All Zombies Must Die

Yesterday I downloaded this new game from Double Six Games called All Zombies Must Die!  I got it for Xbox, but it is also available for Playstation and Steam.

Now I'm generally a sucker for zombie games and I was about to spend my Microsoft Points on Amy.  Well actually I started to download the trial version of the game and started reading reviews.  The best review I found for the game (best as in highest marks) was a 4.7 out of 10.

After narrowly avoiding that fiasco I went ahead and download the All Zombies Must Die! trial version and quickly unlocked the full game with MS Points.  It is a cartoony, cutish top-down shooter that doesn't take itself too seriously.  That worked for Deathspank and I liked that game.

All Zombies Must Die! (or AZMD for short) has a lot of the elements of bigger franchise games, like the Resident Evil series.  You can craft items, there are dumb sidequests, and you have to manage you ammo.

Up to four players can drop-in/drop-out to play across the various map boards.  There is actually a generic 5th character which is just a soldier with a M16ish weapon.  Each player can choose a "favorite" weapon which doesn't get replaced when you acquire a secondary weapon.  Each player can also customize their loadout with a special ability.  Right now I'm running around with a shotgun that sets zombies on fire and the special ability to pull out a torch and set the zombies on fire.  The shotgun more often kills than sets ablaze and if I was undead torches I need to do it manually.  

The undead drop coins, food, and ammunition often enough that on single player I haven't had too much of a problem keeping everything topped off.  In multiplayer you need to share those drops.  There are also containers that have items in them, but it takes some time to search them....time that the zombies use to wail on you.  As you can see in the picture above the 1st and 3rd characters are hurting.  In addition to having a low life bar, the icon showing the "hero" is beat up.  The red tinge around the screen means that the player is close to death.  That would mean the screen shot is most likely from player 1.  Death means you have to start the level again.  I'm not sure if it is handled differently in multiplayer.

The cutesy style of the game, along with the ability to customize your character and weapons add greatly to the game for me.  The levels are relatively small and many quests could be completed quickly if you want.  You could also take your time killing more zombies for points or drops and work to get extra crafting materials to use later.  I found it enjoyable and worth the 800 Microsoft Points.