Project Zomboid vs. The Last Stand: Union City

[Brex]

Over the past few months, I've noticed that Project Zomboid bares an uncanny resemblance to The Last Stand: Union City. Not that there's anything wrong with that; I am not implying in any way that the developers copied or ripped off TLS:UC (besides, I think PZ has been in development before that game even came out.) 

 

For those of you who don't know what the hell I'm talking about, The Last Stand: Union City is an online flash zombie RPG that's part of the mega-popular The Last Stand series. Unlike the first two games in the series, which were similar to tower defense games, TLS:UC is a side-scroller RPG set in a zombie apocalypse. And it is utterly fantastic, in my opinion. Easily one of the best flash games ever made, and hell, maybe even one of the best zombie games ever made. It's unfortunate that the developers got greedy and turned the next game into a freemium quasi-RPG cash cow, but TLS:UC and the other Last Stand games still stand out as some of the best free online games ever made. 

 

So, what do I mean when I say that this game and Project Zomboid are very similar? Well, besides the obvious zombie apocalypse setting, both games feature character creation that involves selecting your character's pre-apocalypse occupation, which gives you bonuses to certain skills. Both games feature a randomized loot system (though Union City's loot system is only semi-randomized, with many preset loot locations throughout the game.) Both feature survival elements such as the need for food and sleep (though again, PZ's survival elements are much more extreme.) And both feature a unique art style (Project Zomboid with isometric camera and a mix of 2D/3D pixelated environments, and TLS:UC featuring a side-scrolling camera and a 2D semi-cartoonish environment). There's a lot of other similarities between the games, but I'm not asking which one is better (that would be unfair as PZ is still in development). 

 

Instead, I wanted to get your opinion on The Last Stand: Union City, if you've played it. What did you think of it? How does it compare to Project Zomboid? Do you think the games are similar or completely different? Are there any elements of Union City that you would like to see in PZ? Comment below, if you want. Again, this is not a debate over which game is better; this is just a discussion about the two games and the similarities between them. 

[Virindi_Screenwriter]

1 hour ago, Brex said:

 

1)What did you think of [The Last Stand: Union City]?

2) How does it compare to Project Zomboid?

3) Do you think the games are similar or completely different?

4) Are there any elements of Union City that you would like to see in PZ?

 

1) I liked it for what it was. I found the RPG elements refreshing albeit grindy for a sidescroller.

 

2) I don't know how much comparing there is to do as they are completely different games. RPG skilling and zombie killing stand out to me as common threads. Adrenaline Rush (TLS:UC) vs. Long-game Tactics (PZ) as far as a contrast.

 

3) Very different, even to how it felt to fight the zombies. Even while respecting that zombies were a threat TLS:UC feels like a shooting gallery; PZ feels more like fighting a wave--even when I get firearms PZ zombies feel suffocating.

 

4) DEFINITELY would love to see NPC traders.

 

[Legoland99]

I've played the first two and the TLS:DZ until level 27-37 or so. I've started playing the Union City one but never got past a few dozen minutes a few years ago and now that I saw this I feel like playing it again. I'm currently working on a map with the same name (lol). Waiting for the map maker to get back to map making again as I make buildings for it. It's a nice game that really gets you into the post apocalyptic setting even if it's style is a bit more simplistic and cartoon-like then the modern zombie ones which at most times lack a lot of things that make a game like PZ and TLS great.

[Brex]

2 hours ago, Legoland99 said:

I've played the first two and the TLS:DZ until level 27-37 or so. I've started playing the Union City one but never got past a few dozen minutes a few years ago and now that I saw this I feel like playing it again. I'm currently working on a map with the same name (lol). Waiting for the map maker to get back to map making again as I make buildings for it. It's a nice game that really gets you into the post apocalyptic setting even if it's style is a bit more simplistic and cartoon-like then the modern zombie ones which at most times lack a lot of things that make a game like PZ and TLS great.

 

While I do like how your Union City map is coming along, I still wish someone would create an actual Union City map from TLS, using the maps from the TLS:UC and Dead Zone. 

[Legoland99]

6 minutes ago, Brex said:

 

While I do like how your Union City map is coming along, I still wish someone would create an actual Union City map from TLS, using the maps from the TLS:UC and Dead Zone. 

Maybe someone will. I might reference some key locations from the game

[Magic Mark]

I actually followed TLS:UC  during development and played the short demos and contributed to the con-artist forum for some time.

 

How does it compare to Project Zomboid?

 

The Last Stand: Union City, unfortunately does not have an environment and story that supports the content the game has. Had it been longer, or had more things and locations to do outside of the story, it would have lasted longer on my plate.

 

I wanted more, and more importantly I think the game did not live up to it's development.

 

As a game, UC is refreshing for the zone of flash games. The game lets you choose what your character is good in with a hodge-podge of skills that all affect gameplay in one way or another. This becomes more interesting when keeping your character taken care of comes into play, giving you a reason to search side locations.

 

Project Zomboid is still in development but from the get-go has had much more to play with in terms of keeping you entertained for hours, and the reason for that is the time it takes to get stuff done makes the player both feel more rewarded for their effects and makes them think about what they want to do before they do it.

 

Of course, one is a flash game, so comparing content is kind of irreverent to the fact that UC never had to be a thousand-hour experience since you could pick up and continue it whenever you wanted to. The game has an end that you are inevitably forced towards with the limited amount of supplies you can reliably find on the map, so keep that in mind.

 

I enjoyed it for being a sidescroller game, but an end came to it far sooner than I wanted it to and other than the story it lacked in things to do.

 

Do you think the games are similar or completely different?

 

Project Zomboid is a day-by-day survival game while the Last Stand: Union City is a side-scrolling RPG with an end point. Say what you will about PZ resembling UC, it's always going to be the case where stuff like barricading a house, crafting and growing your own food with Project Zomboid, and never The Last Stand: Union City. There is simply no aspect to Union City whatsoever about producing anything, as the game is scripted with most containers having guided loot and scripted loot in more than a few places, as well as having a dedicated active story with objectives.

 

There's nothing to your character in UC with any kind of trade in mind that's going to let you build anything up other than the outfit of your character and that's pretty much what can be said about that aspect of the game. It lacks survival elements that require your character to build up anything to stay alive. Every safe room is given to you, every story point occurs regardless of choice as your character only has objectives to complete before the endgame.

 

To me, yeah, it's the same zombie survival type of game, but within the genre there is nothing similar between them that wouldn't have a place in just about any other zombie survival game.

 

Are there any elements of Union City that you would like to see in PZ?

 

To be honest, nothing comes to mind here, as other than interactions between NPCs (which I think PZ is still on track for getting) it heavily lacks in survival elements. The big city map is cool, but again, nothing that we won't see in project zomboid whether it is player-made or coming down the line.