The night of the Android zombies

Breaking news: zombie outbreak. Gasp. However, don’t be afraid. We have our Android running full of battery, it doesn’t matter whether we’re out of range. We’ll take the…homescreen back.

There’s a strange ethical dilemma around. Whether people may like or may not shooting down fictitious humans within a fictitious environment such as a game for a mobile device, everybody likes to kill zombies. Well, in this case “killing” turns out to be a kind euphemism for “riddle them with lead, tearing’em apart and burn them down”, of course. Those poor souls were supposed to be resting in heaven or wherever, but they’re roaming around instead while growling and snorting and eating your fellow comrades. That’s why someone like you chose your weapon of choice, no matter if it has an exotic name as balisong, khopesh, kusarigama or kitchen knife, and decided to clean up the streets and make that neighborhood a good place to live again besides what will be the latest and most brilliant leaders’ idea from their underground bunkers. In short, all these lines should be a pretty accurate summary able to fit nearly every zombie flick ever shot. Yes, there are quite a few films which chase clichés away, but they bear on more specialized on zombielogy websites.

Having said that pretended brainy stuff, let me show you several great zombie games. They have a few things in common: they’re stressful, they are absolute time (and brain) wasters and, no matter how hard you try, zombies always have the best chances on their behalf. So therefore look for a catchy middle name: Peter “AndroidZoom” Warrior is nice, but Peter “Riskiest” Warrior is nicer, as an example; make the choice of your life, this is, rifle or shotgun; and put all your guts on it…literally.

First in a row is Zombie Wonderland 2. We talked about it a time ago, before it was launched. At the end, we played it and we loved it, because the unwise mix of hilarious humor and frenetic gameplay is the wisest thing ever. By the way, it helps to prove the theory that if there ever was a biohazard outbreak, an alien invasion or whatever evil wakes up and the film runs low on budget, it would surely take place somewhere the middle East, and will be a redneck who saves mankind. I wonder why we never get used to it.

In addition, ZW2 adds something new to the zombie formula: not only you have to kill them, you also have to clean the resulting mess.

Keeping ourselves within Texas frontiers (you know, zombies shall rise again), Zombie Defense puts you into the skin of four survivors who have to gather resources to raise up defenses and rest a while to be ready for  a measure of anguish and an other of strategy. Indeed, there’s a lot of strategy. If you are not keen on strategy at all, the aforementioned ZW2 is more a time management game and CK:Z (read below) is about precise sniping. However, if you still have nails to bite and a strong heart still beating, don’t miss the chance of giving this twisted tower defense game a go.

One of the best things of this game is the importance given to sunrise, in its perennial metaphor of hope and false feeling of safety.

Contract Killer Zombies has one of the most original plot premises ever. Indeed, the sole fact of having a plot is actually something pretty original, not to say that the main character is physically handicapped. We welcome and applaud this initiative. About gameplay, it’s based on Contract Killers, one of the most successful -when not the most- sniping game. Aim carefully, ration your ammo, choose your weapon with care and face a bunch of missions on every corner of the city. Meet survivors, who will either help you or be a burden and an absolute pain in the…as well.

If you feel like survival isn’t hard enough and you have a powerful device, play this CK:Z.

Of course, in some places and on some minds, sniping (aka camping) against an overwhelming horde of brain eater zombies would be considered a dishonorable act of cowardice, even (or specially) if you are the last man or woman alive on Earth. That’s why someone thought “hey, let’s get some automatic weapons, get on an open field and let’em come”. It’s a great idea, because when you’re surrounded, your foes haven’t anywhere to flee from you. iGun Zombie is a more than thrilling, more than histrionic, more than even itself first person shooter game where peripheral vision plays a main role. A live or dead role, indeed. Welcome them with a big smile and don’t forget to reload!

Before we forget: don’t miss the chance to check the awesome amount of different firearms this game has to choose among.

We’ll end this post with Zombie Lane, a cross over between social gaming, zombie gaming and zombie social gaming, of course (yes, ’twas a pun, if I were you I’d be laughing out loud). I must confess that I didn’t understand it quite well when I saw it first, it’s as if zombies had invaded the neighborhood where Desperate Housewives live. In this game you have to kill zombies, but also build a new house for your dog, redecorate your home, take care of children and, by the way, make new friends. As the saying goes “don’t let your neighbors become zombies”. So be tough, be kind and protect your neighborliness. Who knows, maybe one far-off day you become Major. Or earlier, if zombies are able to vote.

This game works better when synced to Facebook. It might be a perfect way to combine both zombies and friends. Hope you tell one thing from another.

Don’t forget a classic: Stupid Zombies. Remember that this game even rivaled Angry Birds itself. And now, if I may, I feel a li’l bit dizzy. It itches beneath the skin. Sick’d. Headache. Bowels. Brains. Grrr.

Peter -or what’s left of him- is an absolute fan of Z movies and literature. He doesn’t like gore, though.