Line #47 VideoGame/ZombieDriver


1	[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/256px-ZombieLogo_1940.jpg]]
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3	''Zombie Driver'' is a PC DrivingGame developed by Polish developer EXOR studios in 2009 and distributed through Creator/{{Valve\|Software}}'s Platform/{{Steam}} platform, in which you attempt to build up large {{Combos}} running over zombies with a car. The game features an Isometric third-person chase cam and driving feels not unlike that of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto2'', except with [[WreakingHavok more physics]] and much-improved graphics.
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5	An explosion at a chemical plant run by a MegaCorp has set loose a [[ZombieApocalypse plague of the living dead on an unspecified city.]] You play the role of an [[NoNameGiven unnamed]] taxi driver who has [[ActionSurvivor managed to survive the initial outbreak.]] A general hires you to go back into the city with your car and rescue survivors, and the mayor is paying you [[BountyHunter by the dollar for every zombie you kill.]] You can build up your combo meter by running over zombies and shooting them with a number of weapons. The better your combo, the more money you get, which can then be used to buy better weapons and upgrades for your car.
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7	Besides the story mode, there is Slaughter Mode, which challenges you to [[EndlessGame stay alive for as long as possible]] on several different maps while ScoringPoints. Bronze, Silver and Gold medals are awarded for reaching certain point threshholds. Added in a November 2010 update is the Blood Race, a mode that pits you against other AI-controlled drivers in a series of [[VehicularCombat violent, zombie-infested events]], grouped into a handful of tournaments.
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9	An UpdatedRerelease entitled ''Zombie Driver HD'' was released on October 17th, 2012. In addition to a graphical overhaul, it added features such as [[NitroBoost rechargeable turbo]], [[BossFight boss fights]], additional story mode missions, and a [[GuestFighter guest vehicle]]: The van from ''VideoGame/Left4Dead''[='=]s Crash Course campaign.
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11	!!''Zombie Driver'' provides examples of:
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13	* ActionSurvivor: The player character would appear to be this. In the intro, he is shown killing a few zombies with a handgun while making a mad dash for his cab, peeling out and splattering a few zombies along the way. You also meet some cops and firemen who were apparently holding their own against the zombies.
14	* AdamSmithHatesYourGuts: It's the ZombieApocalypse - but instead of just getting upgrades for free, you have to ''earn money to buy them with''. Definitely an [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality acceptable break from reality]].
15	%%* AndThenJohnWasAZombie
16	* AntiFrustrationFeatures:
17	** Every mission objective point has at least one weapon and health pickup nearby.
18	** Points where you need to rescue civilians will have the civilians armed and picking off zombies (albeit at a rate of about one zombie every few seconds) to make it easier to take out the last remaining stragglers surrounding the building.
19	** Destroying zombie spawners causes a huge explosion that takes out any nearby zombies, but unlike fat zombie explosions it won't harm the player.
20	* AwesomeButImpractical: The military [[CoolCar supercar,]] acquired late in the story mode, has excellent ratings in all three areas, but is less useful in rescue missions since it can only carry four survivors- a lot less then you'll need to rescue at that point in the game. Get ready to make some round-trips. It's more useful in the other modes, though in Blood Race it comes at a high base cost.
21	* BadassDriver: Your character obviously becomes this as the zombie corpses start piling up.
22	* BigBadassRig: The ''HD'' edition's ''Left 4 Dead'' van can attain this status, if it cannot be said to have it period. The city bus might also count, once upgraded.
23	* BigDamnHeroes: Your main objective in each mission is to rescue a certain number of survivors holed up in different areas of the city. Doubtless they see you as this.
24	* BoringButPractical: The bus isn't fast, but its armor and ramming ratings are as good as the Supercar's, and its capacity is more than enough to rescue all the survivors in any level in one go.
25	* TheCameo:
26	** The military supercar previously appeared as one of the drivable vehicles in DIPRIP'', a car-based multiplayer shooter using the [[Creator/ValveSoftware Source]] [[MediaNotes/GameEngine Engine]], [[LawyerFriendlyCameo also made by EXOR studios.]]
27	** The ''HD'' version also features the modified van from ''VideoGame/Left4Dead's'' Crash Course campaign.
28	* CarFu: Your primary weapon is your car itself. In the ''HD'' version missions where you must drive a military half-ton truck or a power shovel rig, it is also your ''only'' weapon.
29	* ChemistryCanDoAnything: In addition to causing a ZombieApocalypse, we have chemistry to thank for an unspecified chemical agent that while harmless to humans, destroys zombies on contact. A few of the ''HD'' edition's story missions require you to bring a device designed to dispense this chemical to specified locations, and then [[EscortMission defend it from zeds while it does its work.]] In a small bit of GameplayAndStoryIntegration, these chemical pools remain in subsequent missions. [[spoiler:It doesn't quite work on mutated plant life, however...]]
