What will survive review

Fresh meat also attracts zombies and places you at additional risk until you can pop it on a fire. It's a balancing act in which satisfying one need can place you at greater risk of death. Much of the combat isn't too interesting, but it doesn't need to be--there are plenty of ways for the island to kill you, and you need to stave them all off at once. It's an interrelated network of play that establishes and maintains tension throughout.

Finding safe houses or triggering alarms that attract several dozen souped-up zombies who then stand between me and sleep are some of the most invigorating moments I've had with a game in recent memory. Missions begin simply: find a jerry can, fill it with gasoline, and seek out other objects that might help you leave the archipelago. Inevitably, such simple tasks are complicated by swarms of the undead.

Generally speaking, with each encounter you can take the stealthy route or go in making a lot of noise and causing just as much damage. Some weapons make it easy for you to pick off foes, but the zombies aren't completely stupid and will notice if their fetid friends go missing.

When using a melee weapon like an improvised axe, dashing and then swinging wildly is pretty effective. Later, handmade guns become available and change up tactics. While some armored enemies are resistant to bullets, others can be targeted with precise headshots, which takes time to set up, but yields more experience. As you play, other subtleties will also become readily apparent. Explosive zombies resembling boomers in Left 4 Dead can be used against their cohorts.

Strategically funneling such zombies into a crowd and sprinting by or shooting them causes massive damage to everyone around. As all of these mundane pieces fall in line, however, the game rapidly reaches its conclusion.

The setup for all this does take time, however. Incendiary and explosive devices, two classic anti-zombie weapons, don't become available until the late game, and their utility at that stage is minimal at best. After such an extensive tutorial, the end comes right when tension should be at its highest, and ultimately the game feels like it's missing another few hours of play.

There are challenge modes to help extend the experience a bit, each of which involves starting with an empty inventory and trying to reach an escape plane before you die. They're definitely fun tests, but none of them add up to what the game needs to appropriately demonstrate its strengths: an extra-long story, or a trial to see how long you can survive as each passing day grows exponentially more difficult.

Either of these would amount to more time to play around with the full sandbox potential of the game. January February March April May June July August September October November December 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Enter. How to Survive - Kovac's Rules Trailer. Critic Reviews. Score distribution:. Positive: 2 out of Mixed: 15 out of Negative: 2 out of Worth Playing. There are no areas where How to Survive really stumbles, and there are plenty of areas where it shines.

The combat flows well, though ranged seems to be a better idea than melee, and the enemy variety keeps things from becoming stale. All this publication's reviews Read full review. Hooked Gamers. My initially negative impression started to melt away when I reached the second island.

But sticking around a little longer, I started to appreciate what the game was trying to achieve; combining the therapeutic fun of slaying zombies with requiring players to apply their brain and look for ways to survive tomorrow as well as today. Armchair Empire.

How to Survive's story can be played quickly, so the two-player co-op and the Challenges are a buyer's best option to extend the play time. That's the only way the average player will be able to explore all the seemingly inconsequential upgrade options and power-ups and not feel bored. How to Survive is more or less a minimalistic RPG bringing nothing new to the table. Fans of the zombie theme will like it as long as they are not bored by the game's repetitive setting, limited combat system and wasted potential of crafting.

It's an adequate twin-stick shooter, and a few years ago that might have been enough. With so many zombie games out there now though, one this uncommitted to its own ideas can never hope to be more than just part of the horde. Attractive in its original idea, How To Survive could have been more fun if it was not as lopsided: the gameplay is cagey and the game is quite repetitive. There is still a multiplayer mode, and battles are sometimes letting off steam.

User Reviews. Write a Review. Positive: 22 out of Mixed: 27 out of Negative: 7 out of Disclaimer: after 4 hours of playing! Amazing survival game with a lot of amusing moments and more than a decent crafting system!! Some Disclaimer: after 4 hours of playing!

Some animations could use a bit of a work, but everything else is just there! I haven't had such fun for quite a while!! Whilst not perfect this game is wonderfully entertaining, first play of this game was 2 hours of immersion into the Dev's world of Zombie Whilst not perfect this game is wonderfully entertaining, first play of this game was 2 hours of immersion into the Dev's world of Zombie survival and I only stopped then for something to eat IRL.

I am enjoying this game so much I am almost tempted to install it at work and try to snatch a game whilst here. The content in terms of price is overwhelming. If you're after a resonant father-son novel with some good old fashioned Labour versus Tory conversations over a pint, and if you're strong enough to handle some genuine tear-jerking scenes, this one pays dividends.

