Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler’s Green was a very interesting release for a few reasons. First of all, this marked the first time any video game developer attempted to make a playable adaptation of anything related to George A. Romero’s ‘Living Dead’ series of films. A licensed survival horror zombie game? Count me in. Admittedly it wasn’t until years later that I finally dove in to this one. The results are mixed, but Land of the Dead on the original Xbox has a few tricks up it’s sleeve.
Okay, so Road to Fiddler’s Green doesn’t follow the license exactly. You don’t get to play as John Leguizamo or Asia Argento or anything like that. The game is pretty loose with the license in the beginning. It does however take place in the same universe, but at the onset of the zombie epidemic. You play as a simple farmer named Jack who one day notices someone standing on his property in a daze. He’s unaware that the walking dead have besieged the land. Our soon to be hero fends off a few corpses and makes way for her neighbors. They have succumbed to the dead. Eventually Jack sets off for a safe zone in the city. This quest eventually leads him to one of the last surviving outposts, and finally the community of Fiddler’s Green (the same one ran by Dennis Hopper’s character in the film).
The plot is barebones, and just barely ties into the film. Either way, it’s a decent scenario and Jack is fairly likable. The setting, especially the cornfield at night, is eerie and perfect for a horror game. Land of the Dead is a first person shooter but unlike most from this era ammo conservation is a focal point. Hence the survival horror roots. You are given a few objectives which include activities such as defeating all local zombies, finding an item, or reaching a new area. When you start out Jack has only his fists with which he can dish out knuckle sandwiches. One of your early objectives is to find his rifle, and you’ll get a myriad of other firearms throughout your travels. They each use different types of ammunition you’ll find in various places.
Let’s talk about the gunplay. It’s not nearly as polished as it should have been, and the engine feels a little half baked to be honest. Zombies are supposed to react to different hit zones but this was constantly inaccurate. I would shoot them in the head and their arm would blow off. A bullet to the leg would cause their head to explode. I’m not exaggerating; it’s almost comically bad. Land of the Dead explains in-game that a head shot will end things faster but no matter where they’re shot the zombies all seem to go down with the same number of bullets per firearm. The rifle for example puts them out of their misery in three shots no matter where they’re hit. The shotgun is two. They really should have put some more work into zombie reactions and varying damage.
Now we get to the zombies themselves. The AI is bad. I’m not expecting to be up against Einstein zombies, but I would appreciate it if they didn’t constantly get stuck on doors and objects on the ground. I found it remarkably simple to equip one of the many melee weapons (the kung fu hustle punch is absolutely devastating in this game) and just tiptoe forward and backward during the strike to put them down. There was rarely any resistance, or really anything they could do to stop me. I did find that I was forced to resort to firearms when outnumbered, but it wasn’t because the zombies are particularly adept. It’s strictly a numbers game, and bodies blocking the way forward while slapping me around.
That brings me to the repetition. There just isn’t enough variety in the enemies you face. Yes, I knew what I was in store for but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t have mixed things up a bit. You face just a few different types of the undead. You have your standard shamblers that try to bite and smack at Jack. Then there are the crawlers which by and large are the same thing, but on the ground and harder to hit. Then you have those zombies that can spit on you which poisons Jack temporarily and obscures his vision by making everything blurry. Last but not least there are a few zombies which can explode at will. Unfortunately the game has too little to offer in terms of combat.
I will say though that Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler’s Green was surprisingly unsettling to play. Initially I was expecting the game to lack in the scare department because it’s first person, but that wasn’t the case. The corn field in particular had me shook as I was wandering around unable to see far in front of me. All the while zombie groans could be heard, but the direction they were coming from completely undiscernible. The game is really good at distracting you as zombies shuffle in from behind. I was caught off guard far more times than I would like to admit, and even found myself jumping occasionally. Land of the Dead might be kind of a mess in the gameplay department but at least the developers got the horror elements down pat.
Unfortunately the game as a whole is really lacking in the polish department. I already mentioned the poor AI so let’s discuss the level design. Outside of a few areas the game is too closed off. There’s almost always just one way forward with a few doors on each side. You also have some light platforming where you can jump across objects in the environment. This is clunky and floaty, and is more frustrating than anything. That brings me to the jump button. It’s there, but it’s hardly used for anything. When the game does require it things instantly become even less fun than they were before. This element should have been cut from the game if you ask me.
Land of the Dead is also a pretty ugly game. The character models work well enough but there are clipping issues galore. The animations are also dreadful and often interrupted which makes everything look clunky. Environments are drab and uninspired. You have generic farmland, generic cities, a drab hospital, back alleyways, etc. The point is that there’s almost nothing interesting visually here. At least Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler’s Green does render in 480p. That’s something at least. The music is decent but not amazing. It’s atmospheric and really enhances the horror elements but honestly I can’t remember much of it after playing. The voice acting is decent and even a little charming which was a pleasant surprise.
I didn’t go in with high hopes. First person shooters of this era are typically pretty hard to return to. Furthermore, this is a licensed one, and it’s based on a horror movie at that. While Land of the Dead clearly didn’t set the world on fire there are a few moments worth experiencing here. I don’t really understand why they couldn’t follow the source material a bit closer. It isn’t until the end that Road to Fiddler’s Green clearly ties in to the property, and by then it feels like more wasted potential than anything. If you’re a fan of Land of the Dead (and you should be because it’s a good film) then there are a few things you can check out here. The radios you find throughout the world hints at the events leading to the film, but other than that, this game feels a bit detached.
