SAS: Zombie Assault 4

SAS: Zombie Assault 4, also referred to as SAS 4, is the fourth full game in the main SAS: Zombie Assault series. It is the sequel to.

Zombie Assault 4 began open beta on May 11th, as announced on the forums by an administrator. On a blog published on May 14th, it was announced that a mobile port of SAS 4 was "a long way into development."

Pre-release
Zombie Assault 4 was said to be in early development on a Ninja Kiwi blog on January 22nd, 2014. On a blog published on February 28th, an image of the title screen was put on Imgur, and put on the blog as a 'hidden' link in the response to the question "Is it possible to share some spoilers for new games?".

Another 'hidden' link to a file on Imgur was included in a blog from March 14th, 2014 in response to a question. This time it was a GIF animation of a few seconds of gameplay - a soldier shooting zombies inside a building, while a timer above counts down. It was seen here that turrets, premium ammo, and Grenades and Cryo Grenades would be included.

Plot
Aboard the Kurios Space Control Station in Aartis System, an unknown virus has infected most, if not all, humans. At Bay 10, Military Space Shuttle Mantis 12 is unable to leave due to malfunctioning ramps. As a result a team of SAS forces begins to defend the rear of the shuttle. Eventually, the SAS manages to takeoff, but not before being attack by a mutated zombie (that can change depending on your character level).

Meanwhile, upon hearing of the news about the virus, dubbed the Thera Virus, the president begins to address worried citizens that all will be taken care of. While on TV, an Intelligent officer orders the same SAS team from Aartis system to recover a vaccine discovered by ComBot, an AI design for emergency defense, in order to stop the viruses. Since the president address to the people also signals a Jolt Ship in orbit to fire its WMD to destroy the entire planet (since there is no sign of life on the planet), the team has only less 15 minutes to retrieve the vaccine and get out alive. The team of SAS fights their way through subway station to reach the lab, being told to use the subway train. Once they get the Vaccine, the team manages to shoot their way through a crowded street filled with all sorts of zombies (Including two or three of the boss zombies).

After retrieving the vaccine, the SAS Team gets into a dropship and the dropship takes off. A few moments after the SAS Team departed, the Jolt Ship destroyed the planet, killing all the zombies on it. ComBot then orders the team back to Aartis System since the virus has reached a heavily populated city of Aartis. There, citizens have barricaded themselves in, but won't last long. The SAS were than ordered by ComBot to rescue as many survivors as possible and neutralize any zombies in the area, including survivors who becomes infected. After rescuing any survivors in the area, the SAS are attacked by another boss zombie.

Upon rescuing civilians, the SAS team are soon briefed about Combot suddenly becoming compromised as the Virus has become a digital pathogen. The SAS arrives at a market area as there are pods that seems to be harvesting humans and mechanical beings. While fighting trough the area, the SAS discovers a Purge nest spawning zombies. When they reach the other parking lot, the SAS discover what is called the Minion nest, each containing a Fetid Bloater, Evolved or Fetid Stalkers and Runners, and Fetid Spitters (the 5th nest is called the boss nest, which anyone guesses are the same).

Soon, the SAS are guided to a mansion overrun by zombies, with a VIP in a safe house. After searching the mansion, they finally find the VIP (who is irritating the SAS to the point where one of the SAS soldiers warns the VIP that he is, "... This close to putting a bullet in this guy's face," when grabbing any kind of items (such as turrets and cash). Eventually reaching the landing zone, the SAS and the VIP notice that Zombdroid Servants are attacking the group, including a Zombdroid Soldier. If the SAS manages to hold off the ZombDroid(s), the VIP will say in relief to get out of there. If the SAS manages to hold off the attack but the VIP is health is half-way down, the VIP will complain how he was almost dead.

The SAS was then sent on a mission to a city without power. The only way to restore power was through the underground tunnels. The SAS went into the tunnels and turned on the power, but it activated automatic turrets and a loaderbot. You later have to battle these bosses.

Finally, the SAS was sent to a city that was partially barricaded. The SAS defended the city from zombies swarming in from the places without barricades. With eight rounds, you cannot let more than 25 zombies through the lines of defense.

Gameplay
At the time of release, there are three character classes with unique skills, 90+ weapons with 11 augmentations, and 70+ body armor pieces. All of the armor pieces and weapons are obtained by strongboxes, which are obtained in several ways. Like with Zombie Assault 3, 4-player co-op multiplayer is included. Chat is included in multiplayer.

The style of gameplay in Zombie Assault 4 differs from 3: rather than the player defending their self from waves of zombies on a map, the player progress through maps in level-like fashion with objectives to complete. Additionally, each level has an 'intro', providing backstory for each level.

Character
In SAS: Zombie Assault 4, you are allowed to have two different character slots open, until one of them reaches level 20, unlocking a third slot. Another slot is unlocked when a character reaches level 60. You also have the option to purchase a fifth and sixth slot for 20 NK Coins. When creating a character, you can choose between Assault, Medic, and Heavy, from left to right. The description for each is as followed: "Assault troops are used by the Federation when speed, surprise, and violence of action are required above all else". "In addition to their deadly SAS training, a Medic employs a number of fast and efficient means of human tissue repair". "Heavy Gunners' special skill make them ideal for delivering overwhelming force to enemy positions". Each class has a set of special skills unique to its kind. One of these is unlocked at level 20, and is usually the best skill available. The Assault's special skill is "Assault Team", which calls in a team of soldiers to drop in the game and fight for 15 seconds. The Medic's special skill is "Zombie Antidote" which only does large damage to zombies in a large area. The Heavy's special skill is "Aerial Bombardment" which is an air strike in a selected area. When first creating a character, you receive 2000 SAS cash to purchase gun perks, turrets, or grenades. You receive a strongbox each time you level up, giving you either new gear or a new weapon. You also receive more cash.

Trivia

 * SAS: Zombie Assault 4 is the first SAS game out of the series to have a science fiction setting.
 * The game is also the first in the series to have actual characters, minus the one scientist found in the Zombie Assault 3 Bamboo Thicket map, though the scientist didn't have a name.
 * In Zombie Assault 4, the first mission has you defend the ramps with blast doors being like barricades from the first three games, with the final mission being similar to a tower defense like.
 * Unlike previous games, where you buy guns in stores along with armor, you actually have to find guns and armor in strongboxes found in secret areas or by killing a certain kind of boss.
 * 'Missions in Zombie Assault 4 are unlocked like the regions in the mobile version of Zombie Assault 3: the player has to be a certain rank or higher before they can start them.
 * Once at Rank 20, players of the Assault class unlock a skill that calls forth A.I. buddies, similar to the Buddy of the mobile version of Zombie Assault 3.
 * The Assault class SAS is shown holding a RIA 20 Striker, while the Heavy Class is holding a HVM 008, and a Medic Class SAS is holding a CM Gigavolt.
 * Despite being in the year 3104, the SAS still has some weapons that resemble modern-day weapons.
 * Unlike previous games in the series, Zombie Assault 4 has its own unique ranks and insignia.
 * There are 7 unique skills for each class.