Age of Zombies
March 3, 2010 | 2:07 PM PST
It seems like no matter where you turn in the gaming world, you can’t spit without hitting a zombie game. Dead Rising. Resident Evil. Left 4 Dead. And of course, you can’t forget the countless number of zombie-killing iPhone games. All this leaves the world to wonder, “Do we really need another zombie shooter?” According to Halfbrick, if the zombie shooter involves a foul-mouthed, gun crazy, over the top hero named Barry Steakfries, the answer is a resounding “YES.”
Age of Zombies is a new PSP Mini from Halfbrick, creators of Echoes and Blast Off that features a typical shoot-em-up zombie game that has all the elements of a generic zombie shooter but goes so over the top that you can’t help but embrace it. An evil scientist not only figured out a way to create zombies, but he also found a way to send them back in various spots in time. After Barry Steakfries promptly shot the mad scientist in the face, he jumped into the time portal and set out to stop the zombie infestation across the ages. Fortunately for him, his primary weapon never runs out of bullets (that’s just how cool Steakfries is), but it’s too bad that this is not enough to keep the masses of zombies at bay. The time portals continuously open all over the terrain of each level, and what seems to be hundreds of zombies pour out of them, forcing Barry to constantly move and shoot. Grenades, flamethrowers, sub-machine guns and other weapons will magically drop out of the sky that Barry must use if he has any hopes of surviving. Of course they never drop close to where he is, thereby effectively adding another level of pressure and panic.
At a first glance, none of this seems and sounds like it is different from any other zombie shooter. Most other games include neverending swarms of zombies, a wide variety of weapons, and sensations of panic and pressure while trying to shoot, run and survive. Age of Zombies‘ brightly colored graphics and cute little zombies separate it a little from the typical genre entry, but what really makes it stand out is Barry Steakfries himself. The guy is so over the top he’s practically Sylvester Stallone from Rambo. He sounds like him, too. Thankfully though, he’s far funnier than Stallone’s character. I find myself continuing to play just to read the totally random things he’ll say next. For those with younger children, please be forewarned. Barry has quite the language problem.
Using Barry’s arsenal is simple. Players can either hold down R2 to shoot in whatever direction Barry is facing, although this is not advisable as you will most likely be steering Barry in one direction while shooting in the opposite. Pressing the square, triangle, circle and X buttons will fire in those directions (left, up, right and down), so players can move Barry with either the d-pad or the analog stick in whatever direction, despite where he is shooting. Due to this scheme, it is highly advisable that you play this game on a regular PSP and not a PSPgo. I normally do not have problems with comfort when it comes to my PSPgo, but after just two levels of Age of Zombies, I had to quit playing because my left hand hurt so badly. I redownloaded the game on my normal PSP and experienced none of the discomfort, even after a couple of hours of gameplay.
Obviously this style of a game will not please everyone, but those who want a quick pick-up-and-play game of zombie bloodshed will be quite satisfied. Thanks to the survival mode, the fun with Barry Steakfries doesn’t have to end with the story. You can keep shooting zombies into pools of blood as long as Barry can survive.
The Rundown
Age of Zombies is your basic zombie shoot-em-up game that shouldn’t be dismissed as such at first glance. While the game will not win anyone over who isn’t into action games or killing zombies, those who enjoy shooting zombies in the face will have fun with Mr. Steakfries. Come for the zombie killing, but stay for the humor.