Line #19 Videogame/DeadEffect


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dead_effect_chainsaw.jpg]]
2	''Dead Effect'' is a 2013 zombie FirstPersonShooter with a sci-fi setting, developed for tablets and other mobile devices by inDev Brain. It was then ported to the UsefulNotes/{{Unity}} engine for the [[Platform/IBMPersonalComputer PC]] in 2014, initially through Platform/{{Steam}} Early Access. ''Dead Effect 2'' followed in 2015 on mobiles, and was then ported to PC in 2016, and to Platform/PS4 and Platform/XboxOne in 2017.
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4	While the name is a [[TheMockbuster clear riff]] on ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'' and ''Videogame/MassEffect'', the actual gameplay is heavily reminiscent of ''VideoGame/{{Doom 3}}'', with players travelling through the corridors of an abandoned spaceship while battling hordes of zombies comprised of the ship's transformed crew. The sequel had also added ''VideoGame/Borderlands2''-style RPGElements to the series' formula.
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6	Players take the role of either SpaceMarine Gunnar Davis, or cybernetically-enhanced DarkActionGirl assassin Jane Frey, as they wake up from hypersleep on the starship ''ESS Meridian'' to find the rest of their Space Marine squad missing and the crew of the ship transformed into flesh-hungry zombies. Guided over the intercom by a surviving scientist named Dr. Wagner, the player must navigate the ship and find a cure before they also succumb to the zombie virus.
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8	!!Dead Effect features examples of the following tropes:
9	* AmbiguousSituation: [[spoiler:Wagner claims you're just a test subject in a military experiment to create a supersoldier, but not only is he out of his mind, this contradicts a lot of the logs you find lying around. Unless they were planted to help conceal the truth about the experiment and convince you that you really are just stuck on a colony ship during a zombie outbreak- but if that's the case, why do so many of them {{foreshadow\|ing}} that Wagner is responsible for the zombie army? The sequel indicates the ''Meridian'' really was a colony ship, most of the zombies you encounter are clones created by Wagner (most of the actual crew is still in cryosleep), and Wagner took over the ship and converted it into a testing facility.]]
10	* BadassNormal: Gunnar's an unaugmented human SpaceMarine, whereas Jane has a number of cybernetic enhancements. In-game the two play identically. [[spoiler: Though it turns out the player character was a test subject for experimental human augmentation treatment prior to the events of the game, which is why they're in the situation in the first place.]]
11	* {{BFG}}: The explosive crossbow is this. Even without upgrades, it one-shots any of the EliteZombie types (including the BossInMookClothing GiantMook with a minigun) and knocks off about 80% of the first boss's life bar and over 1/3rd of the FinalBoss's life bar with one shot. It even uses normal primary weapon ammo, so you can use it pretty liberally without worrying about running out of ammo. The only downside is that it uses up your primary weapon slot, so you'll be limited to it and a sidearm, which leaves you without an automatic weapon to deal with the fast-moving "demon" enemy types (cannibals).
12	* BoomHeadshot: As in most zombie media, headshots are the most ammo-efficient manner of dispatching the zombies, though zombies can still be killed with several torso shots too.
13	* BribingYourWayToVictory: The mobile version of the game incorporates micro-transactions to buy weapons and weapon upgrades, although these upgrades can be earned in-game as well, and the amount of grinding required to do so is not obscene. The PC version is in-game currency only.
14	* BulletTime: After the first few levels, you gain the ability to trigger slow-motion bullet time as a special ability. It's explained as a side-effect of the virus that will eventually turn you into a zombie.
15	* ChainsawGood: As well as the tough fat zombie wielding a chainsaw, the player can unlock one to use themselves. It takes the secondary slot (despite that being designated for "one-handed weapons", while the chainsaw is clearly big enough to require two hands), never runs out of ammo and rips through zombies like cardboard boxes, but you still need to aim it carefully to keep them from lunging under it to hit you.
16	* {{Cyborg}}: The only organ that Jane doesn't have implants in are [[MaleGaze her boobs.]]
17	** The unique minigun-wielding zombie, codenamed "Hornet v.1", is a combination of zombie (a Razor clone) with cybernetic enhancement.
18	* DifficultyByRegion: The PC port has ''a lot'' more zombies attacking you at once, to compensate for the increased responsiveness of the keyboard & mouse setup compared to playing the game on a tablet.
