State of Decay: Lifeline

Lifeline for PC and X360 is the second (after Breakdown) DLC for the survival action game State of Decay which takes place during a zombie apocalypse. In comparison to the previous expansion, this DLC is much greater in volume. Most notably, it consists of a new storyline which takes place in a new location. Similarly as in case of the basic game, the expansion was created by Undead Labs.

Plot

The new story concentrates on a soldier who is part of the Greyhound One squad. He is sent to the city of Denforth – a location that was previously unavailable – and tasked with evacuating a group of scientists who might have knowledge and resources required for creating an antidote for the zombie virus. However, it is not a quick operation – the action takes place during a few days. The protagonist and his allies operate from a military base called Landing Zone. Similarly as in case of the hideout from the basic version of the game, the player must reinforce their base to be able to repel attacks of the living dead and add various buildings such as communication center, electricity generator and a toilet (which stops the diseases from spreading).

Mechanics

What’s interesting, Lifeline for PC and X360 turns around the gameplay from the original game. The action of the game takes place shortly after the apocalypse starts and at first the player has a whole arsenal of equipment required for defeating zombies – a new weapon, air strikes, artillery strikes. However, after a while most of the resources become irreversibly depleted (some of the losses can be reduced by exploring the world in search for supplies) and the protagonist must learn to use provisory equipment. A workshop, one more structure available in the base, can be very helpful since it allows transforming one ammunition type into another.

The campaign in Lifeline for PC and X360 lasts for from 4 to 6 hours, but the developers added a bit of non-linearity to it – there are characters in the team that offer different ways of completing missions. These ways often exclude each other, making the game less predictable when completing it more than once. The expansion also offers a more advanced while still intuitive system of giving commands to the followers.

Last updated on 29 April 2014