Age of Zombies

Playstation Minis Review – Age of Zombies

Published By: Halfbrick Studios, Developed By: Half Brick Studios, Genre: Horror Action, Release Date: February 25, 2011, Rating: Teen, Systems: Iphone, Android, PsP, Playstation 3 (Minis).

Presentation - For my second Playstation Minis review of the day i give you Age of Zombies. Age of Zombies is a historical zombie killing romp led by eccentric “bro-man” protagonist Barry Steakfries. What immediately grabbed me about Age of Zombies was that its a top down zombie game with real humor, nice visuals and good sound design. The atmosphere is that of a light hearted crude humorous slasher zombie flick.

The main menus include New Game, Continue Game, Survival Mode, Options and Credits. I spent most of my time in the Story Mode section and played Survival quite a bit. Both modes were fun and addicting for a handheld game. However don’t forget i played this game as a Minis title on my Playstation 3. It was free afterall since i am a Playstation Plus member.

Story – About 80% of the Playstation Minis games i play do not have a story. Age of Zombies does albeit very cheesy but its there. The story starts off with the protagonist Barry Steakfries confronting a evil maniacal Professor Brains. The Professor invented a Hyper  Timeological Transfer Machine. But what’s worse is that he released his Zomb Bomb which turns people into zombies. Barry Steakfries hears enough and shoots Professor Brain in the face. A time portal iopens up and Barry jumps in to clean up the mess and have some fun in the process. The story is told through text boxes with pictures of the character’s face on the side. Is the story good? No, hell no. However, it is a story or should i type, reason to play the game.

Visuals – Age of Zombies is a goodlooking  handheld game in my opinion. The semi top down view features hordes of zombies getting sprayed by Barry Steakfries looked nice graphically. The varied historical settings in ancient Egypt, 1930′s USA and prehistoric times really showcased what the game’s engine is capable of. I really do like the artstyle of the characters most notably the zombies.

Sound Design – Really good. Most Playstation Minis titles sound distorted with too much base. Age of Zombies had crisp sound and the music was catchy that also changed along with the historic settings accordingly.

Gameplay – This game is a zombie shooter at heart. There are massive waves of zombies attacking you from all angles. Item drops contain SMGs, shotguns, flame throwers, grenades, mines and more. My major gripe with Age of Zombies was easily the controls. I had to aim with the buttons. No analog support. Lucky the crude humor kept me laughing or else i would’ve been more upset. Gameplay is well rounded. The enemies look like they fit in from the historic timeline ala caveman zombies, mob zombies etc.

There are bosses including a zombie T-Rex and a Mob Boss in a speeding car. There are kill counts and score multipliers for the score junkies. After each stage you’re ranked in Time, Kills, Deaths, Shots Fired, Shots Hit and Accuracy. Survival Mode isn’t that much different from the regular story mode but was  just as fun and addicting. The on-screen HUD shows your guns and grenades count, lives left, score and multiplier and zombie gauge.

Replayability – Not much content. You can beat the game pretty fast and the Survival mode lasts even less. Its a fun shooter but not alote of reasons are there to make you want to keep playing.

Final Verdict – Age of Zombies is a good looking,  fun, hilarious, addicting zombie shooter. The problem is the content. Its too thin to warrant any real replayability.

7/10