Overview

Dust Devil's first title will be released in the summer of 2010. Help Smilin' Jack O'Hurlihan (follow the link in the Characters tab to see the bold buccaneer), Esmeralda, and Dr. Theopolis defeat Gruesome George, an army of undead, giant monsters, and the mysterious Red Widow! Featuring nail-biting boss battles, swashbuckling adventure, and a horde of undead buccaneers, Zombie Pirates will send a shiver right down to yer timbers!

We'll be releasing more information in coming days, including profiles of the key characters, downloads, and screenshots. Check back regularly for more information.

Storyline

Jack's battles will take him from the Carribbean-like Buccaneer Bay to the savage Cannibal Isles, the mysterious Sargassum Sea, and the icy reaches of Polaris, battling zombies and nefarious boss monsters along the way.

Jack is joined by Dr. Theopolis and his marvelous gryocopters and submarines, Esmeralda and her all-gal crew of the Manta, and a number of other strange and amazing vessels.

Jack will need all the help he can get, for the Zombie Pirate fleets contain everything from Plague Ships to hulking Dreadnoughts to screeching flocks of Murder Birds! And behind them all is the captain of the undead, Gruesome George!

Characters

Zombie Pirates features a cast of larger-than-life heroes and villains. Don't believe us? Just look at Smiling Jack on the right... his chin would be a character in its own right in most games, but in Zombie Pirates it only plays a supporting role!

Each week we'll be adding profiles of our heroes and their evil foes to give you some insight into the story behind Zombie Pirates, starting with Jack himself. Check back each week to get the low-down on the full cast of characters, culminating with the sinister secret of the Red Widow herself.

character profiles

• Smiling Jack
• Esmeralda
• Dr. Theopolis

Screenshots

Specifications

System Requirements to run Zombie Pirates are as follows:

• CPU: 1GHz or higher
• OS: Windows XP ® or newer (Vista ® or newer recommended)
• Memory: 1Gb RAM (2Gb RAM recommended)
• Video: 3d graphics accelerator card (must support shader model 1.1)

Reviews

Zombie Pirates has launched to a great reception. Here's what the reviewers are saying - we'll add to this list as new reviews are posted.

"For a good story, good gameplay, and good chunk of value Zombie Pirates gets a 4.5 stars out of 5."

"For everyone who has ever spent untold hours watching zombies get decapitated by peas or carefully made a maze of gun turrets on a green field to destroy waves of tiny running soldiers, this game is right up your alley."

To read the full review, check out Half Beard's HUD

My rating: 9.5/10 – I think Dust Devil Studios accomplishes what they set out for with this game and then some.

Aside from some very minor complaints with the voice overs not randomizing enough or not having enough lines to work with, this is something I can't really find a whole lot of fault with. The story is campy and well written (if predictable), the characters are entertaining, the units are fun to play with, and it does take some good strategy (and mad clicking) if you want to succeed. If Dust Devil Studios were to offer another product in the future I would definitely check it out based on how good this one is.

To read the full review, see The Vigilant site.

FAQ

PURCHASING

I see there are two versions of the game. Which one do I want?

That really depends on your computer. A system that only confoms to the minimum system requirements will likely have an easier time running the standard version than the Collector's Edition, whereas a more powerful machine will be able to run either equally well. There is also a difference in price between the two versions, if that affects your decision.

What's in the standard edition?

The standard edition of Zombie Pirates features the full story with all the mayhem and zombies but runs better on older systems as it does not have full cinematics. The story cutscenes are instead relayed in a storybook manner, so you don't lose any of the story.

What makes the Collector's Edition better?

The Collector's Edition includes the full cinematic cut scenes, and would be more suitable for a more modern or powerful system. In addition, the Collector's Edition includes additional challenge levels at each zone, new achievements, rum-running mini games, and a new adventure - Jack's Nightmare - which unlocks periodically as you play the full campaign.

Where can I get them from?

The game is available from a wide range of online games sites. Sandlot Games are our distributor for the standard version of Zombie Pirates, and are distributing widely through their network of partners. The Collector's Edition is available from the following vendors, as well as right here from us.

		Sandlot Games*
		Impulse
		Direct2Drive
		GameWatcher
		Big Fish Games*
		Gamersgate
		Drive-Thru RPG

* Sites marked with an asterisk will have the game available shortly

INSTALLATION

What are the system requirements?

