REVIEW / Undead Inc. (PC)

How would be best to define a day in the life of the pharmaceuticals industry? Well, it’s simple. You start a clinic, make drugs, and cure the world of its ills, right? That’s it. You absolutely aren’t going to start working on black market projects, creating ethically dubious drugs or accidentally unleashing a zombie plague. Nor will you work for morally bankrupt third parties willing to give you millions if you just happen to look the other way. I mean, of course, you will, and that’s the entire point of Undead Inc. The fluffy, well-meaning stuff is nice but doesn’t pay the bills. We’ve been treading some murky waters and are just about ready to see whether this new PC title floats. Let’s get on with it, shall we?

Undead Inc. Is a building/strategic/sim title that’s very different from anything I’ve played before. This isn’t necessarily down to the mechanics, (though there’s enough here to keep things fresh,) but rather the subject matter. You will be taking on the role of a clinical manager who will be placed at the helm of a drug franchise. You will then start bringing the masses into your clinic for diagnosis and, of course, treatment. You can research, make, and sell your drugs on-site so it’s all very above-board and practical.

Your clinic houses doctor’s surgeries, pharmacies, and labs. You’ll research, produce, and then sell a variety of cures to the ailing masses. This is all perfectly legal. The problem is that legal isn’t going to make you a boatload of money and you’ve got fees to pay. So, how do we solve this problem? Well, the black market is always looking for goods and they pay really well. All you have to do is provide what they’re asking for and not ask any questions. This comes with its own set of problems.

There’s one group that rather frowns on shady activity and that’s the police. You’ll need to build a black market supply line and ensure that you aren’t caught. This involves hiring people who aren’t going to open their mouths if they find anything suspicious going on. You’ll also need to build some less-than-kosher facilities underground and this means excavating. Amazingly the police become suspicious about randoms blowing holes under the city and might decide to go looking in places you don’t want them to. That would be bad for you so being circumspect is a great idea.

Aside from the issues that I’ve just mentioned come the finance balancing you’ll need to take care of if you’re going to run a successful business. In Undead Inc. Wages need to be paid, research performed and stock produced. All of this costs money. As I mentioned earlier you’ve also got a hefty franchise fee to pay periodically so you’ll need to reserve funds for that. This is obviously the resource juggling we see in many other games but in a game where micromanagement isn’t necessary, it just adds a layer of challenge that enhances the fun. You’ll find yourself doing all the usual juggling but this feels like something that just ticks along in the background. You’ll spend more time completing tasks and less time watching figures and statistics and this is definitely welcome.

Something else to consider is that drugs can have some pretty nasty side effects. Being able to produce the next great flu vaccine is excellent but not if it accidentally turns the patients into zombies. This is a very real problem you’ll have to face and as you don’t want the undead stomping about the place having good security is essential. This is of course just one of the many hazards you’ll come across as you play the game. The living dead are a problem but on the scale of the bio-horrors you might spawn, they’re relatively low on the list. Having solid security is also important in keeping nosy police officers off your land so it’s something that you’ll definitely need to take into account.

The tutorial in Undead Inc. Is great and it’s really informative but it feels a bit disjointed. Tutorials in a lot of games are just the beginning of your adventure. Once you’ve learned the ropes you step into the game proper but it’s as a continuation of what you’ve already been doing. In this title, the tutorial is a scenario in and of itself. When you’ve completed it you’ll start over from scratch with a new facility and new goals to complete. The problem with this is that you can’t add to a base that you’ve already built and just continue from there and if you have issues early on, (something that I definitely did,) you might find yourself starting from scratch more quickly than you’d like.

This is the sort of game that’s about trial and error. It’s one of those titles where you know you’ve failed way before anything like a game over appears on the horizon. It’s far better to just cut your losses and start over than keep battling at a situation that will likely only get worse. This can come from a lack of funds, building facilities in the wrong order, or as happened to me an early police intervention that stuffed everything up. As this is a game where you need to build as you go, not having a good foundation to work from is only going to bring defeat. This is a purely subjective thing but if you’re the sort of person that likes constant flow and doesn’t like the stop-start of repetition you’ll likely get frustrated very quickly.

Undead Inc. is a strange one in terms of play. You’ll be given a scenario with goals to complete but the pacing can feel a little off at times. I found myself waiting with nothing to do while research was performed or cash came in. Once you get your staff hired and situated they pretty much look after themselves and if you can’t afford to build your next facility or you’re having to wait for projects to complete there isn’t much to keep you busy. This isn’t a huge gripe but definitely something I noticed. You won’t be sitting around doing nothing for big swathes of time but it’s enough to bear in mind.

Undead Inc. is the sort of game where things can go wrong very quickly. Again this is subjective but if you’re the sort of gamer who gets precious about your hard work and doesn’t like seeing your stuff fall apart you’re going to hate this one. As I’m the sort of player who played Sim City with all the natural disasters turned on because I’m a sadist and I wanted to watch the destruction this doesn’t bother me. Even though I failed miserably on my first couple of runs in Undead Inc. I just laughed and started over. That probably says more about me than I’d like but still.

All in all, we have a fun, if rather difficult title, with perfectly pleasing graphics and a sensible control system. I don’t have any issues with the nuts and bolts and just enjoyed having fun with it. The downfall is what might be a frustrating difficulty curve to some. This isn’t losing this title points for me but I think it might lose it a few players. Definitely play the tutorial. It’s in a few stages but I think it’s a must. It doesn’t cover everything but it’s enough to get you started. After that just keep the cops and creepies away from your gear and you should be fine. If you can manage a successful business, of course.

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.