What comes to mind when you think of zombies? Is it a fierce and brutal image, blurred flesh and blood, or a habit of hordes and biting people when they see them? Admittedly, these are the iconic elements of zombies, but the most impressive thing is the dull and degraded intelligence of zombies. No matter how powerful the zombies are, the "cute" ones will always be easily blocked by an iron door. The protagonists in countless zombie-themed movies and games often take advantage of this weakness of zombies to escape.
But there are thousands of zombies, not all stupid, many of which are zombies with brains.
For example, in the Hollywood movie "The Return of the Living Dead" released in 1985, zombies not only talk, but also fool humans on the phone, luring humans into the traps that have been prepared, and then becoming "lunch on the plate".
In 2005's "Land of the Living Dead," directed by George Romero, zombies' IQ also took a qualitative leap. In order to fight humans, zombies have formed an organized and targeted "zombie army" and can use a variety of tools freely.
The increase in IQ is accompanied by the recovery and return of the zombie's humanity. For example, in "I Am Legend" starring Will Smith, the zombie leader's motivation for designing a trap to ambush the protagonist is actually to save the female zombie who was captured by the protagonist, and even let the protagonist have a way to live after seeing that the female zombie is safe and sound.
With the growth of zombie wisdom, the battle between humans and zombies is no longer just a pure hand-to-hand combat of "life and death look down, and do not obey". Compared with the visual shock brought by the traditional "martial arts zombies", the "wisdom fighting zombies" full of ingenuity are now more attractive. In the same "I Am Legend", after the protagonist sets a trap to catch the female zombie, the zombie leader immediately "returns the other body in the other way" and hangs the protagonist in mid-air in the same way.
However, compared to watching humans and zombies fight wits in the movie, I think everyone is more looking forward to experiencing it in the game. However, most of the zombie-themed games on the market today are games that focus on "martial arts" such as "Zombie Siege" and "The Road to Survival", which can make players feel that the "wisdom fighting" games are relatively limited, and NetEase's doomsday survival mobile game "After Tomorrow" can be regarded as one.
In the new version of the recently updated third season of After Tomorrow, the game has a new iteration of a seamless open world map, and zombies have also learned the ability to camouflage, which can be camouflaged according to the specific environment of the location map. For example, when the player walks in the wild, the zombies may hide in the dense jungle, blending with the fallen leaves around them, waiting for the "prey" to pass by; or using snow as a protective color on the snow, making it difficult for the player to detect.
The addition of a seamless open world not only enriches the gameplay of the game, but also increases the intensity of the players' confrontation with the infected in this apocalypse. In addition to this kind of film emperor-level "acting skills", the zombies in "After Tomorrow" have also mastered skills such as climbing over walls, breaking door locks, and attacking vehicles. When you ride your beloved little motorcycle and think you will never get stuck in traffic, a zombie that suddenly sneaks out of the car may kick you off the car.
The new version also optimizes the game engine and graphics of "After Tomorrow", and the number of zombies displayed on the same screen has been greatly improved, and those "corpse mountains and corpse seas" that can only be seen in the AAA masterpiece in the past can also be seen in this mobile game. The ability to face powerful enemy players has also been improved, and the newly added sea, land and air three-way vehicle will become a powerful helper for players to face zombies, and the way players fight with zombies has become more abundant.
It is foreseeable that if zombie-themed works want to occupy a place in the highly competitive market, the "protagonist" zombies will continue to evolve, thus bringing a better experience to the audience and players.