Zombies. It’s difficult to get away from them in any form of entertainment. TV, Films, Games, Apps, Comics, you name it, there is likely something to do with zombies available in the format. One of the latest releases on the Xbox is I, Zombie, a small game where you take control of a zombie horde. You start off each level solo, but by the end you will have infected others that you are able to control as their leader.
It is quite a fun little game, which would probably be at home on your mobile phone (it is available on iOS), but as we all know, games come in all shapes and sizes on home console these days. This isn’t really a new game though, it was released on Steam back at the end of 2014 (aswell as Xbox 360), with that in mind, it’s a shame we haven’t received the level editor that has been integrated into the PC version.
I, Zombie is a game where you have a top down view of each level. It requires some tactical thinking to solve what are essentially moving puzzles. As the first Zombie on the level, you need to navigate around and (for the most part) infect everyone else on the level – there are slight variations on this formula. You will need to pay attention to soldier patrols to time your moves to ensure they don’t kill you before you infect them or the civilians they may be guarding. As your horde increased you are able to instruct them to follow, stay or attack and as the levels progress so does the difficulty, introducing new enemy weapons and types ensuring you need to adapt your tactics at times.
Each level is scored with stars, with objectives to reach the highest 3 star rating, things such as amount of surviving zombies, or a timed objective. It is a short game, with only 30 levels. There is an achievement to complete the first 20 in 15 minutes. Which gives you an idea of how long each level will be. Realistically ranging from 20-60 seconds. But there is certainly some enjoyment to have with it.
Visually, the games colours stand out as well as they can, but this isn’t pushing the machine in the slightest, and as previously said looks like it could be ran on a phone with ease. And that fact, along with the length as short as it is has impacted the score I’ll give it. Though the game is just a shade over 3 quid, so it does have that going for it if you’re looking for a quirky little puzzle game with zombies.
**Thank you to XCN for providing a review copy of the game**