Paradox-Z

Paradox-Z is a Zombie-Survival game created by Crystar800 and produced by Infinity Realms Productions for PC, with "dumbed-down" versions made for PS4 and Xbox One.

Premise
Paradox-Z is a zombie-survival indie game combining the universes of the now defunct Red Alert 3:Paradox Mod and Treyarch's Call of Duty Zombies mode.

Background
Paradox is an alternate timeline of our world in 1969, where sci-fi weapons other futuristic objects exist at an earlier time, although atomic weaponary does not exist yet. It's a twisted version of the original Red Alert timeline, with 8 major world factions doing battle against one another.

Game Modes
The PC version of the game is the full experience, according to the developers. The PS4 and Xbox One versions do not include the RTS game-mode, "Ether".


 * Survival - Survival mode in Paradox-Z is an Action Real Time Strategy mode. Players can switch between third and first person at will. The player will choose a faction and try to withstand hordes of the undead while maintaining a base. They can switch to new units by taking control of them at their respective production buildings.  Players will have to collect resources to support their base to build more structures and other utilities. This mode can be played both offline and online, with a maximum of 64 players.
 * Ether - Exclusive to PC, Ether lets you take a different viewpoint on the Survival Mode. Instead of an action-RTS, you'll play it as a normal RTS instead.
 * Faction Grief - Two factions on opposite sides of a map try to defend against the undead hordes, while battling over resources to maintain their base. Hectic action between trying to defend against zombies and enemy units.
 * Incidents - Incidents is a game mode more like the original Zombies mode, in combination with the new action-RTS mode Survival. You'll be sent to various undead "hotspots" around the globe in order to obtain technology for a private company, whose goal is to restore the earth back to the way it was. In each location, you'll play in classic zombies style, with the goal of obtaining the technology in easter egg fashion. Once obtained, you'll be given the option to continue or keep playing for as long as you wish. Whichever you pick, you'll be be sent to "clean up" the area in Survival mode, with a goal of a certain amount of zombies to kill. The units you'll have access to depends on which faction is chosen by the players in the game.  Incidents can be played online in 4-player co-op as well, where the choice to continue to the next mission would be voted on by the players.
 * Skirmish - Play Survival or Ether(PC) for fun on any of the game's maps.
 * Classic - Play the classic mode Solo or Multiplayer on any map you've unlocked in Incidents.

