Age Of Zombies: Review

New zombie games are constantly being released to stand out from the rest, but HalfBricks ‘Age of Zombies’ takes an old school approach. We view the action from a raised camera as we watch the 3D occurrences. The design takes more of a cartoon approach rather than realism, having the characters heads much larger in proportion to their bodies. However, with the type of gameplay and features, this is the smarter and more interesting design.

The story begins as a very naughty scientist named Professor Brains sends a horde of zombies into 5 different time periods in history. You then have to deal with zombie infected cavemen, mummies, American gangsters or even super hybrid cyborg alien dudes. You take control of badass time traveller Barry Steakfries(!) as he tries to overthrow the newly released zombie race by following them through their time portals.

The game uses the style of the internet favourite, Boxhead; however is a great expansion from it. Upon reaching each world you confront a citizen who represents the age of history. After telling Mr Steakfries of the zombie overthrow, Barry tends to kill the resident and begin his mission. Using the left analog stick to move your character and the 4 face buttons to aim in any of the 8 compass directions, you must dodge and kill each and every moving object.

You begin each mission with a single firing pistol. Although it has unlimited ammo and provides a one shot kill on most of the zombies, the pistol has a very slow fire rate. As the number of zombies increases it is important to upgrade your weapon. Occasionally, a box will land on the map, which will contain a single weapon with limited ammo. These weapons each provide a different quality, whether it’s the power of the shotgun, the rate of the SMG, or the beauty of the minigun.

As you get deeper into each level, swarms of zombies approach, coming literally in their hundreds to corner you in the enclosed map. This action requires quick thinking and skilled firing to escape unharmed. Upon each death the rather annoying ‘Epic Fail’ sign appears, following this you continue from the same time in the mission but away from the zombies. At the end of the 3 part worlds is a boss. Each boss refers to its age in time (such as a T-Rex in prehistoric times) and provides something a little different to shoot at. Whilst trying to kill the boss, the zombies from the levels keep appearing from time portals situated around the map, taking the level time and amount of kills even higher. Each of the 5 worlds are very short, however by the time the level is complete, you generally appear to have killed over a thousand zombies.

The 5 worlds can literally be completed within an hour or two; however the game does contain a survival mode. Much alike those seen in Call Of Duty World At War, the zombies come in their waves; the object of the game is not to win, but to last for as long as possible as countless zombies attack you. Quick successions of kills will give you combos adding to your total score and hunting down your arsenal of weapons.

As the game is only a ‘Mini’ it is a very short game, but at a very low price. Built for the PSP, but also playable on the PS3 means that you get a bit more value for your money.

All in all, the game is an enjoyable experience. Drawbacks include the low resolution, but then again it is a ‘mini’. The screen is not highly detailed and the menu screen lack sharpness. However the actual game provides a new twist and addictive gameplay. The controls of the game are quick to learn and the survival mode will provide endless fun.

Review by James Harris