http://worldofthelivingdead.com/game/frontpage/Warning: This game is partially pay to win. However, you can do well without spending much if any money, but spending money gives an edge. Unlike other ones its not totally required. The game is real time, so the world goes on when you are offline. You start with a small group of surivors and you have to survive. It has RPG elements, crafting, and party combat. It uses Google maps for the game world.
The game is going to be restarted. It has a weaknesses. Eventually the city runs out of supplies. They said in an email the new version will help correct that. It is also a brutally PK game. You can recruit new squad members and get larger, but if a squad of yours gets wasted, your stuff is gone. Also, since it real time you can get wasted off line. So its a game for people who can log in daily. Since you can starve/die of thirst when you are not logged in.
Features:
-- all your squad members need food and water
-- all of you need shelter or zombies kill you
-- can break up into multiple squads and add more people. So you can have squads in different locations. Some scavenging. Others building up shelters. Others PKilling.
-- brutally difficult. Note, people can spend money to make this easier, but you can do very well without spending a dime. Its not a total requirement and you can waste people who spend money. I didn't pay at all.
-- rpg elements with levels and skills. No squad member can be good at everything. Requires a mix of skills.
-- since its a brutal pk game, people can get nasty. So you might want to play with friends
-- real cool use of google maps for the game world
-- real time
-- god tutorial system to teach you the game. The missions are basically meant to teach you how to play.
Weakness:
-- old world ran out of stuff to scavenge. They didn't have a good enough crafting system to replenish stuff. I think they are making changes to this. If the world runs out of supplies your done
-- brutal pkilling thins the ranks of people. So when people get wasted they don't come back.
-- real time nature can be tiresome since most people don't want to treat a game like a job. this is for people who like this kind of brutal combat
-- there are quite a few trolls. people lie to kill you so they can take your stuff. so I recommend starting iwth your friends.
-- pay to win. So people can buy stuff. They have it easier. but you can out play them and its not that hard.
Make sure to read the forums and sources. Since skills are not totally obvious. You won't know what is useful until you read around and try stuff.
It has a very good tutorial that will teach you the game and sign up is free. I played it some. I posted it here because its a hardcore game and people here might like it. The biggest flaw is 'if you dont log in alot you are done'. I don't know if this is allowed (probably not), but that kind of thing is best played with a group of people since people have lives(well most of us do).
Its worth a look at the tutorial. I believe the reboot is out in a few days with a new stocked world and new features. I'm not signing up ,but if people like the new features please let me know.