19	** Which in turn leads to better game rewards, as {{Microtransactions}} are removed in the PC version in favor of one-time purchase.
20	* EliteZombie:
21	** Hazmat zombies have more health while Security Guard zombies wear body armor, which allow them to survive noticeably more damage than other zombie types.
22	** The game has 4 "special infected"-type zombies. There's an armored zombie that throws one-hit-kill grenades, a tough, fat zombie that spits acidic blood, a ''very'' tough fat zombie armed with a chainsaw, and a BossInMookClothing armored GiantMook armed with a minigun. Additionally, there's also a boss zombie that's larger and has more health than any other zombie, and the final boss.
23	* EmergencyWeapon: The taser glove you start the game with. Although it doesn't use ammo and pops regular zombies with one shot, it's limited to very close range and has a recharge time of several seconds between shots.
24	* GatlingGood: One of the game's weapons is a minigun (it's one of the three weapons that can only be purchased with gold rather than credits). It deals less damage than the higher-end assault rifles, but has a high rate of fire and can be fired for a very long time before needing to reload.
25	* GiantMook: One of the EliteZombie enemies is a heavily armored soldier wielding a minigun. He moves slowly and takes a second or so to spin up his weapon, but can mow you down quite quickly. He can also survive ''a lot'' of damage before dying. And, stating the obvious, ''he's a zombie with a gun!''
26	* GoneHorriblyRight: The titular Dead Effect allows people to be killed and resurrected as stronger, faster, and hardier versions of themselves. Predictably, it shits the bed and creates a ZombieApocalypse.
27	* HeavilyArmoredMook: The aforementioned minigun zombie.
28	** Grenadier zombies wear riot armor and chuck grenades.
29	** There are also zombie SpaceMarines whose combat armor makes them very hard to take down with body shots.
30	* HerrDoktor: Dr. Wagner has an extravagant German accent and is a fairly stereotypical mad scientist. [[spoiler: He turns out to be the bad guy. Who knew?]]
31	* {{Irony}}: The observation is made in-game that Jane Frey's boobs are [[{{Cyborg}} the only part of her body]] she ''hasn't'' [[FakeBoobs had artifically augmented]].
32	* KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter: There is precisely one energy weapon. The rest are kinetic.
33	* LightningGun: The Electromagnetic Stun Gun, affectionately called the "Tazer Gauntlet" by fans.
34	* LimitedLoadout: You can only carry a limited number of weapons at one time (one pistol, one longarm, and one grenade), and are only able to switch weapons on the level loading screen.
35	* MultiMookMelee: Besides the single-player campaign, there are two different types of "Horde Mode" arcade game modes where you battle waves of enemies inside an arena-like area- Survival, where you survive against infinite enemies until time runs out, and Biohazard, where you fight your way through a fixed number of waves of predetermined enemies.
36	* MusclesAreMeaningless: The log file that details Jane Frey's background mentions that she's been heavily augmented, and jokes that despite her relatively slim figure she could probably fold SpaceMarine Gunnar Davis in half. In-game, though, there is no difference between the two player characters.
37	* MyBrainIsBig: [[spoiler:The first time you see Dr. Wagner in person you discover his brain is bulging out of the back of his skull, which seems to have been removed to make room for it.]]
38	* MyDeathIsOnlyTheBeginning: [[spoiler: Dr. Wagner mentions in a collectible log that he's programmed the ship's A.I. to manage the D-Effect experiments (including control of automated cloning facilities for the production of more zombies), and that it will continue his work if he ends up dying fighting the player.]]
39	* NewGamePlus: You can revisit previous levels with whatever new weapons, weapon upgrades, and character upgrades you've purchased. There's also a "New Game Plus" mode that has you play through the game again with significantly increased difficulty.
40	* NotUsingTheZWord: Averted. The first word the player character yells out is "Zombies?!" as soon as Dr. Wagner explains the creatures are members of the ship's crew who have been killed and revived by a virus. Wagner deadpans "You can call them that."
41	* OneHundredPercentCompletion: Each level has a number of cash, text logs, and hidden orbs to find in order to achieve this.
