Dead Nation is set in a fictional world ravaged by a zombie apocalypse, where the player — male or female — battles a range of zombie types across ten levels. Weapon shops let you upgrade your arsenal and swap armor, while the levels themselves are dotted with boxes holding ammunition, multipliers, money, or armor pieces, plus car trunks to loot for cash — though blow up a car before looting it and that loot is lost for good. At times you'll be trapped in an area and forced to survive until a goal is met, such as holding out for an elevator or clearing every zombie in sight.