What is known is that you'll have to draw from a pool of survivors you've saved during your mission, and they'll have to be leveled up from scratch to become as fast and strong as the trained veterans. While the exact specifics haven't been nailed down (in regards whether a complete decimation will result in either XCOM-like mission-fails or The Bureau-like checkpoints). As has been the fad with many previous tactical games and zombie-filled action offerings, Deadline will incorporate permadeath in some form. When you take on other groups of survivors (because diplomacy isn't an option, it seems), taking cover and flanking becomes even more necessary. When you enter a large multi-room building, taking advantage of this feature to pinpoint exact locations for each member to stave off zombies approaching from multiple entrances can be vital. While you can take on zombie foes in real time with your quartet in a set formation or with general orders, Deadline's “Command Mode” will allow you to stop the fight at any time to give more specific orders to individual members. Fortunately, you can give a variety of commands to your squad (which can now include a very vital scout to see deeper into the fog of war), including ordering them to take cover, lay down suppressing fire, or defend a target. As the foursome patrolled the city streets during my demo, there was more than one occasion where a horde of a dozen-plus undead popped up as we turned a corner or busted through a door. With Breach and Clear: Deadline, an overhead tactical action real-time shooter coming to Steam, you've finally got a united, trained, and skilled crew at your disposal, though the undead they're facing won't just lay down and die (er, again).įollowing up the original Breach and Clear, which pitted your crew against other soldiers, your primary foes in Deadline trade combat acuity for sheer numbers. Even though they usually prevail, tactics such as making up weapons on the fly like in Dead Rising or scouring the environment for health and weapons a la Left 4 Dead showcase more survival tactics than actual combat savvy.

Outside of Call of Duty's bi-annual forays into slaying historically-themed undead, the protagonists you control in most zombie games don't seem to be organized for the job.

Breach and clear deadline ship