Zombies seem to be all the rage at the moment which is great news for Doublesix, who are the developers of Burn Zombie Burn, a new downloadable arcade action shooter which is available via the Playstation Store.

 

Burn Zombie Burn sees you take on the role of a square jawed and swept back hair character named Bruce. Throughout the various levels of the game your main task is to use all of the weapons available to kill as many Zombies as possible, therefore enabling you to rack up a high enough score to achieve the target score and earn the medal you are aiming for. The controls for the game are quite simple really, the left analogue stick moves Bruce, while L1 is used to aim, L2 for strafing, R1 (or X) to fire, R2 to use your flame thrower and finally you also have explosive controls assigned to triangle and to a lesser extent the circle button.

 

 

When you begin the game you are assigned a pistol, this will stick with you throughout the entire game and given that it’s ammo is unlimited this does come in very handy, as to be expected though the handgun isn’t exactly the most powerful weapon and therefore you will be glad to get your hands on some of the others. The guns are probably the most useful weapons in the game for cutting through Zombies, the Uzi for example makes short work of them when combined with the L1 button, as does the Shotgun when strafing, however the guns have their bad points in that using them constantly will not enable you to rack up the scores you need to and of course they do run out of ammo too.

 

Other weapons in the game include a baseball bat, chainsaw and a lawnmower, however the most important way to rack up scores is to use a combination of the flame thrower and the dynamite. The main tactic in the game starts with you taking zombies out with your standard weapons, when you do this they will then occasionally drop items such as health, ammo and crucially dynamite. Once you have some dynamite you can then use your flame thrower to set the zombies alight, then either throw or kick the dynamite at them, once blown up they will then usually drop dynamite upgrades, this will allow you to earn better explosives such as proximity mine which explode as soon as the burning zombies as within range and the remote bomb, which you can detonate yourself using the circle button. Therefore as you can see you will need to use a mixture of standard weapons and explosives in order to progress, follow these tips and there is no doubt that your score will rocket thanks to the multipliers you will receive.

 

All of the weapons you will need during the game are spread throughout the map, so you are never really far away from at least one of the weapons. Another feature worth mentioning is the combo kills, should you kill enough enemies with the same weapons you will earn a combo bonus, once you have earned three of these (using the same or a combination of weapons per combo), you will light up the three red bulbs at the top of the screen, this will then activate a red button in the level. Once your character stands on the red button this will usually help you no end, with effects ranging from rain to slow zombies down to a bomb which clears a path through the zombies.

 

Out with the main freeplay mode, the game also includes a timed mode where you have to kill as many zombies as possible within a set time and also a mode where you have to protect your friend Daisy as hordes upon hordes of zombies ascend on her. Both of these modes again require you to use a mixture of standard weapons and the flame thrower in order to survive and get through the level.

 

The game also comes packed with a training mode, which is almost essential in order to learn the best tactics in order to get through the game. The training mode is eight stages long and will not only teach you the best ways to rack up a score, but will also show you the basics of the game, which you will no doubt miss should you decide just to jump straight in.

 

 

Disappointingly the game does not include an online multiplayer mode, however it does provide you with a co-op and vs. mode offline. When playing in offline multiplayer the game splits the screen in two, allowing you to keep a close eye on your own character, these modes work really well and are great fun, hopefully they will be joined by an online mode in the future.

 

As far as the presentation goes, Burn Zombie Burn is very polished, considering this is a downloadable title the quality really is top notch. The animation of the zombies cannot be faulted, they waddle along in a very comical fashion and they look great. The graphics are also backed up by the sounds, which fit in perfectly with the way the game plays.

 

Burn Zombie Burn is a tough game to get to grips with, however it really is great fun and well worth the asking price. If you love zombies in your games then you are definitely going to love this. A top quality title at a very tempting price.