burn zombie burn

PLATFORM: PSN
RELEASE DATE: 9/2009
DEVELOPER: Doublesix
ESRB RATING: M

Progress: 10% trophies as of posting

There is no huge story or deep meaning to this game. Your mission: shoot zombies to stay alive and in the process rack up points. Now, I like shooting zombies. If you like shooting zombies, Burn Zombie Burn (BZB) is sure to make your thumbs sore and challenge you. It's a top-down view shooter, survival of the fittest, zombie onslaught. You have an assortment of weapons at your fingertips: everything from a hand gun (w/ unlimited ammo,) to a brain-sucking gun, to a lawnmower among many more. Endless waves of zombies are after you as you dash around, laying down a sea of lead, struggling to survive and earn big points towards achievements and ultimately unlocking more levels.

Don't let the evil, cutesy graphics fool you. This game is all about carnage. The graphics are fun and styled with a throwback to the 50's; for example, the hair styles and wheels of our main protagonist, Bruce. Bruce is no doubt a homage to "Ash" from the Evil Dead series. The zombies themselves vary from what you would expect a zombie to look like to football player zombies, larger scarier behemoths and deadly, twirling, tutu wearing zombies. The levels are closed environments but have a nice flair and offer just enough room to maneuver around the zombie hoards that are after you. Try to avoid the corners if at all possible. BZB sports some quick load times and simple navigation menus. A full tutorial is included and will help you earn points if you think you are missing something.

Bruce is controlled with the left analog stick and basically shoots where you are moving, though there are options for strafing (by holding L2) and you'll surely be holding down the auto-targeting function (L1). The true key to this game is getting lots of points. You can shoot zombies until you are blue in the face but in order to get your scores up, and unlock the remaining levels, you will have to burn them. That is where the game gets it's name, the burning of zombies and trying to out run manage the flames. R2 on the PlayStation controller is a very important button to master as it allows Bruce to use his torch to light the zombies on fire. Flames will spread from zombie to zombie. Killing burning zombies leads to score multipliers and better power ups; however, burning zombies are faster and harder to avoid. That ol' double edged sword.

This is one tough game to make progress in.  I admit I've only unlocked a few of the 6 levels. Earning the bronze, silver and gold medals awarded in each level, will take some effort. The zombies are relentless and you only have three lives per level. You will get frustrated when you see your first point goal is 1,000,000 points (for a bronze medal) but rest assured, it is doable, just knuckle down and do work. Co-op is offered only in offline play which might be my only negative feeling toward this game. Even still, offline co-op can be a ton of fun and even helpful in getting your scores up.

BZB is available exclusively on the Playstation Network. The initial offering of this game is now referred to as BZB "Classic" and is a mere $10 dollars for what feasibly could have been a disc based game ($55-65 dollars). Future BZB installments are on the way from developer Doublesix including "In Space...", "Zombie Sushi" and something for the PSP called "BZB 2D."  No release dates available as of this initial posting. The replay value of this game is very high and it has a nice casual, pick up and play feel. I'm looking forward to killing billions of more zombies for years to come.

A-

They're coming to get you, Barbara