OMG HD Zombies! Review

Zombies have evolved over the years. Originally used in B movies as a way of keeping the costs down and, afterwards, used in gaming as a way of introducing easy-to-programme AI. Now they're everywhere. There seems to be a general consensus that zombies equal monies.

OMG HD Zombies!, is a remake of an old PSP game, albeit with a few new zombie types, levels, crisper visuals and the ability to poke the screen. Action takes place in the city of Redfield (hi, Resident Evil) after another outbreak which is explained through a well drawn, but not so well written introduction.

Each level opens with your avatar stood on a vantage point above the horde. There is no danger of death here, with the aim being to wipe out as many zombies as possible - potentially all of them - with three bullets.

Killed zombies will set off a chain reaction, killing any shambler stood next to them. So choosing your initial target wisely can pay dividends. A well timed bullet to the 'gaming standard' explosive barrel is a surefire way of setting off a decent kill chain.

There are a few different variants on the standard 'walker': exploding zombies, zombies with guns that fire upon death, zombies that leave a puddle of bile... Each has their own tactical advantages and disadvantages. The Mortar Zombie I found to be particularly satisfying, which fires its intestines out of its head when shot - this creates a squishy, meaty kind of rain and sounds as if the local butcher's has exploded, with the product landing on the floor beside you.

This puzzle element does have an addictive quality to it but, unfortunately, the game also has a few frustrations that offset this. Each level has a different combination of zombie types and, although each scenario has a set amount of flesh eaters, the layout of the levels are completely random. This often means that zombies can be too spread out to cause a decent chain, and it also makes the explosive barrel placement on some attempts much more beneficial than others.

Each level contains a four-tier rating system - bronze being the worst and platinum being the best. Different amounts of cash are rewarded depending on how you do and this can be used to provide damage multipliers to specific zombie types, like, for instance, increasing the blast radius when a walker dies.

Later levels are almost impossible if you've not invested enough money into upgrading your arsenal. This means that replaying and getting better scores on earlier levels is a must, especially as, later on, some zombies will require more than one bullet to drop - and remember, you only have three.

Some of the more sparsely populated levels can be pretty frustrating, especially when the directions the zombies walk can separate them from each other even more. Again, it's that random factor - it's a good thing for replay value, but not so great when it plays such a big part in what, essentially, is a puzzle game.

Another thing that doesn't work so great is the aforementioned touch screen functionality. The zombies are so tiny on the screen, you could fit about five of them into the space of my finger tip, making it frustrating to use when accuracy is important. Luckily, this can be disabled for a more traditional analogue stick approach - which also lets you see each enemies' health when you hover the reticule over them.

This non-default control scheme is superior in every way to the intended touch screen setup, with your avatar even pointing his rifle wherever the reticule is hovering, it feels like it wasn't meant to be played with the touch screen.It was intended to be played on the ancient handheld, after all. The touch screen controls feel shoehorned in, and literally add nothing to the game.

One thing that I did like about the game, however, is its aesthetic design. It's Sin City: Zombie Bandwagon Edition. Everything is monochrome, apart from the blood, so each level starts in black and white. Your rifle becomes a paint brush as each shot paints the level a deeper crimson.

OMG HD Zombies!, with its silly exclamation mark, is a fine game to pass ten minutes on a bus journey, or whilst sitting on the toilet. But the novelty of watching the action unfold soon fades into obscurity as you come to a sudden realisation: you're not really playing the game that much. You tap the screen (or tap 'x') three times per level and just sit and watch the red rain.

It's nothing that couldn't be released as a little Android game for 69p, which, when you look at it, makes the £2.99 asking price seem much steeper than it at first seems. Add into this microtransactions that let you pay real money to buy grenades that are essentially smart bombs that clear the whole level, and it starts to feel like a cash-in. I'm sure some will enjoy it for a few hours, but there are similar, better experiences available for cheaper.