42	* OneManArmy: Per FirstPersonShooter standards, the player character mows their way through hundreds of enemies over the course of the game. [[spoiler: This turns out to be justified in-game; the player is a test subject in experimental military SuperSoldier research, with the whole game being a fabricated scenario designed to test their abilities. Or at least that's what the BigBad claims, [[UnreliableNarrator but he's nuts]].]]
43	* OnlySixFaces: The zombies only have about 10 models. {{Justified\|Trope}} as the BigBad cloned the ship's crew several times, resulting in a zombie horde that has shades of MesACrowd.
44	* OurZombiesAreDifferent: [[spoiler: It's hinted at in the collectible logs and more or less confirmed in the sequel that most if not all of the zombies are actually cloned test subjects rather than turned crew members.]]
45	* RegeneratingHealth: The game does not have this by default (you have to heal at health stations), but it can be purchased as a special ability (although the currency you need to buy it, gold, is a rare drop, so it will require quite a lot of gameplay before you can afford it).
46	* TheReveal: [[spoiler: Turns out Dr. Wagner is evil, and deliberately mutated the crew and converted the ship into a combat testing ground for his experiments, which also involved mutating ''you'' and gauging the results as you rampaged through his hordes of zombies. Dr. Wagner claims the ship is actually a military testing facility, but the collectible audio logs reveal that he's delusional and that it really was a colony ship, which he took over. Oh, and your character may or may not be a clone of the original Gunnar Davis or Jane Frey.]]
47	* RemovingTheHeadOrDestroyingTheBrain: The zombies can be killed by body shots, but a headshot with any weapon is an instant kill.
48	* RevolversAreJustBetter: Averted in the Early Access alpha version. The revolver dealt more damage than the semi-auto pistol, but it only holds 6 shots and the reload speed was ''extremely'' slow. Since most zombies can be killed with 1 headshot regardless of how powerful the gun is, the more nimble semi-auto pistol was simply better for everything. The reload speed and damage of the revolver were boosted in the actual release version of the game to make it more competitive with the semi-auto pistol, and it's now a typical FPS revolver (high damage in exchange for being limited to only 6 shots before reloading, although the reload speed is now reasonable.)
49	* SchrodingersPlayerCharacter: Although both Gunnar and Jane are mentioned in the log files scattered throughout the ship, only the one you pick actually shows up in the game, with the other one completely absent. [[spoiler: Possibly justified in that your character may be a clone created for combat testing purposes; the real Davis and Frey may have already been woken up and failed to stop Wagner previously.]]
50	* SeparateButIdentical: In the original mobile version of the game, there's no real difference between Gunnar and Jane. In the PC port, Gunnar's default equipment is a semi-automatic pistol and an assault rifle, while Jane's default equipment is a revolver and a shotgun. Jane's weapons do more damage, but hold less ammo and are very slow to reload, making her a noticeably more challenging character to play as (although you can spend in-game credits to purchase other weapons).
51	* SprintMeter: A particularly jarring example, as these two highly-trained and cybernetically-enhanced super-soldiers literally can't run for 5 seconds at a time without running out of breath and being forced to wait for a good 15 seconds to get it back again.
52	* StandardFPSGuns: With the unique feature being that the "Knife" type weapon (The Electromagnetic Stungun) deals a OneHitKill with SplashDamage.
53	* TitleDrop: ''Dead Effect'' refers to the augmentation treatment that was intended to make the crew more efficient in space, but which ended up turning them into zombies.
54	* TreacherousQuestGiver: [[spoiler: Turns out Dr. Wagner, who's been your guide for most of the game, is actually the BigBad.]]
55	* TykeBomb: Jane Frey's backstory explains that she was adopted by the military and raised from childhood to be a weapon.
56	* UniqueEnemy: The minigun-wielding zombie only appears once in the single-player campaign, even though it doesn't have a boss meter and is more of an EliteZombie. In contrast, the actual boss zombie (Captain Razor) appears at least ''twice'' in the campaign, thanks to him having been cloned by Dr. Wagner.
57	* AWinnerIsYou: After you kill the final boss, a short cutscene plays of him exploding, a congratulations message from the dev team pops up, then the game immediately cuts to the credits.
58	* ZombiePukeAttack: The fat zombies in jean shirts gob acid blood at you. When they don't have chainsaws that is...

Context Videogame / DeadEffect