Factions
Allied Nations -  The Allies are a global peace organization, comparable in a sense to NATO or the United Nations. The Allies focus on aerial superiority and precision strikes. Their faction color is Blue and they are represented by a bird-of-prey. Confederate Revolutionaries - Before the zombie outbreak, the Rebels were a group of Americans revolting against the Allied-controlled American government. They're composed of a strange combination of people; gamers, hippies, rednecks, reformers, protesters, miners, workers, biker gangs, conspiracy theorists, military vets, and more. With America slowly falling to the undead, the rebels now have a new goal: to save their fine country. Their color is Yellow and they are represented by thirteen stars on a blue circle logo, representing the original thirteen colonies. Soviet Union - Don't forget these guys in 1969. Mother Russia may be falling to the zombies hordes, but it'll take a lot more to take them down! Their color is Red and they are represented by the infamous hammer and sickle. Empire of the Rising Sun - The Empire is an honorable nation. They're determined to defeat these 'beasts' that are plagued their nation and world in hopes of returning with a new, glorious, Japanese Empire. Their color is Orange and they are represented by the classic Rising Sun flag. Order of the Talon - I'll point out that the Talon was created long before anyone knew what The Order:1886 was. The Talon are an ancient orgranization, who in this alternate universe, have altered historical events, such as preventing John F. Kennedy from being assassinated. The Talon are Christian extremists in a way, and base themselves in Jerusalem, along with the Vatican. With the zombie outbreak threatening the world, they want to eliminate the threat, in the name of their beliefs. Their color is Black, and they're represented by a golden eagle silhouette on a gray and black shield. Atomic Kingdom of China - After a Civil War between democracy and communism in China devastated the land beyond repair, a third party arose from the ashes. Nobody know where they came from, or where they got the space-age weaponary they have, but they all know one thing - the new Atomic Kingdom is powerful. With an already-ravaged China infested with the undead hordes, the Atomic Kingdom has work to do. Their color is Green and they are represented by a Yin-Yang symbol with green mist around it. Mediterranean Syndicate - The Syndicate, huh? They're doing just fine. They have a city on the water where people are living happily. The guards in place protect the city from any incoming zombies. See, all the Syndicate cares for is making money. They're that big business corportation who has tons of money they can do whatever they want with. Of course, there's no end for greed. The Syndicate try to sell guns off to the other factions in light of the whole undead situation. Problem is, the Syndicate have some of their business interests located in overrun cities like Los Angeles, Rome, and Athens. Their color is Turquoise and their logo is a globe symbol with a reef around it. Electrical Protectorate - Alright, so Robots facing off against Zombies seems like something that tickles everyone's inner nerd. Maybe I'm right about that, maybe not. The fact that they're in the conflict is the important part. These sentient beings were found by a man named Jacob, who accidentally turned them on in a cave he found (also by accident). The robots have embraced Jacob. The conspiracy theorists are torn on whether they're Japanese abandoned experiments, or aliens from another galaxy. They do know that these beings have thoughts and emotions, which makes them dangerous. The E.P.'s color is Purple, and they are represented by a wire that branches out into three, with sparks at the end of each branch.
 * Strengths: The Allies dominate the skies in almost any confrontation. Their aircraft are very powerful and outclass most other air vessels fielded by rival factions. They have a split tech tree, which is very hard to predict in Grief mode. They become very powerful in the late game with experimental weaponary and high-tech base defences.
 * Weaknesses: Most of the Allies's units and structures come at high cost. Expanding their base to different areas is very slow, which leaves their expansion vulnerable to zombie or enemy attack.  Their experimental vehicles are very fragile despite their powerful weaponary. They're also limited in heavy vehicles, with no real bruiser units in their arsenal.
 * Gameplay Style: Storming the undead or enemy with your forces is not going to work when you're playing as the Allies! You need to work cooperatively and organize precisioned targets or strikes.
 * Preferred Theater: Aerial Warfare.
 * Intended Use: If you like playing RTS games a lot, the Allies are the perfect fit for you. If you're new to the genre, you may struggle to grasp their playstyle.
 * Zombies Characters: Tank Dempsey and the Marines from Verruckt are put into service by the Allies. Sure, they'd like to join the Rebels, but they're loyal to their employers. Marlton of the Green Run crew also works for them as a scientist.
