Sarah Northway's zombie survival strategy simulation is back with Rebuild 2, where the undead epidemic is in full swing and you have no choice but to band together with a small group of survivors and do your best to take back your city, piece by piece. It won't be easy (or maybe it will be, depending on what you select from the clever intro text), but if you're savvy with your resources and can convince your fellow humans to take a risk or two as they follow your lead, you just might avoid becoming a tortured metaphor in a terrible George Romero knockoff yet.
If you played the original Rebuild, then a lot about Rebuild 2 is going to be familiar to you. You start off with just a handful of buildings inside the safety of your perimeter, and a small group of people to boss around and help achieve your goals. Ultimately, your objective is to eventually reclaim every building outside your safe zone, but to do that you'll have to improve what you've got; other buildings may contain valuable supplies or survivors to recruit, and each day you'll have to figure out how best to manage what you've got at your disposal. (Hint: While fun, "My Little Pony Marathon" and "Pillow Fight" probably aren't very productive.) Click on nearby buildings to see what they contain and what missions are available at each one. The game will automatically select the best person for a job, but depending on the task at hand, you may want to assign even more people to lower the risk of someone turning into zombie chow. Additionally, you'll also need places for your people to sleep, to say nothing of the food you require each day. Of course, there's always the threat of a zombie attack during the night, so don't get too cocky sending people out willy-nilly or you might not have enough gunpower around to defend your walls when things start getting bitey.
Aside from some new aesthetics and a soundtrack that sounds like someone keeps throwing Akira Yamaoka down a flight of stairs, the main differences between Rebuild 2 and its predecessor come down to a lot of tweaks and additions to the gameplay, such as an improved UI and new skills. Being able to tell at a glance how great your chance of getting your brains eating during the night is incredibly helpful, while the new equipment system that lets you give each person an item to boost their skill goes a long way towards keeping everyone alive. Similarly, letting you make little decisions that affect the overall well-being of your colony in the form of small plots with your survivors or NPC characters help add to the immersion. It's still the challenging game it always was, but now it feels a lot more fleshed out, and the new hidden endings will give even old fans of the series reason to play again.
If you've always suspected that when the putrid zombie brains hit the fan you'd be the one others would cling to so you could lead them to a glorious new utopia in the post-apocalyptic age, now's your chance to prove it. While it may feel a bit too familiar to people who played the original to (un)death, Rebuild 2 is still a fantastic "just one more turn" strategic simulation that has a lot of potential to snag even more fans. Just remember that when night falls, hide yo' kids and hide yo' civilians, 'cause they're bitin' everybody!
Walkthrough Guide
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Rebuild 2 Strategy Guide
General Info/Tips
Equipment is not permanently attached to people, so feel free to give them whatever suits the job they're doing.
The only requirement to reclaim a square is killing all the zombies. The survivors will move elsewhere for recruiting later, so only wait to reclaim if you need more supplies from it.
In more dangerous squares, it is more beneficial to kill the zombies before scavenging/recruiting.
It takes more play time, but changing out who's on guard duty (or farming, etc.) will help increase your number of effective soldiers/scavengers.
The above is also a good reason to have an extra person tag along for reclaiming/recruiting jobs.
Research is important, pick and choose carefully: communication research gets you random survivors, zombie research makes all survivors more effective killers, food research puts less strain on needing farms/farmers or scavenging for food.
Be careful about what you build: labs and schools are permanent and cannot be changed into other buildings.
It is usually a couple of game weeks before the first zombie horde attacks, so wait until then to worry about guard duty.
A Guide to All 4 Endings
#1 - Escape by Helicopter
The helicopter is always sabotaged as soon as the heliport is reclaimed.
You need to acquire the right parts, tools and expertise.
There are two different ways of acquiring each one.
The first is that they're randomly gained.
Parts: a trade with Gustav.
If you take the cure instead, nothing happens as it's bogus.
Tools: by researching electricity.
Expertise: by having someone read a helicopter manual.
About a game month after the sabotage, it should be ready to fix.
From this ending, you can start a new game taking up to five of your current survivors.
#2 - Defeat the Last Judgement Gang
First you must find the subway.
Shortly after fortifying both ends, you will discover a hidden route to their HQ.
A few days after that, you will come across an escapee whom you must feed to hear her story.
About two/three weeks after fortifying the subway, you will be ready to attack the gang (it's beneficial to ask the Riffs for help).
#3 - Discover Zombieism Cure
Two days after completing your first research, a crazy scientist will show up. Let him in.
About a week later he will demand an assistant.
Many days later (once he asked before an assistant) he will request a samples from a zombie horde.
The horde's movements toward your base are predictable, so as they get close, just send someone on a mission in the square they will be in the next turn.
It is still possible to complete this ending if you reclaim all the squares before you collect a sample.
About a game month after he shows up, there will be an explosion at the lab.
After investigating the explosion and translating his notes, you can continue his research from any lab.
Note: he once asked for the body of a dead dog for research. Obliging him lessened the wait for the explosion.
#4 - Draft a Constitution
First you must reclaim the required number of squares (indicated at the top, but you'll also receive notices when you've reached it).
Next, you should reclaim city hall.
Lastly, start drafting a constitution from city hall, which requires ten people with some leadership skill.
From this ending, you can start a new game taking up to five of your current survivors.
Tips to Beating Impossible Difficulty
Be sure to read the general tips first.
The easiest advantage is first completing the game on an easier difficult and taking your five most skilled people to the impossible city.
At the beginning of the game, your main concern should be food. So you should do your best to reclaim farms/suburbs in the area.
Scouting is essential so that you can determine in which direction to reclaim the blocks since they have to all be adjacent to each other.
High risks can pay better than playing it safe. A good number to shoot for is danger no more than about 30%. If you are trying to scavenge for equipment, that should be at least 50%, if you can.
Getting a lab quickly is a good idea as the food researches help you from needing to have committed farmers.
Expanding your area into a corner helps keep down the perimeter from which the zombies can attack you.
Happiness will become an issue. Be sure to have good leaders preaching/bartending (Gustav's love caravan also comes in handy if you can spare the food).
The ending you choose depends on your city layout/situation.
The constitution ending is the most straightforward with the least amount of randomness.
If you can find the heliport early, that could be your route.
Same with the subway for the Last Judgement ending.
The cure ending takes the most time and effort, so that is least likely. Though if you're trying for all four in one game, it'll probably be your last one achieved.
It's called impossible difficulty for a reason! Good luck!!
Posted by: Kyh | October 14, 2011 11:46 AM