I had watched a video of it on You-Tube a while back and it looked cool so I had been keeping an eye peeled for it. With the hype from Infinity Blade 2, which came out today, Desert Zombie kind of slipped out unaware. I saw it listed on App Shopper. It is priced at a fairly hefty $5.99.
Though I haven't played it a great deal, I feel comfortable saying a few things, good and bad about the game. First of all, I don't feel cheated, like I did when I bought Jurassic Park a couple of weeks ago. Secondly, the graphics are pretty good. Next, I wish they had toned down the gore, just a little, though this is no deal breaker for me. They could add a button for that in the options, though I don't like it totally eliminated.
When I saw the game in the store, I noticed that it was 'only' 188 MB. This is a pretty good bit (no pun intended) but you knew it wouldn't have the length, and probably not quite the graphics, of Shadowgun, 9MM or Modern Combat 3. Well, sure enough, this is true. But you can't fall out with a game because it is not as great as the best of the genre.
This game tries to ratchet up the intensity by making the zombies move so fast as to be jerky and the entire game seem a bit frantic. You say to me, and rightly so, "Hey, it's war! Things are supposed to be like that." Well, if you can't duck behind something and take a breath or think about a bit of a strategy like Shadowgun, it detracts just a bit from the fun, for me. I put it on easy level and I was able to have some success, which is nice. Still, a slightly more measured pace would have been nice for us old-timers. Don't get me wrong, I want action. You just have to play it to see what I mean.
This game is a bit different from the games that are normally in this price range. It is more like the cheaper games with points awarded which you use to buy weapons, skills, 'skins' and the like. You seem to receive ample points, so it won't be necessary to shell out additional money for stuff on top of the $5.99. This would have been a deal breaker.
This game follows the formula of waves of zombies coming at you. Each wave has a certain amount of 'grunts', riflemen, RPG's, and other things. You start encountering 'Bosses' pretty quickly. My first boss was an ugly ( none are really pretty. Ha,ha. They are zombies) zombie who stood 10 feet tall. I had to blow his head off but that was okay by me.
I read all the reviews on the app store for this game before I bought it, which is my norm, and I saw that some folks complained because there were only 2 'maps'. This means areas in which you are fighting, or backdrops. In some games these may vary from jungles to mountains. This particular game has 2, as I said. Another complaint on the app store reviews was from a lefty who said that there was no option for left-handed shooter buttons. Doesn't matter to me because I'm a rightie.
Oh, I forgot to mention the story line. Here's the recipe. A virus has been unleashed across the planet and the survivors have to band together to fight the zombie hordes, which threaten the extinction of the human race. The 'map' I was fighting on had me as a soldier who had survived a helicopter crash. That's the good news. The bad news was, I was in a smoking, wrecked city, out in the desert, fleeing for my life as I fought hordes of the undead. They start you with the most basic equipment, a Beretta and a rifle. I was quickly able to upgrade to an AK-47 and the Israeli Desert Eagle. An interesting aside on that handgun. I was watching a show about Greg Norman, the Australian golfer. (A favorite of mine) He is a gun collector and he was allowing this guy to shoot this Desert Eagle. Wow! This is a powerful weapon. But have I ever got to shoot one? Noooooo! Has Greg ever invited me to his ranch in Colorado? Noooooo! Sorry, I got off subject.
Let me wrap up this look at the latest shooter. If you're like most folks, you'll buy Infinity Blade 2 this weekend. I don't care for sword-fighting games, no matter how good, so I bought this shooter. My wife, the puzzler just got a free Christmas version of Cover Orange so she is quiet as a mouse. She has, over the last year, I suppose, played 250 levels of this game. I like it myself. But Desert Zombie is a good game, with promise of being better as I go along. When I mentioned its negatives, I hope I didn't sound harsh. It is well worth several dollars, unlike Jurassic Park, which I paid $6.99 for. I expect this game will make a lot of money. When the early adopters are through buying Desert Zombies, I expect it may settle out at a $3 or $4 level. It is a cut below the top shooter games but still quite palatable. Again, it is your dinero, spend as you please.
From the desert, in zombies up to my ears, this is CE Wills.
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