Not the walking dead...just dead...

Posted 1 year ago By kingquagmire - David Collins

It was almost eriely timely when this review showed up. I was Tweeting about the Wii being essentially dead (beyond 1st party, of course) just as Zombii Attack, a WiiWare title, showed up in my Inbox. Now, my stance hasn’t changed, mind you, but I did think it was a bit coincidental as I haven’t reviewed a WiiWare game in well over a year (it was And Yet It Moves, if you are curious). But I digress...

Zombii Attack is about...well...a zombie attack. The apocalypse has finally arrived, and the undead plague has begun to spread. You, naturally, haven’t been infected. And Dr Zii has enlisted you to get him some samples of the walking dead to help him perfect his cure. So you set out with your giant sling shot, and a bevy of ammo in the form of anvils, rocks, tires, exploding barrels, and more, to defend yourself as you collect the requisite specimens.

"I fully respect, and encourage the approach that developer Motiviti took. The light hearted, tongue-in-cheek take on the zombie apocalypse is is a nice change of pace."

Wacky? Yep. Strange? A bit. But it’s refreshing as well. With so many games going the realism route, it’s always a welcomed site when a developer makes a game that doesn’t take itself seriously in anyway. Just the still shot of Dr Zii (Are you starting to see a theme here with the names?) as the level loads should be enough to convince you of that, with his photo showing him in this showroom-display kind of pose and a huge smile on his face that makes him look like he’s battling constipation while making a serum to save the world.

The gameplay is as basic as it can get. Each level is a fixed perspective scene. A gas station, a farm house, a seaside lighthouse, and so on. The rotting creatures run out at you in an attempt to indocorate you into their ranks. You aren’t walking in empty handed though. In addition to your uber-slingshot, there’s a barracade set up (which can be upgraded) that acts as a roadbloack of sorts, slowing the surprisingly quick walkers down long enough for you to get a shot off at them. Taking them out is as simple as targeting them with your WiiMote and hitting the A button. The trigger acts like a tractor beam, allowing you to capture a zombie and then slingshot him up into the basket Dr Zii is carrying below his helicoptor, which he flies above the stage until you have collected the correct amount of zombies. The dead are divided up by color, with each having varying difficulty and speed, and their order of appearance is completely random.

Here’s where the first issue comes in to play. For however cool it may be to have a variety of ammo to dispense your foes with, the tractor beam is infinite, costs you nothing, and instantly kills all zombies within its grasp. This essentially negats all the challenge from the game. Sure, the horde does hit you enmass, but still, it doesn’t matter where, or how far you fling a zombie. Once they are released from your shot, they are done for, leaving you free to nab the next one. There is a driving stage that pops up every few levels, though it’s in the same style as the old Pole Position kind of racing. Slide your car left or right to hit zombies and avoid the broken down vehicles scattered along the road. Beyond the fact the it general wasn’t all that much fun, it felt out of completely place. Fortunately, unecessary as it is, we don’t have to deal with it much.

This is a budget (read: $5) WiiWare title, so the bar needs to be fairly low when approaching a game like this. With that said, the visuals fall far below even the most reserved expectations. Zombii Attack is easily one of the most dated looking, and ugly “new” games to hit the market in recent memory. Jagged polys, muddy textures and an over all presentation that harkens back to the dawn of 3D visuals. Let me put it this way, there are games on the original PlayStation that released 15 years ago that look better than this mess.

Final Focus

I fully respect, and encourage the approach that developer Motiviti took. The light hearted, tongue-in-cheek take on the zombie apocalypse is is a nice change of pace. But with broken gameplay and one of the most horrendous presentations I’ve seen in a while, it’s difficult to recommend it to anyone. Unless you have some sort of morbid curiosity and an extra five buck to burn, I won’t disown you for giving it a look. But for anyone else, save your money.