Dead Nation: The streets will run red with blood...ZOMBIE blood!

When the Sony network was hacked a month or so ago, gamers were pissed. I was pissed. Week after week we waited for our beloved PSN to return so that we could continue playing games online. Well, Sony decided that since fixing this mess took so long, they would release a few games for free when the network returned. One of these games was Dead Nation. 

Dead Nation is a shoot-em-up zombie game set in a post-apocalyptic world where mindless ghouls control the abandoned city streets. You choose between a male and female character, both which have fairly generic zombie back stories. 

The game contains customization of armor and weapons, varying types of zombies, online and offline co-op mode, some awesome creepy visuals and impressive graphics. Like most zombie games, (excluding the Dead Rising games) Dead Nation isn't very story-driven, however, the increasingly fun gameplay doesn't require much set up to enjoy it. 

The visuals were one of the most impressive things about Dead Nation. The awesome lighting effects made the often dark atmosphere super-creepy and added to the overall mood of the game. 

Another aspect I really enjoyed was the online multiplayer. You and one other player play through the game co-op style and work together to blow hordes of zombies to bits. Single player mode can be a lot of fun, but there are certain points in the game where you really need that extra help.

The only problem I had with the game was the aiming. Dead Nation is a top-down shooter where the gamer uses the left joystick to move around and the right joystick to aim weapon. It helps that there's a laser coming out of the gun to show where your shots are going, however, I often found myself missing more shots than landing them which got a little annoying. 

Overall, Dead Nation kicks zombie ass. It's a very fun game that should definitely be played with friends. It's also the type of game that you'll start playing and before you know it it's 3 hours later. 

Dead Nation is only available on the PS3, however, it's free! So go download it!