 * Commandos: Tank Dempsey (Male), Tanya Adams (Female).
 * Strengths: The Rebels really now how to ambush their foes. They can also stall big groups of forces very well if neccessary. Due to the majority of military veterans in America siding with the Rebels, their infantry units are very experienced and can be considered elite. They also have the advantage of having no tier system. They can send out their most advanced units early in the game if they wanted. Unlike their rival Allies, their ways of expansion are very fast. The Rebels also have access to stealth technology, which can trip up both Grief enemies as well as the undead.
 * Weaknesses: Their overall econonmy system is very weak, due to them being a resistance in the first place. Their build order is locked, which means you're required to build certain buildings first before building others. An example would be a Power Plant being required to be built before a Vehicle Warehouse can be built. The Rebels units and weaponary are mostly just stolen and/or jury-rigged defunct WWII-era technology, and as a result, lack heavy-hitting units. Because of this, they'll have to be reliant on their infantry units early in the game until they get some vehicles out.
 * Gameplay Style: The Rebels focus on guerilla warfare. Going head-on or using brute force is a death sentence for them. Ambushing, using stealth and hit-and-run tactics are where they will excel.
 * Preferred Theater: Rough Terrain.
 * Intended Use: Do you like seeing you enemies throw up their hands in frustration? Do you like messing with your enemy's head? Do you like distracting zombies because it's funny to you? Then Uncle Sam has a spot for you in his resistance! The Rebels love psychological tactics and so will you!
 * Zombie Characters: Misty, Russman and Stulinger of the Green Run crew are all part of the resistance. John F. Kennedy is also an admiral of their navy.
 * Commandos: "Dixie" (Female), Colonel Burton (Male)
 * Strengths: The Soviets field powerful tanks and land vehicles, so good in fact, that they actually have a tank for every situation! Their defensive lines can be very powerful. With propaganda blasting into their ears the entire time, their defensive lines will not fall that easily.
 * Weaknesses: Despite their ground vehicles being powerful and massive, they are very slow are prone to attack. It's not surprising to see a heavy tank driver getting eaten alive by a zombie while snailing across the field. Very direct to a fault due to their nature. If they try to alternate from their fearsome ground vehicles, they have very little options. Some of their units have a tendency to damage themselves at times as well...
 * Gameplay Style: Brute Force! Steamroll over the hordes for Mother Russia!
 * Preferred Theater: Ground Warfare.
 * Intended Use: Much like the Allies, if you're used to playing RTS games, you'll like the Soviets.
 * Zombie Characters: Nikolai Belinski represents his home country in this alternate world.
 * Commandos: Boris Bikov (Male), Natasha Volkova (Female)
 * Strengths: The Japanese are known for their navy, and this alternate universe is no exception. They have an abundance of amphibous options for attack, being able to switch from land to sea at will for a good portion of their arsenal. They're very powerful in the late-game, when units are being authorized by the Shogun themselves. Most of their units are very speedy, which the Empire sees as essential to strike swiftly, as well as expand quickly should need be. Lastly, they have very advanced mechanized units which can transform their role on the fly, which makes them very versatile.
 * Weaknesses: Due to their reliance on advanced tech, their units are very fragile, along with their delopyable nano-structures. Fragile, to a point where zombies can sometimes damage their mechanized units pretty easily.
 * Gameplay Style: The Empire tries to ruin your decision-making using shock-and-awe tactics. Their large, robotic, units can be a sight of both fear and amazement. Zombies, however, don't really fall for Manuever Warfare, and instead need pure honor from the Empire in order to be taken down.
 * Preferred Theater: Open Waters.
 * Intended Use: "MLG Pro" Strategy players will excel at using the Empire. You can also do well as the Empire if you have a very high APM, or actions per minute.
 * Zombie Characters: Takeo Masaki represents the Empire.
 * Commandos: Takeo Masaki (Male), Yuriko Omega (Female)
 * Strengths: The brotherhood and teamwork of the Order is not to be underestimated. They'll fight to the end with each other. They have the advantage of very heavy Talon Steel, which is unlike any other metal on the planet. Nobody knows what Talon Steel is, although if you ask their members, they'll just say the metal is 'blessed'. As a result of this, their expansions can be very tough to get rid of.
 * Weaknesses: Producing Talon units is very sluggish and slow. Due to being so traditional, it takes much longer for them to produce a new fighting unit than other factions. Their brotherhood also hurts them in a major way, with most of their units being designed to be almost useless on their own.