System Requirements to run Zombie Pirates are as follows:

• CPU: 1GHz or higher
• OS: Windows XP ® or newer (Vista ® or newer recommended)
• Memory: 1Gb RAM (2Gb RAM recommended)
• Video: 3d graphics accelerator card (must support shader model 1.1)

Anything else?

The game also requires .NET 3.5 and the XNA 3.1 runtime.

Where can I get .Net and XNA

These should both be installed automatically when you run the game installer. If there is a problem with the installation you can download the necessary files from:

• XNA Runtime
• .Net 3.5

There's a problem installing my game, what do I do?

If you have difficulties during installation, please email us at sales@dustdevilstudio.com

My antivirus software reports a problem with the file. What's happening?

The Zombie Pirates exe is encrypted for security reasons. Unfortunately, this means that some virus checking software detects it as a threat.

We have tested the software and it is virus-free, so we apologize that it gave your antivirus a scare. You should be able to override that warning and install the game just fine.

PLAYING THE GAME

The game takes a while to load. What's wrong?

Zombie Pirates preloads a lot of textures to reduce additional load times while playing. If you are playing on an older system it may feel like it takes a little while to get started but the combat should be very smooth!

How do I move my ship?

You can select any of your vessels by clicking on them. When selected you will notice a green ring around the base of the ship. When you move the cursor you can click anywhere else on the map to move the ship to the new location.

If you see the steering wheel turn red, you are hovering over an inaccessible location and you can't send your ship there.

How do I make it fire?

Ships will automatically fire as soon as they come in range of an enemy. If your ships aren't firing, you're being too cautious! Get closer!

I just got a Powder Keg. What does it do?

The powder keg explodes in a 3x3 space blast doing damage to anything in range. It's a great way of weakening powerful foes or clearing a big wave of lesser ships.

Click on the keg at the bottom of the screen and position the cursor wherever you want the center of you blast. You'll see the extent of the devastation on the screen marked by the blast template.

I just got a mug of Grog. What does it do?

Grog is your pirates' best friend! Each mug heals 3 damage to any ship. Your ships start to smoke if they have taken a few points of damage, so for most efficient use of the grog, wait until the recipient is smoldering. Don't wait too long though, as another hit or two will send the ship to Davey Jones' locker!

Click on the grog at the bottom of the screen and you'll see the cursor change to a mug icon. Click on any ship to heal it. While you have the mug selected you can see the health of all your ships, so you can determine which crew is in most need of a drink. You can also check the health of your ships by simply hovering over the grog at the bottom of the screen.

I just got a Parrot. What does it do?

Parrots allow you to build up your fleet by sending them to fetch reinforcements. Different ships require different quantities of parrots, but most need 3 parrots.

Click on the parrot at the bottom of the screen to open the ship selection screen. Each ship is displayed along with its cost (in parrots) and a description of its uses. THE GAME IS PAUSED WHILE YOU ARE IN THIS SCREEN, so don't worry about taking damage or losing while choosing a ship

Once you select a ship, the selection screen closes and the game resumes. You will notice the cursor is now a ghostly image of the ship you selected. Clicking anywhere on the screen brings the ship onto the map and sails it to the location you clicked.

My ship didn't arrive!

Your ships enter from the leftmost column of the map. If the square in that column is blocked by a ship, they cannot enter. You'll need to select the ship again and choose a different destination. No parrots are deducted from you until you successfully place a ship.

I just picked up a Coin. What does that do?

The coins accumulate in the chest at the bottom of the screen. These treasures can be used to purchase upgrades for your ships in Tortuga Sally's Trading Post.

You can vist Sally between levels by clicking the chip with her image on it just to the right of Bucanneer Bay on the map of the Shimmering Seas.

How much is the crab?

The crab is not for sale!

How do I lose?

You lose if the zombies get any of their ships off the left edge of the map. Also, if they sink your flagship, the Sun Runner, the level is lost immediately.

How do I win?

If you defeat every enemy in the level, the level ends and you are victorious. You can see the Zombometer on the right hand side of the map, which gives an indication of how far through the level you have progressed. When the green bar reaches the top, you've completed the level.

At the bottom of the screen, next to the chest, you'll see a small gem in one of four colors. The fewer ships you lose in a level, the better you do. Your current success at the level is indicated by the color of the gem.

• Ruby = More than 5 ships lost
• Amber = 2 to 5 ships lost
• Emerald = 1 ship lost
• Blue Diamond = No ships lost