'Undead Nightmare' is a fun spin on 'Red Dead Redemption’s' formula that offers few surprises but is one enjoyable ride.

'Undead Nightmare' is a stand-alone single player campaign that is separate from the main 'Red Dead Redemption' game (so the DLC will not affect your previous “Red Dead Redemption” game saves). The story (which plays at about 5-7 hours) revolves around John Marston’s attempt to save his family from the plague and/or curse that is afflicting the people of the Southern United States and Mexico. Every town and city has zombies and John must save survivors, some new and many old characters, in order to find the cause of the zombie apocalypse. From the very outset it is obvious that 'Undead Nightmare' is based off of B-movie horror films and the camp, horror, and humour of such films are all present. However, if you are looking for a scary game then look elsewhere. 'Undead Nightmare' is more horror comedy than anything that is actually frightening. Unfortunately I found most of the humour stale, with a few notable exceptions, and often the game’s use of humour clashes with some of the darker themes and content. However, the use of humour may simply be in-line with the B-movie atmosphere. Luckily the designers have not tampered with the gameplay so anyone familiar with 'Red Dead Redemption' can jump straight into 'Undead Nightmare' without any issues.

Braaaaaains…
There are only four types of zombies in 'Undead Nightmare': Normal, Retchers, Bolters, and Bruisers. Normal undead are your classic zombies that can pull the player off his or her mount, claw the player, and of course chew the player to death. Retchers are zombies that have toxic spit and explode when killed. Bolters are fast moving zombies that charge on all fours. Bruisers are larger zombies that can charge the player and knock Marston to the ground. As well, there are zombie versions of classic wildlife (like wolves and coyotes). In order to kill a zombie one must shoot the zombie in the head, light the zombie on fire, or explode the zombie into tiny zombie bits. However, the zombies are a bit too easy to deal with, which takes away from the whole horror survival vibe of the game (I only died once during the campaign due to a zombie horde).

Kill, cleanse, kill, and repeat
One major disappointment with 'Undead Nightmare' is the lack of mission variety in the main story. I know 'Undead Nightmare' is DLC but the overall quality is so high that the repetitive nature of the missions is a let down. The mission structure is basically 1. kill one’s way to an NPC, 2. Cut scene, 3. Go cleanse a graveyard. 4. Repeat. Luckily there is a lot more to do in this DLC then just cleaning out the undead.

Stranger Weapons for Stranger Enemies
Stranger quests are still present and all of them revolve around old characters from the main game. These stranger quests are short and fun but also have the added benefit of being useful (a number of stranger quests prize Marston with a weapon and ammo). As well there is are new missing persons side quests added to the game. These missing persons side quests are basically the same as the bounty quests from the main game but rather than bringing someone to justice the player returns a missing person to his or her family and friends.

“I’m out!”
Ammo is supposedly scarce in this new zombie world so conservation of bullets is a necessity. However, there were exactly two moments in the game where the lack of ammo actually made me work hard to survive. Most of the time I always felt as though I had more than enough ammo to go around. My abundance of ammo is most likely due to the fact that completing almost anything in the game (quests, challenges, saving towns) all offer ammo up as a reward, which is a nice touch since it gives side quests and challenges more of an overall tactical feel.

Challenging Outfits
The challenges in 'Undead Nightmare' are essentially new versions of the classic challenges from 'Red Dead Redemption.' There are also three new outfits to obtain. Thus, for completionists there is a fair amount of content to go through that will add several extra hours of gameplay on top of the main story.

Loyal Steed
'Undead Nightmare' also offers new mystical mounts to find and break-in, including the 4 horses of the apocalypse and a unicorn. Each mount has its own unique feature. For example “Pestilence” is nearly invincible and “War” can set zombies on fire by running into the undead hordes. The new mounts also look really cool. There are also a few new mythical creatures to hunt (such as the Sasquatch). These new additions all add length and variety to the overall experience of the single-player game.

Multi-Zombie-Player
'Undead Nightmare' also features two new multiplayer modes and new multiplayer characters. The new characters offer zombie avatars and some undead versions of in-game characters, which all look pretty cool. The two new multiplayer modes are “Land Grab” and “Undead Overrun.” Land grab is a Free Roam only mode that has players fighting for control over certain sections of the Free Roam map. Once a land grab game starts other players are alerted and the battle begins. A Land Grab game lasts for a predetermined amount of time (there is a countdown that indicates the time remaining in the match). The longer one holds the designated area the more XP he or she is awarded at the end of the match.

Undead Overrun is a game mode that has a team of players defend against round after round of zombie attacks. If a player is rendered incapacitated by a zombie (or zombies) another player can revive the downed teammate. Every so often weapon drops emerge and a coffin with ammo and items will spawn adding some frantic gathering to the frantic running and gunning of zombies.

'Undead Nightmare' is a fairly lengthy DLC pack with a bunch of new features. The story is straightforward and there are not a lot of mission types but the Stranger quests, new weapons, new mounts, and the challenges all add much needed variety. The multiplayer additions are nothing too special but they are appreciated and add a few more hours of fun to the whole experience. Also, after the main story is complete the zombie world is opened up to complete unfinished challenges and quests, but this free roam aspect has a twist that I’ll let you see for yourself. Simply put: if you enjoyed the gameplay and mission structure of 'Red Dead Redemption' (and enjoy killing zombies) then you will definitely enjoy 'Undead Nightmare.'

Fun spin on the “Red Dead Redemption” gameworld Good use of old characters Great new mounts Enjoyable new multiplayer modes Repetitive mission structure Cheesy humour The game is too easy Quote: "If you enjoyed the gameplay and mission structure of Red Dead Redemption (and enjoy killing zombies) then you will definitely enjoy "Undead Nightmare." Reviewed by James Farrington | 11.03.10

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