Want to play another zombie game? How about another twin-stick shooter? True, there's hardly a shortage of either of those, but let's face it: zombies are still popular. Perhaps not so much when it comes to twin-stick shooters. Regardless, DoubleSix Games and Square Enix have brought us All Zombies Must Die!, a charming twin-stick shooter/role-playing game mash-up that seems to be the lovechild of Dead Nation and DeathSpank. I can only compare these three from a conceptual standpoint, however; All Zombies Must Die! is not as good as those two. However, when you couple its unbridled charm with the clever innovations it introduces, you have a product that is worth a look, if not much more than that.

All Zombies Must Die! unquestionably offers the most cartoony take on undead apocalyptica in video games. It sidesteps the almost universal tendency of zombie-themed entertainment to go for gratuitous gross-out moments. Make no mistake; the various shambling ghouls of AZMD! are clearly discarded human shells well into the process of decomposition, but they give off more of a Looney Tunes vibe than a Dawn of the Dead one. And though most deaths result in a gout of blood spray, it's more in service to the subject matter than to the tone of the game.

All Zombies Must Die!'s soundtrack switches from being a near-ripoff of a certain John Carpenter movie theme to goofy monster mash surf rock. I particularly like the calming guitar piece played when you're in a safe area; and though it's almost soothing, a crucial keyboard part keeps you grounded in the setting. There isn't too much to say about the rest of the sound design, other than it gets the job done well enough. Most of the guns don't sound too mean, but perhaps that's by design. The air raid sirens that go off every thirty kills elicit a nice Pavlovian response as you wait for the payload to disintegrate whatever mobs are trying to get at your brains.

All Zombies Must Die! is one of the most self-aware games I've ever played. It seems to know that the zombie genre isn't exactly the most ideal for storytelling innovations. So it focuses most of its attentions on its lovably goofy characters and dialogue that winks at the audience the entire time.

There are four characters; you start the game as Jack, a hardcore gamer who is convinced that he's in the middle of a video game. After all, he finds it odd that hamburgers and roasted turkeys are flying out of some of the zombies he blasts away. There's also his ex-girlfriend Rachel (who spends most of the game bitching at Jack), a shady scientist named Brian, and a profanity-spewing Rastafarian alien named Luxo.

All Zombies Must Die! is an isometric twin-stick shooter with a generous dose of role-playing elements. You pick up quests, hunt after loot drops, and earn the experience necessary to power up your characters. The experience is earned solely by killing zombies, but the narrative is advanced every time you complete a quest. And more often than not, the loot drops are exactly what you need to complete said quests.

You can play this game solo or with up to three other friends. Provided you can get them all to come over. Unfortunately, what could have been All Zombies Must Die!'s saving grace simply passes it by with a friendly wave. Local co-op is nice, but let's face it. It's a thing of the past. Whether or not that's a good thing is certainly not for me to say. But it is what it is. Still, if you can get three friends in the same room, more power to you.

Here's where All Zombies Must Die! falters significantly. A number of design and mechanical problems contribute to one of the most inconsistent difficulty levels I've ever seen in a game. There's little room for error, and an unwelcome element of unpredictability makes it all the more punishing when the game forces you to restart your progress in a certain area.

Let's start with the most obvious problems: hit detection is poor. I found myself stubbornly clinging to my shotgun almost the whole way through, because I felt like I couldn't rely on any of the weapons with smaller firing cones. Using an assault rifle or a submachine gun often feels like spray and pray, even if you're aiming into what looks like a wall of undead flesh.

Mobs and the lack of any sort of camera control often conspire to bring you down, with usually frustrating results. I guess it's the point, but these zombies never know when to quit -- apart from picking up an invaluable power-up. As a result, every second you spend doing something other than killing zombies is a second the zombies have to increase their numbers -- and by extension, their chances of getting at the sweetmeats locked inside your noggin.

Left Analog Stick moves, Right Analog Stick aims, (RT) shoots. That's it, right? Wrong. All Zombies Must Die! is part role-playing game, and most role-playing games don't pride themselves on their simplicity. Though, to be fair, the rules in AZMD! are simple and easy enough to digest.

All loot drops require the fulfillment of some criteria. Contrived, yes. However, it's easily forgivable, considering that the game is super quick to point that out. What isn't forgivable is, well, certain criteria. As mentioned, hit detection and the general frenzy of the mob often collaborate to make your life miserable. Certain criteria require you to imbue zombies with certain status effects. And sometimes, the only way to do so is to get close to the zombies -- sometimes close enough to touch. The game requires none of the precision from zombies that it requires from the player, and zombies NEVER (I never use all caps) miss once they get close enough. So, say you need to irradiate fifty zombies with a stick of uranium and then kill them. If there are no toxic waste pools around, you must literally poke each one individually, and then kill them. All that, while no fewer than thirty zombies simultaneously try to rip you to shreds. That's not much fun.

Once you acquire your necessary loot drops, you can then put them to use in the game's clever crafting system. By combining a parent item with a secondary item and spending a few credits, you can craft lots of great tools in your ongoing war against the living impaired. And the combinations don't always have to make sense; that means you can combine a handful of kindling with your shotgun to produce a shotgun that sets enemies on fire. And so on. The game encourages you to experiment with your arsenal, and it's one of AZMD!'s best facets.

All Zombies Must Die! is an example of great ideas falling prey to sub-par execution flaws. If the shooting had been tuned up, if the mobs had not been so unforgiving, and if the option to play co-op over Live was included, we'd have a real gem on our hands. But alas, we do not with this release. Despite its shortcomings, though, All Zombies Must Die! is fun in short bursts. Try before you buy.