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Zombie Apocalypse
Text Review
Zombie Apocalypse, the introverted sociopath's day dream where everything is legal to kill, is an arcade shooter for XBLA and PSN taking advantage of today’s giant market for the undead. With movies like Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland lightening up the otherwise scary genre into some kind of escapist comedy, we are getting a lot less horror and a lot more funny. That's where this game comes in with its gory over-the-top shoot 'em up style akin to Burn, Zombie, Burn and Smash TV. Set in what I imagine is a spot on recreation of George A. Romero's backyard, you play as one of four uninfected humans who have tasked themselves with the burden of saving humanity's last survivors and cleaning up the streets with thick suds of blood and an arsenal of weapons to wipe it all away.
There isn't a whole lot of plot in this game, so if you're looking for something to get emotionally invested in you're looking in the wrong place. Basically, the end of the world is here since everyone has taken up a new diet craze and as a security guard, mouthy woman, office guy or gamer nerd, you are on a mission to put a stop to it. The game is hardly as serious as its first impression gives you with its eerie menu screen and 28 Days Later music. After shooting and cutting your way through pounds of flesh on the first level, you'll soon realize this was supposed to be a parody. Sadly, the developers didn't expand on the funnier side of things, and what we have here after it’s all said and done is a generic Robotron 2084 knock off trying to cash in on the massive commercial success of animated corpses.
Now I'm not saying you can't have fun with this game. Zombie Apocalypse plays like any top down shooter using both analog sticks to move around and fire your weapon. The only different features that I saw were the inclusion of a melee weapon for all the characters, a chainsaw, that grinds up flesh like a blender, and a boat load of appendages and tendons scattered across the screen as you wreck carnage upon your enemies. If you enjoy the sounds of arms being shot off by shotguns, bullets pelting a fat guy's stomach and the look of your lawn when you water it with buckets of blood, you'll enjoy the insane amount of gore this title delivers. It's almost like they intended that part of the game to be the main drawing point for consumers. Nothing is better than feeling good about the destruction you cause especially when it’s in HD.
There are a total of fifty-five levels throughout seven different areas. Each area has its own unique environmental kills, such as shooting zombies into a wood chipper or into a turbine of an airplane gaining you many more points than what you would get from normally killing them. As you progress every level gets harder and harder, challenging you to be quick and on the move the entire time while you're pit against very difficult and almost absurd types of undead such as the dagger throwing Aunt Bee's who kill you instantly or the gun toting sheriffs who also end your life with one hit. The game isn't exactly easy, but at times it's more frustrating than fulfilling.
I have to say I did have a lot of fun with this game, but if you're a fan of this type of shooter you should be hard pressed to get Zombie Apocalypse. There are many other games like this that do what this game does and do it better. This is a fun pick up, but it's little more than a copy cat bursting with blood. If you're into shooting the undead, I'd recommend another downloadable game with zombies in it.
- Zachary Burd
Developer: Nihilistic Software
Publisher: Konami
Platform(s): PS3, Xbox 360
There isn't a whole lot of plot in this game, so if you're looking for something to get emotionally invested in you're looking in the wrong place. Basically, the end of the world is here since everyone has taken up a new diet craze and as a security guard, mouthy woman, office guy or gamer nerd, you are on a mission to put a stop to it. The game is hardly as serious as its first impression gives you with its eerie menu screen and 28 Days Later music. After shooting and cutting your way through pounds of flesh on the first level, you'll soon realize this was supposed to be a parody. Sadly, the developers didn't expand on the funnier side of things, and what we have here after it’s all said and done is a generic Robotron 2084 knock off trying to cash in on the massive commercial success of animated corpses.
Now I'm not saying you can't have fun with this game. Zombie Apocalypse plays like any top down shooter using both analog sticks to move around and fire your weapon. The only different features that I saw were the inclusion of a melee weapon for all the characters, a chainsaw, that grinds up flesh like a blender, and a boat load of appendages and tendons scattered across the screen as you wreck carnage upon your enemies. If you enjoy the sounds of arms being shot off by shotguns, bullets pelting a fat guy's stomach and the look of your lawn when you water it with buckets of blood, you'll enjoy the insane amount of gore this title delivers. It's almost like they intended that part of the game to be the main drawing point for consumers. Nothing is better than feeling good about the destruction you cause especially when it’s in HD.
There are a total of fifty-five levels throughout seven different areas. Each area has its own unique environmental kills, such as shooting zombies into a wood chipper or into a turbine of an airplane gaining you many more points than what you would get from normally killing them. As you progress every level gets harder and harder, challenging you to be quick and on the move the entire time while you're pit against very difficult and almost absurd types of undead such as the dagger throwing Aunt Bee's who kill you instantly or the gun toting sheriffs who also end your life with one hit. The game isn't exactly easy, but at times it's more frustrating than fulfilling.
I have to say I did have a lot of fun with this game, but if you're a fan of this type of shooter you should be hard pressed to get Zombie Apocalypse. There are many other games like this that do what this game does and do it better. This is a fun pick up, but it's little more than a copy cat bursting with blood. If you're into shooting the undead, I'd recommend another downloadable game with zombies in it.
- Zachary Burd
Developer: Nihilistic Software
Publisher: Konami
Platform(s): PS3, Xbox 360
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