30	* {{Combos}}: Run over zombies to get cash. Run over a lot of them, hit them with different sides of your car and use different weapons to increase your multiplier.
31	* CompetitiveBalance: Out of all the main story mode vehicles
32	** JackOfAllStats: The Taxi and Police Car, though the former falls into MasterOfNone territory compared to the rest of the vehicles.
33	** FragileSpeedster: The Sports Car. Highest starting speed in the game, worst armor, ramming power and passenger space
34	** StoneWall: The Limo, with high armor and passenger space.
35	** GlassCannon: The Ambulance, with high ramming power but very low armor.
36	** MightyGlacier: The Bus. Absolutely stellar armor and ramming power, but the worst speed in the game and handles like a brick. Also has an absurd amount of passenger space, more then you could ever need to rescue every survivor in any rescue mission in one round trip.
37	** LightningBruiser: The Supercar, which excels in everything but passenger space.
38	* CriticalExistenceFailure: [[AvertedTrope Averted.]] Your car will begin to lose bits of its armor and [[DamageIsFire emit smoke and fire as it takes damage.]]
39	* DeadWeight: Beware the fat zombies. [[ActionBomb They explode when you hit them]], dealing massive damage to your car. The solution is to drive ''near'' them, which sets them off but not in time to damage you, and likely killing lesser zombies in the area (or just shooting them from a distance.) They are also [[GiantMook very, very large.]]
40	* {{Determinator}}: ''You'', especially after it comes to pass that [[spoiler:you're infected as well. You're getting sicker and sicker, but that's not going to stop you from rescuing people.]]
41	* DisproportionateRetribution: A meta-example: The [[CosmeticAward achievement name]] for your first kill in the Blood Race? "Don't you ever scratch my paint again!"
42	* {{DLC}}: The "Summer of Slaughter" pack, which added a new [[PalmtreePanic island-flavored]] Slaughter map. It's included in the ''HD'' version.
43	* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Midway through the game, the driver is [[CherryTapping scratched]] by a [[RaisingTheSteaks zombified cat.]] As you progress, [[ForegoneConclusion survivors mention that you look ill.]] At the end of the game, the driver narrowly escapes the city as it is [[NukeEm lit up by a nuclear bomb]] only to crash his car on a rock outcropping. He apparently dies in the crash, only to reanimate. You then receive the [[TitleDrop Zombie Driver achievement.]]]]
44	** From a story perspective in general, this applies: [[spoiler:the ending has the reanimated Driver attacking someone else, so it seems that the infection hasn't been stopped.]]
45	* EndlessGame: Slaughter Mode, and also Endurance events in the Blood Race. Slaughter lasts until your car is destroyed by the zombies, and you can prolong this considerably by avoiding the fat zombies and being quick to nab repair pickups. Endurance tends not to last nearly as long, wherin the point is to hit zombies and destroy objects to extend the timer.
46	* EveryCarIsAPinto: Lightly tapping another car will cause it to explode. The cars the player drives on the other hand can survive a lot of damage.
47	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin:
48	** From [[http://www.destructoid.com/review-zombie-driver-156932.phtml the Destructoid review]]: "The review will tell you, in my opinion, whether or not the act of running over and killing zombies with a car is an entertaining as it should be. If you need to know more than that in order to hit the jump and read the review, you obviously did not notice that '''the name of the game is ''Zombie Driver.'''''"
49	** [[spoiler:The name of the game takes on another meaning when you get infected in Story Mode and spend the rest of the game slowly turning into a literal ''zombie'' driver.]]
50	* ExcusePlot: At first it looks like this: zombies have overrun the city, you have a car, go run over the zombies. Then, halfway through the game, [[SubvertedTrope Ominous Implications start coming up.]]
51	* FragileSpeedster: The sports car has little armor, but goes like a Corvette on nitrous.
52	* GatlingGood: Though labeled machine guns, said weapons when mounted on your car are clearly gatling guns. They chew through groups of zombies at a respectable pace.
53	* GeneralRipper: General Blofeld really seems to enjoy sending you hurtling into the undead hordes. In fairness, he IS sending you into the city to rescue civilians, so he can't be that bad.
54	* KillItWithFire: The flamethrower cooks large groups of zombies with extra-crispy effectiveness. It's painfully short range can be offset with upgrades.
55	* MadeOfExplodium: Parked cars explode from merely being bumped into.
56	* MadeOfPlasticine: The zombies.
57	* MilitariesAreUseless: A lone taxi driver with a WeaponizedCar is more effective in quelling a zombie outbreak than the entire military. Somewhat justified early on them with them having their hands tied with red tape, while cutting deals under the table with a lone agent who's ''technically'' not a soldier allows them to get more done. [[spoiler:The military also may or may not be killing survivors themselves and covering it up.]]
