Killing Floor meets Left 4 Dead meets They Hunger meets Resident Evil meets Rainbow Six meets whatever.
One of Radioactive Zombie's more original ideas (the other is a Shadowrun story), it tells the story of the remaining survivors in Malton, a city quarantined from the rest of the world experiencing a miniature Zombie Apocalypse, and where all sorts of people found themselves - black ops, US Army units, rogue scientists, bandits, gangsters, the Mafia, terrorists, and of course, the average joe, fighting off a variety of mutants, biological weapons, and your vanilla-flavored zack. Numbers on both sides have been dropping steadily as the months go by, and the survivors that are left are hardened badass normals.
When the rest of the country of Malton suffers an outbreak, the internationally-manned quarantine around the city fails (naturally) due to a lack of manpower. Due to its proximity to the UK and Europe (which have begin to suffer some incidents of the undeadz roaming about), and... you know... common sense that you should help a nation that's in distress, the United Nations forms a coalition to re-take
It promptly splits into two narratives:
- A band of survivors escaping from Malton, only to wind up in its neighboring city, Fairview. The survivors are all from previous international attempts to contain the initial outbreaks - you've got a Canadian JTF-2 member, two JGSDF elites, a PMC member, blah blah. It's more action and comedy-oriented (in the vein of Zombieland than the second plot...
- A United States Marine officer part of the United Nations Special Quarantine Force, detailing the preparation, training, and attack on the city of Malton. It shows what tactics are used, how different zombie types are dealt with, the various red tape and fuck-ups that hinder its liberation, and eventual victory for the humans.
Currently in the form of fragmented pages, since Radioactive Zombie often lacks the willpower to finish up stories and is constantly creatively drained. Oh, and has a severe case of Write Who You Know.
Also set in an Alternate Universe - Technology is somewhat more advanced, with AI and new skyscrapers and weapons and combat suits and whatnot.
The cast so far:
- Captain Jackson Pollack - A USMC... Captain... who, along with his unit, was stationed at a base in Malton when the city had a case of the undeads. Polite, somewhat-outgoing, but usually rather serious, and physically resembles Commander Mitchell.
- First Lieutenant Dover S. Glenstone - No one has seen his real face, since his hair keeps hiding most of his face. A quiet sort of person
- Sergeant Zoid - The Deadpan Snarker. Claims to be from New Zealand (and is part of the Army), but speaks with an American accent. A RAVEN Operative, he serves as the Deadpan Snarker.
- Sergeant James - Cloudcuckoolander. Used to be an S019 member, until Malton. A member of a UK battalion that uses fire-based weaponry (flamethrowers and such), and visually references Metal Gear (the pyro suits are... similar.) Likes painting pirate stuff all over the place, and loves cookies. A bit too much, in fact.
- Captain Eidolon Llwch - A Canadian JTF-2 sniper. A fan of table-top RPGs, usually the first to crack a joke and is well-respected amongst the ranks of the UNSQF. Highly useful in military history and battle conditions (and surprisingly adept at adapting to zombies as well).
- Sergeant Shiseki Kimagura - Glenstone's love interest (at least, when he receives character development and becomes less aloof). Well, was (in Malton, before she was returned back to Japan), though things fire up again (somewhat) when they meet again. A Genki Girl (and, if in a bad mood, a Jerkass), who looks like a FROG Trooper from MGS4 in combat, and looks strangely like Konata Izumi. Or Kaname Chidori.
- Corporal Victoria Santuse - An expy of Melissa Mao, except less foul-mouthed and much more medically trained.
- The Sniper - No one actually knows her real name (she's called "Malkavanian", but it's her self-titled nickname). A Perky Goth, and, yes, a sniper from the US Marine Corps. Looks like the Vampire Army grunts from Daybreakers. A running gag - no one actually knows if she is a vampire.
- Alien - Another US Army corporal, obsessed with Rickrolling and aliens, going so far as to espouse various theories related to alien parasites taking over the world for a colonization attempt, or the zombies really being failed reptile-alien creatures. Keeps blaming Glenstone for some weird thing that got both of them banned from the NCO lounge. Not a Colonial Marine from Aliens.
- Mike - Likes guns. Big guns, especially. Showy, flashy big guns. Often competing with James to see who can cause the most explosions, and does not care one bit that most zombies aren't prone to grenades. He's foreign, But Not Too Foreign. Warning: Do not allow him to use missile launchers.
- Jake Dalton - The Determinator. Tries not to look like Alex Mercer. Really. He isn't.
- "Rob Killer" - An Armacham Infection Control Officer, the one who goes charging in first, guns blazing. Rather loyal to the group.
