DayZ is a free zombie survival sandbox mod for military shooter ArmA II that many just can't get enough of. With a community that is exploding, many talented modders have come together to port DayZ on to other ArmA 2 maps. So far we've reviewed Utes, Lingor Island, Takistan, Fallujah, and Panthera - but that wasn't the last of the maps as Zargabad is released.
Zargabad is a city map set in the heart of Central Takistan, offering intense close quarter battles in the urban streets and military facilities on the outskirts. Spanning 70 square kilometers of mostly desert, Zargabad is much like Utes in the sense that it doesn't offer quite enough space to sustain the true DayZ experience, but is great as a PvP-focused map.
Upon entering the harsh desert, players will notice that outside of the town there isn't much for cover and much like Takistan - the ground is extremely noisy. Making your way in to the city there are tight-knit streets that span across the city, meaning if you venture on the outskirts you want to be certain of where you are heading for protection is very little.
Across the city is plenty of markets, offices, and residential buildings - meaning that civilian loot is plentiful. To the north and north west are larger bases and training camps, with an airport also located on the map close to the city. The airport is generally looted out completely, as easy access makes it a very high traffic area - especially for PvP.
If you aren't looking for a kill on sight style of play, this server won't offer what you are looking for - these smaller maps never seem to attract friendly players looking to establish a home, they are for quick pick-up-and-play action. Mainly this is due to the lack of things to do, there aren't many locations for bases and killing zombies gets dull after a while.
Outside of PvP, those who enjoy Zargabad in Arma II might find some fun in experiencing how the map plays on the other side of the fence. The map itself is really well designed and captures the fictional Takistan region extremely well. It would be interesting to see how this map would play with some more base building options and fortification objects.
Increase the amount of zombies slightly, with some custom modding such as the rMod project to allow for moving and placing of fortification objects and this could be the perfect co-op map for like-minded survivors. Outside of doing some extra, this map really provides nothing special and I doubt it will hit the most played list any time soon.
If you love checking out this custom maps, there's no reason not to spend at least a few hours on Zargabad. However, it's just not a map that really works for the core survival experience. For the purpose of a PvP map it's perfect, offering a great place for CQB tournaments and other events - however without some extra work that's all it will be good for.
To play DayZ Zargabad, I recommend using DayZ Commander to keep the map up-to-date and to easily find servers to play on. For more information and coverage on DayZ, visit our game page.
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