Take a bite out of your brain!
One of the real joys of this game is the feeling of fun.
My Mum always taught me to admit when I am wrong. So as hard as it may be, I was wrong about Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys. Initially I wrote a really scathing review after a very short play period and dismissed the game entirely.
After leaving the game for a few weeks, I was reminded that it was time to release the review. Re-reading it I thought it would be wise to have another bash at it, give it one more chance to impress me. How glad am I that I did!
Zombies is at face value a fairly standard looking platformer. But give it an hour and you start to realise that under this cartoony, teen B-Movie inspired game lies the heart of a deep and enjoyable platform adventure.
But let’s start from the beginning shall we? The earth is being invaded by the titular Alien Brain Thingys, lead by The Big Brain. Unbeknownst though him, however, is that whilst the normal human population is being destroyed, all the carnage and action has disturbed 3 Teenage Zombies. Rising from their grave they are immediately distracted from their usual Human prey by the hordes of fresh, juicy, pink brains everywhere!
The first few chapters of the game teach you the skills of each of your zombies. Lefty, the token zombie girl, has an extendible left arm, for reaching high places with ease. Fins, the fat zombie, has tentacles that allow him to climb walls. Halfpipe, the skateboarding dude with no legs, can squeeze through gaps to small for the others as well as get up some serious speed for distance jumps. They also each have 3 powerups that only they can use. For instance, Halfpipe can get monster truck style wheels, Fins can belch fire and acid and Lefty gets to shoot nails from a nail gun.
To complete each chapter you will need to make use of all of the characters skills as well as items that are specific to each character. This adds the depth mentioned earlier and lifts this out of the generic platform dirge you often find.
The presentation of the game is another unique selling point. The whole game is set out like a comic book. So chapter introductions, tips and even titles are laid out as comic book text boxes. The story is told in the same way, with comic book style cut scenes. All of the backgrounds are suitably comic book styled and the different environments all look the part, from sewers to graveyards. The lead characters are all well realised and look good against the various backdrops of the game. The only problem really is that there is not a huge variety of bad guys on offer.
One of the real joys of this game is the feeling of fun. The story is genuinely amusing with good narratives and voice overs in parts. It never takes it’s self too seriously and I think that is why I initially dismissed it.
All told this is a fun platformer that will make you smile and even laugh from time to time. With good presentation and some fun platforming sections, not to mention a few obligatory mini games, there should be enough here to keep you entertained for a while.
The Bad: May need a second play to ‘get it’. A bit too linear by the end.
Bronze Y Award