- "Reminar" - Ash Williams minus the chainsaw, spells, and assistant midget.
- Lamaric Thubin - Claims to be a sarcastic, cynical asshole. Really isn't, and keeps to himself a lot.
- Wildcard Rob - We swear to God this is just a coincidence. The Sergeant Rock, loves the Army, and is rather outgoing.
- Jesus - He's not Mexican, so you don't pronounce it "Hay-zus", but he is your personal buddy Christ for most of the outbreak, and looks like it. Laid-back, though serious if he needs to be, though is somewhat shellshocked.
- "Darkstalker" - Somewhere between "trying to hard to be badass" and "is badass", though most agree he's usually the latter.
- "Skylan" - One of those intelligent quiet types. Mysterious, too. Never seems to take off that balaclava.
- Hayate Arashi - Yet another Deadpan Snarker, though he simply hands out Mathematicians Answers as if they were candy. One of the few in an actual standard uniform, that being MOPP gear. Amazingly enough, also uses standard Army gear - an M4 and a Benelli M1014.
- Valerie - Somewhat odd, cheerful English major. Yet another Genki Girl - though not anime-ish as Shiseki.
- "Headcrab" Pecheneg - He speaks English fine, but puts on the "Drunk Husky Russkie who loves Soviet Russia" act to annoy people. Talks like an Inquisitor, shoots like Vasily... with a Vektor machine gun.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Oh, and expect more character addings when Radioactive Zombie isn't as fucking lazy.
Contains:
- Art Shift - Occasionally, the story will delve into parodies or copies of famous authors (like Terry Pratchett when the heroes storm a theme park)
- Armor Is Useless - Somewhat averted. The undead police forces are using vests, but our heroes are using much strong ammo that would defeat Class II armor. Mutants often bypass kevlar (especially those wielding blades or have claws and other nasty things), and a lot of survivors simply wear various vests or armor (whether it's military exoskeletons or homemade scraps of metal) depending on their tastes and role - some even forgo it, in favor of comfort.
- Captain Ersatz - The JGSDF Special Team that shows up consists of Hotel Sierra, Kilo Indigo and Kilo Hotel, the other Kilo Hotel, and Sierra Oscar. JGSDF EPA Units 1, 2, and 3 are occasionally called in to take on tough variants of totally not Hunters and other BO Ws.
- Chaste Hero - Somewhat averted. Pollack dates Kimagura at one point (causing Glenstone to go into a Dear Sister-ish fantasy), but nothing further.
- Cold Sniper - Averted, obviously, by Llwch and The Sniper. Played straight with Glenstone, but he doesn't snipe a whole lot.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive - Averted. None of the executives or higher-ups of the involved corporations want a Zombie Apocalypse, and only one is Umbrella-ish - and that one's been hi-jacked by an insane researcher post-outbreak.
- Made of Plasticine - Justified. Glenstone's experimental rounds are designed to fragment and explode when it hits organic material, Llwch's TAC-50 and The Sniper's ChayTac Invtervention uses .50BMG meant for disabling APCs and jeeps, Shiseki and Glenstone both use .500S&W rounds, the characters using shotguns know what shotguns do to people at close range, a few other survivors use big-bore hunting rifles, and so on.
- The Medic - Santuse, Kimagura, and Arashi.
- Our Zombies Are Different - But not too different. They vary in almost every biological zombie type (Romero zombies, fast zombies, intelligent zombies, mutants, et cetera) excepting extra-terrestrial parasites and invulnerable Russo zombies, and there are mutants and BO Ws that are technically still alive and/or intelligent.
- Powered Armor - Glenstone's suit, though it's not as complex as "future" variants are.
- Rule of Cool - In-universe, there's always been a schism between people who use Boring, but Practical weapons and gear (AK variants, common hunting rifles and shotguns, police-issue handguns, and if one is feeling adventurous, an M4 without any attachments, using light, easy-to-find/easy-to-make armor, and so on), those who use Awesome, yet Impractical gear(large-bore hunting rifles, autoshotguns, various assault rifles, flamethrowers, high-caliber revolvers, body armor, and so on) and the Awesome, but Impractical crowd (WWII/WWI-era firearms, prototype weaponry, huge axes, chainsaws, katanas, and so on). However, every survivor is damn good at using their weapon of choice, even if it's a canceled assault rifle or their grandfather's derringer. There's always been a schism between these crowds in Urban Dead, anyway.
- Zombie Gait - Depends on the zombie type, though this being a
Cliché Storm, nearly all types are included [barring supernatural zombies and nigh-invulnerable Russo ones.)
