App Review: Zombie Defense

Today, I'm back with a review of another game app - Zombie Defense by Home Net Games.

I love zombies. There's just something deeply cool about mowing down these undead buggers and watching blood and gore splatter. I also like the Tower Defense genre. It never gets old.

Zombie Defense

Zombie Defense is a zombie-themed Tower Defense game. Two of my favorite game genres rolled into one app. Now that's something I can get behind!

The Premise

Cities are being overrun by the walking (and in some cases, running) dead and you need to deploy troops to clear them out. The troops you have vary in range and effectiveness against different zombie types, and what units you have at your disposal depends on how far in the game you've progressed, and the stage itself. Killing zombies and finishing stages nets you in-game credits, which you can use to improve your unit types with plenty of groovy options.

As for the story... hell, this is a zombie-themed Tower Defense game, we don't need no stinkin' story.

The Aesthetics

Zombie Defense is gorgeous. 3D rendered zombies rushing your troops from all directions, bullets lighting up the area, grenade blasts brilliantly exploding, blood splattering each time your units die...

Ahem. Well, you get the idea. Where action animation is concerned, I find very little to complain about here. Even the sound effects of bullets striking and bones crunching, add to the atmosphere, though they do get repetitive after a while.

I find the green-on-black interface particularly apt. It's a zombie apocalypse. It's grim, see?

Nice color scheme!

More of that color scheme.

The Experience

In the beginning stages where you start out with very little, you're kept frequently on your toes. And figuring out where to fling your limited supply of dynamite can be an adventure in itself. You'll feel stabs of fear as the first huge zombie boss appears. I just about lost my shit the first time a zombie boss started flinging missile attacks at me.

Missile attack!

Downing an extra-large zombie boss.

Mad zombie rush!

Seeing my units become more powerful spurred me on, and I found myself quite immersed as I directed my units to hide behind crates, take cover behind barb wire fences and fall back to safer ground when there were too many of the critters advancing. Until, of course, my units grew powerful enough for me to simply fast-forward through the action. Though this took the better part of two weeks. (OK, maybe I just suck. Maybe you'll do better)

The Interface

It's basically tap and swipe, and other than watch the action unfold, occasionally pause to make strategic adjustments (like, re-positioning your tower units, for instance) and watch zombies die by the dozens, there's not a lot complicated about the interface. As you grow more powerful, you'll be needing the fast-forward button a lot.

Position your units...

Select from a wide range of units.

Set up traps and choke points.

Get little care packages!

Promote a unit for better stats...

...and watch the zombies go splat!

What I liked

This game is very definitely playable without needing to spend a single dime. Always a plus.

Movable tower units! In many Tower Defense games, the tower units are immovable once positioned. Zombie Defense does away with this, giving you tower units who will run to a new spot of your choosing and throw grenades! In later stages, you can even move the spots!

An environment which is partially malleable and can be engineered to your advantage. Throw fire bombs that form barriers, forcing zombies to circumnavigate. Though why zombies would feel the need to avoid fire is a mystery to me. They're certainly not bothering to dodge your bullets.

Using fire.

The upgrades are certainly very interesting.

Normal and Gold upgrades.

The Normal tech tree.

The Gold tech tree.

The Freeze Gun. 'Nuff said.

Woo-hoo, freeze!

What I didn't

Single-unit stages. Stages where you can only deploy one type of unit. I'd like to personally strangle whoever thought this up. It's not just difficult - difficult can be fun. This one is difficult in a distinctively tedious and un-fun way.

Really, dudes?

The Decoy. Basically serves as bait. Really?

The app consumes an ungodly amount of battery power. Though I suppose that's unavoidable considering the graphics and animation.

Boring, boring text.

Zombie Defense really doesn't have much in the way of personality. The mission briefings seem altogether too serious and, well, boring. There's a lot of text that I just can't be bothered to read because it provides no real information and has no entertainment value whatsoever.

Conclusion

Though it suffers from the usual Tower Defense game hazards of repetitiveness and eventual burnout, this is a game that has the potential to keep you occupied for a long time. Or at least, through the first run.

My Rating

6.5 / 10

You'll keep playing this game in the (un)dead of the night!
T___T