The much talked about Day Z mod for ArmA 2 has now registered over 500,000 players. Introduced this past April, the mod was responsible for putting the three year ArmA 2 into the top seller charts on Steam for over seven weeks, and is helped garner over 300,000 unit sales within two months of its release.
Day Z takes place in the fictional post-Soviet state of Chernaru, because if "Hostel" has taught us anything, there's nothing scarier than eastern-Europe. Chernaru provides plenty of room to run around and go nuts. Unfortunately, it's also home to "a new and presently unknown infection which has wiped out most of the world's population. You are one of the few who have survived and now you must search this new wasteland in order to fight for your life against what is left of the indigenous population, now infected with the disease."
Z has been praised for it's realism (yes, there's zombies, but you have to suspend some disbelief) which adds to the challenge of the game. The player can fracture bones, die from shock, receive infections, and faint from low blood pressure. The player must eat and drink regularly if they expect to survive, as well as maintain body temperature. You can go it alone, or team up with friends.
In addition to zombies, players will also have to go up against bandits, other players whose methods for survival vary a bit from your average scavenger. Namely, they kill others for their gear.
Kotaku has described it as "possibly the greatest zombie game ever made," and said it was the most interesting PC game of 2012. The mod has been compared to "The Walking Dead" and its focus on interactions between the characters when faced with their desperate situation, with the players in Day Z forced to deal with dilemmas in similar ways as portrayed in both the comics and TV series for the franchise.
Going up against human players, zombies, and the regular day to day affairs like staving off starvation and life endangering wounds, how long does the typical player last? About four hours. With the new player count, expect that lifespan to drop. But at least all these players makes for many more opportunities for this.
