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Age of Zombies
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Graphics & Sound:
Rarely have three dollars conspired to create such fun gaming bedlam. Age of Zombies turns the rather svelte iPad into a bloody killing machine, all with a healthy dose of raucous humor. This is a throwback visually, with graphics you'd expect from classic hits in the arcade of 20 years ago. The scenery is rarely the point, but the swirling mass of zombies you face off against is most definitely worth attending to. They'll come in many forms as the hero, Barry Steakfries, travels back through time and encounters the undead of Egypt, China, and what looks like the movie set of "The Untouchables." Destruction wouldn't be worth it without lots of blood, however unspecial the effects may be. Zombies can be plugged with low caliber weapons or destroyed in a spray of blood using more powerful armament like the shotgun. A recent update provided a buzzsaw that makes for some rather liquid entertainment, as you might imagine. The soundtrack and sound effects are decent, but the one-liners from Barry always deliver. At one point late in the game, he runs out of material, but his frequent quips are hilarious and often well deserving of the game's 12+ age rating... Like the splattering blood wasn't enough to tip you off?
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Gameplay:
I mentioned to a friend recently that shooting zombies was one of those experiences that reaffirms why we play games. "Cathartic" was the word I used, but you can substitute your own favorite terms for letting earthly cares slide away while you watch the masses of undead disappear into a fine pink mist. The storyline here is a bit like "Back To The Future," but way less PC and much more bloody. A zombie version of Michael J. Fox would actually be pretty cool, come to think of it... The main man here is one Barry Steakfries, on a mission to settle the hash of Doctor Brains. Brains has infected several pockets of time that need cleaning, and Steakfries is just the man for the job. This describes the main game, but you can sample areas of your choice and play Survival mode if you prefer to test you mettle against the infinite zombie rush. Playing as Steakfries is a bit like being John McClane in "Die Hard," a wise-cracking tough guy that packs a whole lot of boomstick. The actual boomstick is just one option, of course. Apart from a decent stock weapon with infinite ammo, you can grab an SMG, a flamethrower, mini-gun, and rocket launcher. The launcher is actually a replacement for the game's grenades, and there are mines you can grab as well. All this to offset waves of zombies, large and small. There are fast and slow zombies, exploding zombies, and the inevitable boss zombies. There's a decent amount of gameplay, and even some achievements to earn if you play your cards right. The only missing element is a multiplayer option.
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Difficulty:
Compared to a great deal of iPad games out there, Age of Zombies comes off a bit tougher to play. It really depends on one's perspective. Coming from decades of twitch-gaming, Age of Zombies feels like a nice place to hang out and relax, with a slightly elevated heart rate during the last few levels. If you haven't been weaned on action, you may find Age of Zombies daunting. There are tactics you can use to avoid being caught in the zombie crush, but even the best will succumb occasionally. Certain weapons are really underpowered, as in the case of the flamethrower. Trying to use this sucker to clear a room of zombies is a losing proposition, especially when facing off against the oversized undead. Luckily, you don't face one-hit-kill type of odds. You can soak up quite a bit of damage before losing a life, and opportunities to earn a 1-UP here and there. Even if the worst happens and you lose all lives, you can retry any level. We're pretty sure that anyone will be able to see the credits roll with a bit of persistence, but veteran action gamers will have an advantage.
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Game Mechanics:
A polarizing feature in Age of Zombies is the method for implementing virtual controls. You may have seen these before in other games, superimposed on the screen as buttons, joysticks, sliders, etc. It has become a way to provide controls geared for action on a device that has no buttons... Touch technology being what it is, there are moments of frustration. More than we'd like, but not enough to put us on the side of hating this feature. The problem is that the controls tend to drift as you stab around on the touch-screen. This is especially true of the right-side controls, which handle firing weapons and special items like grenades. Not only does this drift tend to occlude the play area, but it also makes it harder to trigger special items. We noticed a certain looseness on the controls for movement that was also frustrating at times. It's not like Age of Zombies is supposed to be sporting flight-sim controls and hair triggers, but we would have liked something more effective. Eventually we expect to see more creative implementations of touch than this, but Age of Zombies isn't at all crippled with what it brings to the party. Play it for its rowdy, no-holds-barred zombie action and you'll be happy.
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-Fridtjof, GameVortex Communications AKA Matt Paddock |
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