Dead on Arrival is a third person shooter that combines surviving waves of zombies with exploration.
The core gameplay of Dead on Arrival is to kill zombies while earning money to purchase new weapons. Dead on Arrival sends waves of zombies at the player while they try to fix doors and explore the hospital where the main character is hiding.
Zombies are divided into different classes with smaller, faster zombies and fatter, slower zombies. As the wave number increases, it is more difficult to kill them and requires stronger, more expensive weapons.
The hospital also contains traps that players can use, but they cost in-game currency which is earned during the round. Players can also buy the money as an in-app purchase.
Visually, Dead on Arrival is a great looking game. While it has some unpolished parts, like uneven textures, the game presents a great set piece for the action of the game. Dead on Arrival features an option to change the quality of the graphics in the game, and while there is a small difference between the low and high settings, the game does benefit from running the game at lower quality.
Controls are two on-screen circle pads with one for movement and the other for directional firing. It is a simple system that works well with zombies lunging from all directions. Although even with the discrete aiming, the game throws so many zombies at the player it is difficult to accurately aim bfor fear of being overrun by zombies.
The different weapons in Dead on Arrival range from regular firearms to freeze-rays and mini-guns. The variety keeps the game interesting, though the reload times on the larger weapons can mean life or death. Players can only hold two weapons at a time and it is even possible to double the same weapon.
Dead on Arrival is a very distinct take on a zombie game. It is similar to other wave or round based gameplay systems, but the exploration in the game gives Dead on Arrival a new dimension of trying to escape or at least find a better weapon.
Dead on Arrival is a great zombie shooter; it just needs to be a little more balanced.