 * Gameplay Style: The Talon prefer using small scaled armies to attack their enemies. This encourages them to take advantage of their brotherhood.
 * Preferred Theater: Raiding.
 * Intended Use: For all those Dota, LoL, or any other MOBA players out there, the Order is probably meant for you. If you also like MMOs, you may enjoy the Talon's playstyle.
 * Zombie Characters: None.
 * Commandos: Lady Maria (Female), Albin Canavan (Male)
 * Strengths: Who doesn't like turrets? Atomic China has loads of them, and they're not to be taken lightly. Zombies who step near their base are turned to ash pretty quickly. Some of the Chinese forces are capable of teleportation, as well as some forces being equipped with shields. The force-shields that some of their units have need to be taken down before their actual armor can be damaged. The shields can recharge, as well. Many of their weapons, due to being years ahead, have very high impact.
 * Weaknesses: Once those shields go down, though, their units won't last very long. They're pretty flimsy behind that shielding. Their overall range, across their arsenal, is pretty short, with not many long-range firing options at their disposal. The space-age tech does not come cheap either, though. Massive amounts of power are needed to fuel their efforts, which can be a hassle to maintain while fighting off zombies. China's units also have a tendency to explode at times...
 * Gameplay Style: Tower defence time! Their base defences are so powerful, why waste time leaving your base? China encourages camping!
 * Preferred Theater: Choke Points.
 * Intended Use: If you like tower defence games, you'll like China. If you play strategy games with a "turtling" strategy in mind, you'll like China. Or if you just have a low APM, you'll fit right in.
 * Zombie Characters: None.
 * Commandos: "Mingixia" (Female), Lei Liang (Male)
 * Strengths: Their infantry units are great, but the true highlight are the battlesuits that are at their disposal. Of course, their economy is great, and they're great at stealing resources from their opposition. Lastly, their range is very good, allowing them to go at their enemies from any angle they please.
 * Weaknesses: Thin armor and light vehicles leave them vulnerable to attack. Good luck trying to manage your base, too. It's simply a nightmare trying to manage a Syndicate base at times. And although they have weapons that can hit at any range, their weapons become less effective the closer the enemy gets.
 * Gameplay Style: Compare their gameplay style to our modern age. They use Information Warfare to obtain advantages. Although, this does not really translate to fighting zombies. In that case, the Syndicate likes to extend to the realms of their deep pockets, to find the best weaponary money can buy.
 * Preferred Theater: Urban Environments.
 * Intended Use: Like games like Sim City? You'll like these guys. Also if you like any Relic RTS game, you'll like the Syndicate.
 * Zombie Characters: The Call of the Dead crew took refuge in the floating city of the Syndicate, and they're available if needed. Robert McNamara and Richard Nixon have also taken refuge here. Fidel Castro is involved in the company's weapons sales with the Soviet Union.
 * Commandos: Danny Trejo (Male), "Minerva" (Female)
 * Strengths: They're robots, so they don't have build times, really. That's how many there are, and that's how fast they make more of themselves. As a result, their units are dirt cheap and do decent damage! Their weapons systems are very versatile and can be subbed for different types of ammo, unlike other factions. With corpses and wrecks littered across the battle at times, the E.P. can recycle zombies, destroyed vehicles, or killed infantry and turn them into resources. Traditional counters to what the E.P. arsenal has to offer will not work if that's what you intend. All traditional counters to their units that you can come up will be invalidated by their wide arsenal.
 * Weaknesses: Due to being remotely controlled, E.P. units can not gain experience and can not be rewarded for their efforts on the field. Their units also have almost no health at all and their economy is dependent on recycling assets or destroying the enemy's. They also have no base defences whatsoever and are extremely vulnerable to area of effect weapons (Like the Thundergun or Wunderwaffe DG-2) due to their need to be in numbers.
 * Gameplay Style: These robots, they'll wear you down. They don't need to eat, or drink, or sleep. They'll just keep coming and wind you down until you cry for mercy. Which is why they can last for ages against the zombie horde, although zombies tear through their flimsy armor like paper.
 * Preferred Theater: Open Terrain.
 * Intended Use: If you like to rush, in any game at all, you'll enjoy playing as the E.P. You may also enjoy them if you've played any Blizzard RTS game before.
 * Zombie Characters: Samantha Maxis has found that the robots have embraced her as one of their own. As such, she's fallen for protecting them at all costs.
 * Commandos: Jacob (Male), Samantha Maxis (Female), Venus (Humanoid Android, can take appearence of both genders.)

