Faded Boxers

If you haven’t heard of Urban Dead yet then—well—er—there’s probably nothing seriously wrong with you. In fact, it may just emphasize how much of a geek I am that I’ve been really getting into the game as much as I have.

For the uninitiated, Urban Dead is yet another MMORPG akin to Ragnarok and World of Warcraft only without the pesky inconvenience of graphics. While the game is very low tech (read: web based and grid mapped), it is free so it attracts all kinds of geeks looking for a way to kill a few minutes. And because of the very strict Action Points system, a few minutes a day is all you get.

So how does it work exactly? Urban Dead is a lot like being in a George Romero movie. It’s set in the fictional city of Malton during the aftermath of a zombie outbreak. You can choose to play as a Zombie or as a Human Survivor. The Humans in turn have three different subclasses (Military, Science, or Civilian). While the skills available to the Human class are much more dynamic and interesting than those available to Zombies, being one of the walking dead is a hell of a lot more fun.

Each player receives an Action Point every half hour. One cannot do anything in the game without an AP. Picking something up, talking to other players, hitting somebody—all of these actions require a single AP. For humans, travelling requires 1 AP; while a low level zombie needs as much as 2 APs since they (we) theoretically walk slower than humans.

Since you get a maximum of only 50APs, strategy plays a big part in making progress in the game. As such, it is not uncommon for players to congregate via internet forums to plan out their next attack. In fact, most Urban Dead players hail from the populous Something Awful forum.

I’m a part of the Zombie Horde Pwotters. While we are still a very young group, we are continuously beefing up our ranks as well as our characters. In fact, we have just concluded our very first coordinated attack on some hapless humans in the nearby hospital. Calling it a success would probably require the loosest definition of the term, but at least it’s a start. We don’t have an exact kill count yet, but most of us involved were able acquire loads of experience points.

And you know what I really like about the game? The fact that the quickest way to level up is by killing your teammates or anybody stupid enough to get close to you.

Anybody intereted in playing the game need only to create a character at UrbanDead.Com and add My Profile to your contact list. Also, if you too are interested in joining the PWOTTERS, simply add “Pwotters” to your profile and follow the instructions in this thread.

I give it a rating of ONE WICKED BITCH SLAP (I would have given it a rating of five, but my computer would bleed.)