'Zombie Apocalypse'
By: Nihilistic Software, Inc.
(Xbox Live Arcade / Rated: M / 800 MS Points - $10)
Features: Hazard filled interactive environments that can help you crush, burn, slice, and dice zombies on your way to surviving 55 days of horror. The game holsters 11 variations of weapons (shotguns, machine guns, teddy bears filled with C4, etc) to blow the heads off the post mortem. Take on the zombie mass alone in signal player or team up with up to 4 players locally or over the Internet using Xbox Live. Re-live the apocalypse with 7 challenging unlockable game modes including “Blackout”, “Chainsaws Only”, and “7 Days of Hell.
Description: The Zombie Apocalypse has come upon us and it is time to shoot/chainsaw your way to survival. In this slightly angled top-down dual-stick shooter you’ll be able to take on the zombie infection using one of the heavily equipped gunslingers set out to destroy as many zombies as they can and try to save any of the remaining survivors. To insure you have a fighting chance at lasting the continuous hordes you’ll be equipped with an unlimited supply of machinegun bullets and a chainsaw. Of course it’s never that simple and as the game progress the infection and the variations of zombie types increase in difficulty.
Verdict: When I first heard of this game I was really excited at its potential to kill mass loads of zombies in arcade style shooter that I could team up with friends online or in my living room at a cheaper than “Left 4 Dead” price.
This game met that requirement and then some. I was impressed by the game levels and details that Nihilistic Software, Inc put into this game, giving me living environments that I could use in getting hazard kills as I took on the waves of flesh eaters. Some of these hazard kills consist of using a jet engine, a garbage truck, fireworks, a car crusher to name a few. If I was up for the challenge I could do it alone or invite some friends.
Another clever trick was the use of teddy bears filled with C4 that taunts zombies right before they blow up into itty bitty pieces. They can be really useful if thrown at the right times. The control layout was very traditional to dual-stick shooters and was easy to follow right out the gate. As the game progress the waves get larger and the variations of zombies becomes more difficult occasionally giving you boss battle with a fleshy meat pie.
The developers even tried to interject variations of gameplay that eventually become unlockables like“Blackout”, “Chainsaws Only. This leads to an arcade style shooter worthy of classic arcades that would eat your quarters for an afternoon.
Overall I had a good experience playing the game and look forward to teaming up with friends over the Xbox Live to see how that experience plays out differently. If you’re looking for a fun and cheap arcade shooter or you just want to get some aggression out on some zombies, download this game.
Reviewed by: Ken Tebo
www.konami.com/games/zombie