A strange little side quest
Put Last Stand: Zombie Defense next to the history of strategy games and a few unexpected connections appear. Chess changed dramatically in Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries when the queen became the board's most powerful piece. That old idea kept changing rather than disappearing. Nintendo's Donkey Kong arrived in 1981 and introduced the character first known as Jumpman, who later became Mario. That long chain of experiments is part of why strategy games still feels fresh when a game finds the right twist.