Jul 01, Tea Leaves and Reads rated it really liked it Shelves: kindle-read-and-reviewed. It's always refreshing to read an English set book written by a man - they're quite rare!

View 1 comment. Mar 31, Lisa rated it liked it. I disagree with the repeated comparisons to 'One Day', which shone with genuinely engaging characters. Sure, storywise there are parallels, and this makes an easy - and even sometimes fairly moving - read, but I found myself underwhelmed by the very bland characters and dialogue.

Oct 19, Karen Lindsay rated it it was ok. Bought this because it was compared to One Day. Saying something is as good as something else doesn't make it true. Characters lacked the depth of those in One Day I just didn't believe in their story. I enjoyed this book, a really quick read.

A bit cheesy in places but I could soooo relate to his relationship with his teenage son. Oct 11, Trena rated it really liked it. This was a heart warming journey. Aug 29, Grace rated it it was amazing. Loved it! Would definitely read any future books by this author. Dec 26, Squid McFinnigan rated it really liked it. I liked it.

I was torn between giving it a three or a four. The reason I went for the four was because I grew up in the same era and related a lot to some of the earlier parts of the book.

Unlike some other reviewers I did like the characters, particularly the son. I thought the goofy friend was a little too goofy to be real. I guess where it lost points for me was the fact the story was fairly well laid out from the start. Charlotte's death did not sting as much as it should because from day one I liked it.

Charlotte's death did not sting as much as it should because from day one we knew the the main character was a lone parent. I felt a lot for the man after that and his spiral into destruction felt very real. All books have good and bad points, what are good to one are bad to another. The upshot of my experience with Mr Gartside's work is this, it was easy reading and a very enjoyable book. I may not remember it in twenty years time but for the moment it provided a very enjoyable experience.

Thank you sir. A brilliantly written novel by Mark Gartside! What will survive follows the story of Graham Melton, through both his teenage years meeting his love Charlotte, through to his adult life as a single farther raising his and Charlottes child, Michael! But what happened to make him a single parent?

What could have possible gone wrong in between? A very difficult book to put down and one I highly recommend, especially to fans of Nicholas sparks, or nick Hornby!!

Apr 28, Sandra rated it it was amazing Shelves: favorites. This is a beautiful written book sensitive and harsh in places. A story of life growing up and falling in love at as a young teenager.

The pits and falls and getting adults to realise this is real and an enduring lasting relationship. This was a personal journey for me as if written by my sister. Events are so true to life and it will have you on the edge of your seat and sighing at the end. Absolutely brilliant book that felt like a real life account of someone's life.

I completely guessed how it would end but that wasn't the point. It was about one man's very emotional journey between decades. Jul 24, Pat Osment rated it really liked it. Loved this book,so well written,emotional at times but not over the top..

Jan 27, Sandy Stiff rated it really liked it. Enjoyable easy read. Aug 28, Jeanette rated it it was ok Shelves: book-club , z-rated. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The story i found was ok. I could even relate to some of it, my dad had dementia as does the main characters mother.

I have a 14 yr old son who insists on slamming car doors and hates tidying up. Parts of it made me laugh. What i didn't like was the constant references to socialism and the labour party. I know his dad was a socialist and thats fine, it helped to build that character. But there were passages spouting about thatcherism, and how wonderful the labour party was.

For me it added nothi The story i found was ok. For me it added nothing to the story, and I felt these were the opinions of the author, not the character.

As for the main character, I didn't like him at all. He bumbled through life with everything turning out fine in the end. Yes his wife died, and he wallowed in self pity, turning to drink. I' m sure this has happened in real life but he didn't explore his way out of it enough.

I got a slight insight into the life of an alcoholic, but when he finally went for help he went to bed, got up the next day and decided he would stop drinking.

I felt he didn't give as much time to his struggle in not drinking as he did to when he was drinking. Another pet hate of mine is if you're going to include real places then get your facts right. Graham states at one point he has to go to Bootle, the "toughest place in liverpool".

This was in I'm sorry, I grew up in liverpool and bootle was never seen as a tough place. Maybe before the war when the docks were thriving, but definately not in Overall, it was an ok read.

If he had stuck to the story, left some of the politics out and got his facts right i might have enjoyed it more. I dont think i will read it again, and may read another book by this author if its chosen by my reading club, otherwise i cant see myself choosing him off the shelf.

Added 18th oct - i met the author tonight at our book club and he was a really nice man.