Sony Online Entertainment is currently developing another free-to-play online game called H1Z1 and I was fortunate enough to give it a try. You can buy the Early Access to H1Z1 Alpha version on Steam. The game was released in January this year, and SOE is hoping that H1Z1 will catch the fancy of many online gamers. The game is still in the development stages and the developers are open to feedback from online gamers who have already played the game.
In the game you will face different types of adversaries such as man-eating zombies, hostile people, and flesh eating animals. This is a survival type of game and you will need to defend yourself against your opponents and kill them in order to survive.
The zombies look scary and some of them also move more quickly than the stereotype. There’s a few moments that you will see them in groups, and they will try to chase you, so you need to be stealthy because they can kill you if caught as a group. There are many types of animals found in the game, and some of them are dangerous like wolves and bears, while others, such as small birds, are harmless.
Your main opponents in the game are other online players who will try to hunt you down. There are many towns and cities used in the game, and the landscape is captivating, especially during the day.
The visuals are great because of the use of Forgelight engine. The rays of the sun are realistic as they are, but they are still trying to enhance the lighting effects and shadows. The animations and movements are smooth.
Each time you start the game, you will randomly appear in different locations. Your first mission is to find a safe place where you can feed and defend yourself. At first, you will only have a few items with you such as a flare and a flashlight to guide you when roaming dark places.
At this time, you don’t have weapons to kill enemies or food provisions needed to survive. You need to keep running, so that the other gamers won’t kill you. Look for places that were once inhabited by people because there is a possibility that you will find valuable supplies there.
In order to survive in H1Z1, you need to loot different kinds of things which can be found by searching for them or by killing your enemies and taking their supplies. Here are some tips:
- You can acquire items by searching for them in floors, desks, chests, dressers and abandoned cars.
- You can loot items by killing zombies.
- You can loot items by killing other online gamers.
- You can steal the items of other online gamers by threatening them using your weapons.
- You can acquire meat by killing animals.
- You can create unique items by using the hidden recipes that you find.
- You can acquire wood from trees.
- You can acquire sticks and berries from plants.
- You can get water from wells and streams.
The game has some similarities in real life. If you can’t eat by acquiring meat from slaughtered animals, you will die from starvation. You have to cook the meat first before you can eat it.
Your backpack is one of the most important things that you need to create when you first play the game because this is where you will store most of the items that you collected. To create a backpack, you must find six items made of cloth like caps or shirts.
The sticks can be made into arrows which you can use if you have a bow. In order to make a bow, use your clothes and the sticks that you acquire from the plants. You can eat the berries gathered from plants to increase your energy level.
Your hydration and energy will eventually drain when you run; and if your energy level drops below zero, your health will start to decrease. When your health drops below zero, you will die, and you will drop all the things that you have acquired. These things can be picked by other gamers as well and they can use them.
Overall, the game is engrossing and provides hours of gaming fun. Unlike other zombie survival games and probably one of the most unique things about H1Z1 is that it is the product of collaborative efforts. The developers and gamers are working together to help improve the game. It’s no surprise that the final release of this game will be a big hit. The game is still in the Early Access Alpha version with significant updates several times a week, so expect a lot of improvements to come.
Make sure to check out our H1Z1 Livestream at twitch.tv/GameHaunt.
