You've made it through the hellish streets of the town you once called home. All around you the living dead have shambled, moaned, and eaten their way toward your brains. Through sharp wits, a keen eye, and a loaded pistol you've made it to the front gate of that weird old military compound outside of town. If anywhere in this new ruined world is safe, it must be the military compound… right?
Zombies!!! 2: Zombie Corps(e) was the first expansion released for the hit board game Zombies!!! I reviewed the original a few months back and I really liked it, so it was time to crack open the first (of eleven) expansions and see what the game had to offer. Released originally in 2002 by Twilight Creations Inc., the game received a second edition in 2007 which tightened up the rules and clarified some questions.
Game Mechanics
This expansion plays just like the original game, but adds a few fun additions to the core game. You still going around shooting zombies, collecting loot from buildings, and searching for the Helipad (that's your way home free). But Zombie Corps(e) introduces a whole new set of map tiles once players find the "Front Gate" tile that leads to the military base.
Once in the base, players may encounter new weapons, new modes of transportation… and a whole new threat. Weapons like the rocket launcher, the stick of dynamite, and mines all add an explosive flavor to the game. Now you can take out great swaths of zombies to add to your total kill pool (another win condition is being the first to take out 25 zombies). You can also hit up the motor pool to get a jeep, which greatly increases your speed while on roads. Finally, if you go to the secret testing facility, you could come across a new kind of zombie miniature (supplied in this expansion). These new glow in the dark zombies (cool!) have been tested on by the military and are harder to kill and move much faster. Now "first one to the helipad" isn't as easy as it once sounded!
Replay Value
Zombies!!! is the type of game that you could play over and over again with the right group of friends. Some people may play it once and say "enough's enough," but a lot of people, especially horror fans, will find this game addicting. My friends and I keep playing this game, and these expansions add to the replay value ten-fold.
Overall Impressions
This expansion breathes some fresh air (or is that stale, rotten, zombie-air?) into an old favorite. Although it doesn't drastically change the game like later expansions, it makes it move quicker and raises the zombie-body count. It addresses some issues with the first game and clarifies some rules, and the new event cards keep it random, wild, and fun. For a guy who never went crazy for the "zombies in military settings," I have to admit… this expansion is a ton of fun! And this compactly packaged expansion clocks in at a cool $15 MSRP, which is an insane deal for the amount of fun they've included.