iPhone Game of the Day: Zombie Shock

Game: Zombie Shock
Price: $1.99
Size: 46.6MB
Buy it now from the iTunes Store:US/UK

It's amazing how quickly copycats iterate on iPhone - DoodleJump does well and almost immediately ten cut-and-paste palette-swaps turn up. We can't say which "run to the right and blast everything that chases you into hamburger" game was first, but we can say Zombie Shock is our favorite so far. Probably due to thegore-soaked graphics, tight controls and vast herds of everyone's favorite enemy du jour: zombies.

The premise is dead simple and immediately compelling - you're Abel, an ex-biologist imprisoned in a mental hospital, afflicted with an unknown mental disorder.But littledoes "theman" know that your seemingly paranoid mumblings about the "Fear Virus" are all too prophetic. The virus naturally gets out and creates hordes offlesh-cravingundead track stars which then proceed to invadeeverywhere, including your padded-walls palace. What's a gown-wearing, sorta-psycho nerd with a ton of pent-upanxietyto do but grab a pile of guns and run for his life?

And that's the whole thing, really. Each level finds Abel sprinting full-bore away from all shapes and sizes of undead, pouring bloody, gunpowder-propelled death into his pursuers. You start off with only a single pistol but each kill earns you cash you can then spend on all sorts of boomsticks: Upgraded pistols, shotguns, machine guns, crossbows, bazookas, and a few hidden weapons as well.And because you can carry three at a time, you'll rarely be left defenseless for long. That's especially helpful, both because you're defenseless while reloading and also becauseyou don't want to miss the chance to blast the occasional barrel of explosive goop as you pass it.

Simple, yes. But it sure does work.Even the pulse-pounding rock music that accompanies your flight and a pace that would have even an overcaffeinatedADD sufferer begging the game to slow down (each level is maybe 60 seconds long, which means you don't get bored and you're constantly buying new weapons) fit just right.We're pretty sure we'll be tired of zombies one of these days, butthis won't be the game to push us over the edge. It's too good.

Sept 30, 2010

Eric Bratcher
I was the founding Executive Editor/Editor in Chief here at GR, charged with making sure we published great stories every day without burning down the building or getting sued. Which isn't nearly as easy as you might imagine. I don't work for GR any longer, but I still come here - why wouldn't I? It's awesome. I'm a fairly average person who has nursed an above average love of video games since I first played Pong just over 30 years ago. I entered the games journalism world as a freelancer and have since been on staff at the magazines Next Generation and PSM before coming over to GamesRadar. Outside of gaming, I also love music (especially classic metal and hard rock), my lovely wife, my pet pig Bacon, Japanese monster movies, and my dented, now dearly departed '89 Ranger pickup truck. I pray sincerely. I cheer for the Bears, Bulls, and White Sox. And behind Tyler Nagata, I am probably the GR staffer least likely to get arrested... again.