Burn Zombie Burn Game Play Review

Burn Zombie Burn Game Play Review
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Concept (4 out of 5)

Taking the role of Bruce, a wise cracking, gun toting sole survivor in a number of zombie infested situations, the player’s goal is simple – cause as much havoc as possible before succumbing to the mindless ghouls all around them. This might seem like a cake walk, but is surprisingly hard, with the battlefield quickly becoming full, leaving nothing for a player to do except stand and deliver, with a number of different weapons available.

One interesting (and quite novel feature) Burn Zombie Burn introducing is the Flaming Zombie. Essentially, players are able to light their enemies on fire using a torch or flamethrower. The upside to this is that the amount of zombies on fire converts to a multiplier which increases the points a player receives each time, making it easy to rack up awesome scores in no time. The downside of this is that flaming zombies run quicker, attack faster and are no longer afraid of fire.

Aside from this new feature, Burn Zombie Burn fails to bring anything new to the idea of the zombie survivor genre, but this one feature is what makes Burn Zombie Burn stand above other games of the style.

Burn Zombie Burn Game Play (5 out of 5)

Burn Zombie Burn Game Play

Drawing a single round out long enough to make an impression is what makes Burn Zombie Burn game play so challenging yet rewarding. In no time the battlefield is filled with zombies of varying types, strengths and speeds, each of which pose a different risk to the player.

The weapons at the player’s disposal range from conventional to downright ridiculous. The default weapons are a handgun and flaming torch, both of which have unlimited ammunition. Other available weapons include Uzis, Chainsaws and even a Lawnmower and a Brain Gun, which sucks the brain from one zombie and spews it onto the ground, causing surrounding zombies to be drawn to it. These weapons have a limited amount of ammo, and must be used sparingly.

Then there’s the dance gun. Taking the place of the torch in a player’s inventory, the weapon causes all effected zombies to break out into their best rendition of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, allowing the player to destroy them with no resistance. Neither the most powerful or sensible weapon in existence, it was nonetheless the highlight of our time with the game.

Controls (3 out of 5)

The controls of the game are rather simple – the player moves Bruce using the keyboard, and aims and fires his weapons using the mouse.

Unfortunately most of the game’s faults are with the controls. Much of the time they tended to be rather unresponsive, with the mouse being at times horrendously difficult to aim with. Whether this is the fault of a failed lock-on system or simply a bad implementation of the mouse during its port from the PS3, it tends to make Burn Zombie Burn game play a tad difficult at times. Many deaths will be caused by Bruce refusing to aim anywhere except a single degree away from the zombie that needs shooting.

Graphics - Burn Zombie Burn Review (3 out of 5)

Burn Zombie Burn Review

The graphics of Burn Zombie Burn are nowhere near the best in the world. But in a game that focuses on a quick laugh rather than a full on, immersive experience, the end result isn’t too bad. The exaggerated proportions of Bruce and the Zombies add more of a comic feel to the game, if players hadn’t already realised the tongue-in-cheek tendencies from the weapon choices. Overdone flame effects and gratuitous amount of gore populate the game and in no time the battlefield is filled with ridiculous amount of blood and body parts.

However, it’s clear that Doublesix have gotten a little lazy when it came to creating the graphics for the game. Sure, everything looks like the object it is representing, but it can’t be helped but thought that the graphics could have been improved just that bit more – there are absolutely no quality options, aside from “Enabled” and “Disabled” for such things as shadowed. The game can operate in a window and fullscreen.

Sound - Burn Zombie Burn Review (3 out of 5)

Burn Zombie Burn Review

The lowlight of our Burn Zombie Burn review experience, the soundtrack of the game is a bit of a letdown. The sound effects of the Zombies and weapons of the game are fairly generic, feeling as though they were pulled from a catalogue rather than recorded especially for the game. The gunshots in particular are generally of low quality audio, with some artifacting heard at times.

The music of the game lifts it out of this hole, however, with rock tracks backing the action as Bruce powers through horde after horde of zombies. The dance gun triggers a bassier, dance beat as the zombies begin to move in time with one another.

Bruce’s one liners are repeated at the beginning of each level. There isn’t much variety, with perhaps only four or five individuals phrases on offer, but his “and I’m all out of gum” line brings the occasional chortle.

Verdict (4 out of 5)

There is no doubt that Burn Zombie Burn is a flawed product. Failings in the controls and sound of the game will leave players feeling a little disappointed at times. But in the end, the game wasn’t built to be an award winner. It presents a quick crash course in violence and stylised gore. There’s no doubt it’s an addictive, fun game regardless of its faults, and at only USD$10.00 on Steam, it will more than likely pay for itself in the end.

Burn Zombie Burn is out now.