58	* NightOfTheLivingMooks: We have [[{{Mooks}} regular zombies]], [[RaisingTheSteaks dog zombies]], [[SmashMook tough zombies]], zombies that throw garbage at you and [[DeadWeight fat zombies that explode.]]
59	* NitroBoost: In addition to increasing your speed, nitro pickups also let you plow through zombies more effectively. It slowly recharges in the ''HD'' version, allowing you to use it much more frequently. [[WeaponizedExhaust It even burns zombies behind you!]]
60	* NotMyDriver: [[AvertedTrope Averted]], as you're the only driver ''left''.
61	* OneHitKill: Both the rockets and the railgun kill zombies in one hit. The rockets [[StuffBlowingUp explode on impact]] and take out a bunch of zombies in a group, while the railgun [[OneHitPolykill gibs every zombie from your car to the top of the screen.]] Both have fairly limited ammo.
62	* OutrunTheFireball: The final mission of the Story Mode [[spoiler:has no survivors to rescue. Your only objective is to get the hell out of dodge, as the city is about to get nuked.]]
63	* PaletteSwap: The Blood Race offers alternate color schemes for your cars as rewards.
64	* PimpedOutCar: The game [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this by giving you the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Pimped Car"]] [[CosmeticAward achievement]] for fully upgrading any one car in the Story Mode.
65	* ScoringPoints: Though in Story Mode and the Blood Race this gives you money, in Slaughter Mode they are just points.
66	* ShootTheShaggyDog: [[spoiler:The final mission, which requires you to outrun the nuclear blast that's about to destroy the city. Problem is, it's abundantly clear to anyone paying attention that you're infected and slowly becoming a zombie yourself, so even if you escape you're still a dead man (worse, you'll be spreading the infection outside the quarantine zone.) Really, the only ''good'' ending to this scenario is to just park yourself at the starting point and FaceDeathWithDignity.]]
67	* ShoutOut: Several.
68	** One survivor asks if you are ''the'' Film/TaxiDriver.
69	** [[CosmeticAward Achievements]] include [[Comicbook/JudgeDredd I Am The Law!]] for unlocking the police car, [[Music/RobZombie Superbeast]] for unlocking the supercar, and ''VideoGame/TheLastExpress'' for progressing to the train station area.
70	** "I hope something like that doesn't happen again. Fighting off [[VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies plants AND zombies]] would be totally crazy!"
71	* SuddenlyVoiced: A December 2010 update added full voice-overs to the Story Mode.
72	* TankGoodness: Two missions in the ''HD'' version's Story Mode allow you the use of what appears to be a T-80 battle tank. [[TheJuggernaut In addition to suffering]] ''[[TheJuggernaut zero]]'' [[TheJuggernaut slowdown from hitting zombies]], it has a generous health pool and ''[[StuffBlowingUp unlimited rounds]]'' for it's main gun. You ''[[ATasteOfPower will]]'' [[GameBreaker wish you could use it more often.]]
73	* TheTaxi: Your starting car, with [[JackOfAllStats all-round performance.]]
74	* VehicularCombat: In the Blood Race. This is the entire point of "Eliminator" events.
75	* VoodooShark: The mayor telling you that he'll give you money for killing the zombies that are destroying his city, which raises the question: ''who's paying you for destroying the city?'' [[AvertedTrope May actually be averted.]] See FridgeBrilliance on the YMMV page.
76	* WeaponizedCar: Your cars start out looking normal, but acquire spikes, weapons and armor plating as you upgrade them.
77	* WeaponizedExhaust: It's possible, [[AwesomeButImpractical though immensely impractical]], to ignite zombies behind you with your nitro exhaust.
78	* WhamEpisode: [[spoiler:Mission 19: Operation Dead Cat, where you end up scratched by a zombified cat and spend the rest of the game SecretlyDying.]]
79	* WhateverHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler:The entire plot thread about the military possibly colluding with the MegaCorp to cover up the outbreak (with lethal force if necessary) is hinted at but never really goes anywhere, other than maybe the final mission, where it's left ambiguous whether or not General Blofeld know about the escape route you're going to be taking to get out of the city before the nuke blows, [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness or if he's just leaving you to die.]]]]
80	* YouBreakItYouProfit: Every single destructible object pays out for destroying it.
81	* ZergRush: Keep on the move, or the zombies will swarm you, bogging you down and sapping away your armor.
82	* ZombieApocalypse: Is there any other kind of zombie event? This one appears to be contained to just the city you're in.
83	* ZombieGait: Most of the zombies obey this, save the dogs. This can make them dangerous in large groups.

Context VideoGame / ZombieDriver