If you’re a regular reader of IntoMobile and my game reviews, you’ll know that I’m a fan of twin-stick shooters. I’ve played my share of twin-stick shooters on both console & on the iPhone. Some of my favorites so far have been Predators, Geometry Wars, and Guerrilla Bob.
Halfbrick has been pitching a perfect game so far as their games have become very popular on both iOS & Android (If you haven’t heard of Fruit Ninja by now, then I just feel sorry for you.) They’ve just published their first twin-stick shooter, Age of Zombies, which stars their lovable kick ass mascot Barry Steakfries onto the iPhone.
Age of Zombies tells the complex and deep story of Barry Steakfries who is trying to stop Professor Brain who has released zombies to infect the past. Barry will travel across five different time periods in different locales such as prehistoric times, the 1930s, and even ancient Egypt. Each time period has its own zombies to take down, such as cavemen zombies, gangster zombies, and even mummy zombies. All zombies for the most part can be taken down with a single shot from Barry, but the game also has a number of larger zombies that will take a little more work to take down.
Each chapter has two levels of zombie shooting mayhem, and a third level that has zombies along with the chapter’s boss. Each boss has their own unique attacks and strategy as how best to take them down. If you ever wanted to battle a zombie T-Rex, then your dreams will come true as Age of Zombies has such a disgustingly beautiful beast to take down. Each zombie boss also reflects the time period Barry is fighting in.
With all of the zombie slaying Barry will do, it should be expected that he’ll be given a number of weapons to take down zombies with, right? Well, you’re absolutely correct! Barry will be able to pick up a number of weapons such as a flamethrower, SMG, and Shotgun to name a few of them. Barry will also have secondary weapons he can use like grenades, mines, and rocket launchers. When a weapon is close to being used up, Barry’s gun will begin to flash.
Age of Zombies supports the iPhone 4’s Retina Display and delivers crisp HD graphics even though the overall feel of the game is 16-bit-ish (think Super Nintendo or SEGA Genesis days). Each zombie for the most part looks like the others, except for the level specific zombies, but even this look alike as well. Each level offers a small playing field where Barry could take out wave after wave of zombies. The game also supports Apple’s Game Center social game network and offers achievements and online leaderboards which keeps track of how many zombies you killed overall as well as in the game’s Survival mode.
FINAL THOUGHT: If you’re a fan of twin-stick shooters then you’ll be very pleased with Age of Zombies. The game has a silly story, some high powered weaponry, and enough zombies to kill to last you for as long as you can take. Halfbrick has yet again delivered an enjoyable and memorable gaming experience. Best of all, the game is available from the get-go as a universal app, which means you can play on either your iPhone or iPad with a single purchase.
Age of Zombies (Universal App) $2.99 – [iTunes Link]