Game Review: Apocalypse Rising v4.0.1

      Apocalypse rising is a survival horror game made by Gusmanak that has gained long term popularity. With over 100 thousand favorites and 4 million views, it has made Gusmanak a success. But if we've learned anything from playing front page games, just because it's popular, doesn't mean it's good. Let's see what the game has going for it, and what can ward players away.

     Combat & Weapons: Apocalypse rising has a fair assortment of guns and melee weapons which can be used to fend of zombies or other players. They're scattered around the map, and it's always rewarding to find really good weapons. The actual combat is fairly basic, it's fun, but nothing particularly special about it. I give the combat and weapons an over all 6/10

    Social Interaction: By this I mean interactions with other players in the game. This game focuses a good bit of time on the player's and whether or not they should cooperate, Gusmanak even made an ad about two characters, Tom and Smiff, or befriend each other for a short period of time. Making allies can be dangerous, although there is a group feature I haven't had a chance to explore. If you kill other "survivors", you get a bandanna signifying that you are a bandit. Each server has a maximum of 16 people, but the large maps can make you a bit lonely for a while. Social interaction is a big part of the game that has came out pretty well, but I find it possible to go most of the game without it if I choose. I give it a 6/10.

   The Terrain: Apocalypse rising has a vast expanse of land surrounded by water that you will become accustomed to. Littered with supplies, small towns, encampments, forest, and large towns that may have once been communities, there is a lot to explore. The map is huge though, and fog prevents you from zooming out, so maps and GPSs found around the land are extremely useful. Unfortunately, this brings a lot of lag for lesser computers. Mine has struggled with it, but the game is getting less and less laggy. The map is very well constructed. As mentioned before, the map is huge, a little too big, just in my opinion. It makes traveling tedious and long. I give the terrain a 7/10

  Creator Effort: I just wanted to point out that Gusmanak has put a lot of effort into this game, it's one of his only games even though he is OBC, he continues to improve it as shown in this update log: http://www.roblox.com/Forum/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=85391081, even if the improvements are small details, it makes a difference. This helps to keep people playing. I give creator effort a 9/10

   Survival Mechanics: Survival is a huge part of Apocalypse rising, as it is in most games of this category. You need to keep your health bar up by eating or using blood bags, you have a hunger and thirst bar that you need to fill by eating and drinking, running lowers your hunger and thirst bar faster, and all the supplies you need are scattered around the map. These supplies take up slots in your backpack, but larger backpacks can be attained like any other supply. In the beginning of the game you get a choice between four perks to help you survive through the game. These perks are: Cardio, which lets you run 18% faster, Survivalist, which makes your hunger and thirst bar take five minutes longer to deplete, Adrenaline, which makes your health regenerate faster and you walk faster if your health drops below 30%, and finally Ninja which keeps you from making noise. I personally like cardio because it quickens the run across the map. You only get one primary weapon and one sidearm, so you have to use those wisely. I give the survival mechanics a 8/10

   Overall Fun: This game can be pretty fun, but I don't particularly enjoy it. You spend too much time running around looking for stuff, the zombies are just annoying things that only kill you if you get stingy with your ammo, and the walks around the map are tedious, especially if you can't get your hands on a map. Once you die, you lose everything, so I usually spend an hour trying to get the best stuff I can and find all the items, then die and rage quit. It takes a really long time to set yourself up again, but if you can find teammates you trust and stay alive for a long time, you'll have someone to guard your stuff if you die and keep things interesting. Still, you can have a lot of fun with this game if you play your cards right. I give the fun a 6/10.

        Final Score

  

 Apocalypse Rising is a well made survival game that has brought hours of fun to many people. Gusmanak has done a great job with it and made it extremely popular, but the game can be a bit boring at times. Or it might lag, blah blah blah. Still, it deserves an 8/10.