Zombies
Of course, zombies. They're just as we remember them! Their health will increase every round, as well as their number. With next-gen technology, the amount of zombies that can be on the map at once has been increased to a much larger number. That number is not known yet, but the developers have said that Round 100 would be "light" compared to rounds after that.

Buildings in a base can be entered by zombies through their windows and/or doors when possible. Which is why it's important to defend your base well.

Every zombies in the Zombie game mode to date makes an appearence in the RTS and action-RTS modes, which you can see below. Zombies on the Classic maps and Incidents will be specified in their respective pages.
 * Zombie - Normal, sulking zombie, that appears on every round. It's weak to anything, but can catch an infantry unit off guard if they're not careful.
 * Hellhound - Zombie canines that appear every five rounds. Infantry better watch out, since they're fast. Ones that are on fire can explode, and damage light vehicles somewhat.
 * Crawler Zombie - A zombie with no legs. Appears only if a zombies legs are shot off. Not that scary at all, unless you're not watching where you're walking.
 * Gas Crawler - Appears every 8 rounds. Explodes with a cloud of Nova 6 Gas when killed. Infantry without gas masks or a battlesuit can die pretty quickly in Nova 6. Nova 6 is said to do a bit of damage to light armor as well.
 * Pentagon Thief - Although it may not actually be undead, the Thief will return every once in a blue moon to steal some resources, or disable one of your power plants. He won't attack you at all, but he may also steal ammo types from E.P. units.
 * Space Monkey - Every once in a while these guys may drop in to hunt down the perk machines, but they're easily mowed down by base defences. Just hope they don't drop inside your base.
 * George A. Romero - You're not safe from the director. Romero appears very rarely, at the same rarity as the Pentagon Thief. He can easily kill infantry and has no problem damaging vehicles. He takes a lot of bullets to go down. Like Call of the Dead, leading him in water will calm him down.
 * Zombie Monkey - They'll swipe at you. That's it. There's no power-ups in the RTS or action-RTS modes for them to steal. They only appear on jungle maps every two rounds. Infantry should barely worry about these guys.
 * Napalm Zombie - These guys usually appear when your base is already powerful and established, in hopes of burning it all down to the ground. Seeing one of these guys is a bad omen - at least one will appear every round after that. Their flames can damage anything. Anything. You, in that aircraft? You're safe.
 * Shrieker Zombie - Not that frightening at all to base defences. It's the soilders on the ground that have to worry. And aircraft. Their systems can't really handle it.
 * Astronaut Zombie - Sometimes they'll drop down and slowly stumble towards you. They'll only attack infantry, but they can take a lot of damage.
 * Avogadro - It'll rarely spawn, but can cause problems for vehicles and aircraft. Infantry will get shocked as well, but stand a better chance, since the vehicle it latches on to will shut down until it is destroyed.
 * Denizen - Running out of the map limits? I don't think so! Run back in and it'll leave you alone. It'll also hide in foggy areas, although fog can easily be cleared by aircraft flying through the area.
 * Jumping Jack - Appears every once in a while. They're fast, and can really hurt infantry and light vehicles.
 * Brutus - Appears at the same rate as George Romero. If you're unlucky enough, they'll spawn together. He'll barrel through friendly units. He'll even ram into a tank sometimes. He has no chance against a helicopter or air strike, though.
 * Ghost - Ghosts can become a problem sometimes. Every respawn of someone on your team in a round equals a Ghost attacking your base on the next round. For example, if three of your teammates died and respawned on Round 3, then 3 Ghosts will attack the base on Round 4. Ghosts can faze through vehicles and destroy the systems inside, as well as kill any infantry it was transporting. The Ghosts aren't very good at withstanding damage, though.
 * Templar Zombie - Understood only by the Talon, these guys act like normal zombies, but can take more damage. Will appear only on certain maps, every round. Some will have ambraic swords like the Talon, and will try to slice your vehicles apart.
 * Panzer Soldat - Panzers will grip infantry and crush them, much unlike Origins where you have a chance. They will also use their flamethrowers to burn through vehicle armor.
 * Prisoner Zombie - Like a normal zombie, but will rush at units head-on.
 * Engineer Zombie - Engineers can render vehicles useless and will kill infantry in one hit with their wrench. Luckily, they are rare.

Money
You need money in order for your faction to buy more units and structures. Money is earned by bringing supply boxes to a Supply Center. Factions always start with at least $10,000. In some missions, this amount may be higher, and online matches can be set to have more. In your base's spawn area, there will usually be a supply pile around to start you off (incentive to start base there in the first place.). Eventually, and soon, you'll run out of that money. You're going to either have to find unconventional means to get cash, brave the battlefield and hordes looking for abandoned supply boxes, or expand to another supply pile. Usually, expansion is the best long-term option, since unconventional income isn't usually reliable, and is very slow. Each faction has their own method of it, however:
 * Every so often, a plane will fly in and drop $1000 in supply boxes for the Allies. This occurs every two minutes.
 * The Confederate Refinery doubles as a saloon! Although it'll leave your troops a bit buzzed or even drunk, you'll make $8 per drink from the saloon. Some may attempt to abuse this, but will find they pass out after a certain amount of drinks, and will be unable to drink anymore when they awake.
 * Only in desperation will it be needed, but the Soviets can send any vehicle to a Crusher Crane to make a profit off the junk metal. If troops deliver junk metal they find to a Crusher Crane, it can make a profit as well. Vehicles crushed will return half of their original value. Junk metal has a value of $500.
 * Like the E.P., the Empire can use their Instanct Processor (their version of a refinery) to break down any material with nanotechnology for profit. This can be junk metal, zombie hands, or even dropped guns. This process gains them $50 each time. The Empire will refuse to use enemy corpses, however.
 * Like most church organizations, the Order has a donation box. Every half a minute, they'll receive $5 in their account.
 * The Atomic Kingdom do not have any means of getting extra money. Instead, they have access to cloning vats, where they can clone any unit at no cost.
 * The Syndicate has multiple means. They can set up a hacker in their Headquarters to drain what's left of the internet, which earns $5 every minute. They also sell weapons still from their ocean city, so $1000 will be deposited into the war effort every two minutes.
 * Like previously said, the E.P. can recycle anything for cash. Recycling something gains them $10.

Trivia

 * Paradox was a real mod in development that was very popular on ModDB, but failed due to the Red Alert 3 engine being too difficult. They did leave behind a great universe on their wiki for all to see, with tons and tons of lore for every unit.