CR attempt with another zombie in play?
Thanks for the answers and thanks for A GREAT GAME!
DG
![Douglas Harvey [TOG] Avatar](http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/1770/harveystudios.jpg)
... isn't the Minigun's use every three turns...? (Use it and turn the card... turn the card back next turn... use on subsequent turn....)