Sometimes sequels are good, ie. Boondock Saints... sometimes they aren't so good... ie. Spider-man 2. However in the case of The Last Stand, it's sequel, The Last Stand 2, really doesn't deliver anything more than the first, but don't get me wrong it does try. The new version, also by Con Artist Productions and Armor Games incorporates a wide variety of new features, heck they even added music... which ruins it. Honestly the new features are the biggest part of what I am going to talk about, so if you are interested in the game play more so, take a look at the first one here.

So to refresh your memory, this game is essentially separated into two parts: killing zombies at night, and searching for people and weapons during the day. Well they haven't really changed anything when it comes to those two main parts, only made them slightly more developed and content rich.

When searching for example, you now have to chose which buildings to look in, and each building requires a different number of hours to search. Also you now gather supplies, these are used to move from location to location. That's right, you are no longer stuck in the same field waiting for an airlift from the army. Actually The Last Stand 2 picks up right where the first left off. The helicopter had an infected person, and went down. Now you have to escape all by yourself to Union City. What this means is going through the connecting cities along the way, battling zombies and getting more supplies.

There are a few problems with this system. What it means is that you no longer have to deal with 20 days and nights of terror. No, actually you can do it in far less. However the maker does give you a total of 40 days with which to complete your task... I managed to do it in 14, and I think I wasted 1 or 2 days. Another silly thing that occurs is, if you hunt for supplies and find some, then manage to get yourself eaten on a wave, you simply press restart and you keep the supplies you found. What this means for the average gamer is that this game has become downright easy street. It is almost impossible not to beat this game, I managed to do it in 16 minutes, and there is nothing after that.

They added a few other things as well. Music plays a small role, however now the fact that you can't change the sound really affects my views of it. They also added items you can find called traps. these traps get positioned before you start the wave in the field in front of your barricade. There are mines, bear traps and what look like propane tanks. Each has advantages and disadvantages, but the thing is they aren't required at all, and are simply content for the sake of content... always a silly thing to do.

A nice feature they added tho, and I was wondering why the first didn't have it, is the ability to select which gun your survivor buddies are holding. This means you can load on the heavy artillery on one side, and not have to worry so much about it. It adds a small amount to the game, and considering the amount this game has lost I really don't think it makes up for it.

I mean the original appeal to me of this game was the attention to detail. Things like the sun rising over the course of the night, the fact that there was no music and the eerie calm you got from it. The fact that it was actually a hard game, and you could simply get stuck on a level and never beat it. But this watered down sequel really does not do the original game justice, it might even be a waste of your time.

Overall I would say it isn't that bad, but I don't know if I'd really suggest you play it, if you like zombie games this is another victory to add on your wall of wins... that's about it.

Rating:

Longevity: 2.0/5
Interface: 3.5/5
Addictiveness: 3.5/5
Sound: 3.5/5
Simplicity: 3.5/5

Overall: 3.2/5

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