Overall, the game looks terrific despite the typical alpha bugs that I expected to see. Some of the textures were odd, the water reflected at a strange size and the zombie animations weren't entirely fluid. But I felt the atmosphere and the panic of being surrounded while my last few bullets fluttered away. It's easy to compare The War Z to DayZ, but there is something there that is fundamentally different. DayZ is for the masochist that will spend the day crawling for three hours only to get gunned down at an airfield and restart the process all over again; The War Z is about building a character, not only with gear and skills, but with a story. I look forward to seeing what people will do with the social and building aspect of the game, to see semi-permanent settlements sprout up in the wilderness to house clans and if there will be an integrated storyline.

It's unclear if the zombies or the players will be the largest threat to a survivor. In DayZ the zombies feel a bit like an a small bump in the road, something that gets in the way when there are people to snipe. In The War Z, while the zombies are slow, their massive numbers and stealth make them a decent threat. We haven't seen if strangers immediately become hostile or cooperative when meeting in the post-apocalyptic world, but you better make some friends to watch your back.

If it gets all polished up and maximizes on some innovative social ideas, this game seems poised to become popular. At $30 with free DLC it isn't a high-risk gamble for consumers, and from what I've seen the game seems likely to be a hell of a lot of fun.