<s>
Dead	B-Application
Block	I-Application
is	O
a	O
third-person	O
action-strategy	O
video	O
game	O
by	O
German	O
developer	O
Candygun	O
Games	O
and	O
publisher	O
Digital	O
Reality	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
three	O
survivors	O
of	O
a	O
zombie	O
outbreak	O
attempt	O
to	O
keep	O
zombies	O
out	O
of	O
a	O
safehouse	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
the	B-Operating_System
Xbox	I-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
on	O
July	O
6	O
,	O
2011	O
via	O
Xbox	B-Device
Live	I-Device
Arcade	I-Device
,	O
and	O
on	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
via	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
Network	I-Device
on	O
July	O
20	O
,	O
2011	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
and	O
July	O
27	O
,	O
2011	O
in	O
the	O
PAL	O
region	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
release	O
followed	O
on	O
January	O
26	O
,	O
2012	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
developed	O
with	O
the	O
Unreal	B-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
Engine	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dead	B-Application
Block	I-Application
is	O
set	O
during	O
the	O
1950s	O
where	O
a	O
zombie	O
outbreak	O
coincides	O
with	O
the	O
emergence	O
of	O
the	O
rock	O
and	O
roll	O
genre	O
of	O
music	O
during	O
that	O
time	O
period	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
is	O
primarily	O
a	O
variant	O
on	O
the	O
tower	B-Application
defense	I-Application
game	I-Application
mechanic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dead	B-Application
Block	I-Application
was	O
first	O
announced	O
on	O
May	O
5	O
,	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
powered	O
by	O
Epic	O
Games	O
 '	O
Unreal	B-Operating_System
Engine	I-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
released	O
July	O
6	O
,	O
2011	O
for	O
the	B-Operating_System
Xbox	I-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
via	O
Xbox	B-Device
Live	I-Device
Arcade	I-Device
,	O
and	O
on	O
July	O
20	O
,	O
2011	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
and	O
July	O
27	O
,	O
2011	O
in	O
the	O
PAL	O
region	O
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
via	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
Network	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
release	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
followed	O
on	O
January	O
26	O
,	O
2012	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
I	O
was	O
inspired	O
by	O
games	O
like	O
Team	O
Fortress	O
2	O
and	O
classic	O
B-movies	B-Application
of	O
the	O
1950s	O
"	O
,	O
stated	O
Hackel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Roger	O
Joswig	O
explained	O
their	O
choice	O
of	O
using	O
Unreal	B-Operating_System
Engine	I-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
instead	O
of	O
a	O
proprietary	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
If	O
you	O
're	O
looking	O
to	O
release	O
your	O
game	O
on	O
[	O
PlayStation	O
3 ]	O
,	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
and	O
PC	O
as	O
we	O
were	O
,	O
developing	O
your	O
own	O
engine	O
is	O
a	O
lot	O
more	O
expensive	O
,	O
takes	O
a	O
long	O
time	O
if	O
you	O
start	O
from	O
scratch	O
and	O
needs	O
a	O
lot	O
of	O
QA	O
support	O
–	O
so	O
it	O
was	O
n't	O
really	O
a	O
feasible	O
option	O
for	O
us	O
as	O
a	O
small	O
,	O
start-up	O
developer	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
also	O
noted	O
that	O
the	O
engine	O
is	O
built	O
to	O
run	O
on	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
,	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
and	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
natively	O
and	O
that	O
the	O
team	O
was	O
familiar	O
with	O
the	O
Unreal	B-Operating_System
Engine	I-Operating_System
tools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
received	O
"	O
mixed	O
"	O
reviews	O
on	O
all	O
platforms	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
review	B-Application
aggregation	I-Application
website	O
Metacritic	O
,	O
which	O
reported	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
in	O
scores	O
for	O
the	B-Operating_System
Xbox	I-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
version	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
lowest	O
score	O
of	O
a	O
20%	O
approval	O
given	O
by	O
Nick	O
Hartel	O
of	O
Video	O
Game	O
Talk	O
to	O
an	O
83%	O
approval	O
from	O
ZT	O
Game	O
Domains	O
Michael	O
Futter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Critics	O
were	O
divided	O
in	O
their	O
opinions	O
on	O
Dead	B-Application
Blocks	I-Application
gameplay	O
mechanics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
Neile	O
Johnson	O
of	O
Official	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
Magazine	O
felt	O
differently	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Johnson	O
pointed	O
out	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
"	O
put	O
a	O
fresh	O
face	O
on	O
the	O
shop-worn	O
corpse-killer	O
"	O
with	O
its	O
tower	B-Application
defense	I-Application
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reed	O
felt	O
that	O
the	O
1950s	O
B-movie	B-Application
vibe	O
was	O
a	O
bit	O
overdone	O
,	O
and	O
could	O
have	O
used	O
"	O
just	O
a	O
smidgen	O
more	O
subtlety	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Watters	O
felt	O
that	O
"	O
the	O
campy	O
B-movie	B-Application
vibe	O
and	O
cartoon	O
aesthetic	O
are	O
n't	O
good	O
enough	O
to	O
add	O
much	O
appeal	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Carlson	O
also	O
felt	O
that	O
Dead	B-Application
Block	I-Application
had	O
"	O
some	O
great	O
music	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
year	O
end	O
2011	O
the	B-Operating_System
Xbox	I-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
version	O
sold	O
35,625	O
units	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
sales	O
analysis	O
of	O
PlayStation	B-Device
Network	I-Device
titles	O
sold	O
in	O
August	O
2011	O
showed	O
that	O
Dead	B-Application
Block	I-Application
moved	O
7,778	O
units	O
in	O
the	O
first	O
month	O
of	O
its	O
release	O
on	O
the	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
