Zombie: The Rescue Review

A lot of people deal with the topic of fighting back against hordes of walking dead. Not many consider the idea of simply surviving. Zombie: The Rescue does its part to try something a bit different by making players powerless (for the most part) and challenging them to not get eaten by using their wits alone. Well, wits and a steady finger.

Zombie: The Rescue isn't a zombie game about fighting. Players have no recourse against the festering masses for quite a while, and even when they do they have severely limited options. No, the point isn't to kill or be killed. It's to run, hide, then run and hide some more. By dragging a finger across the screen, players can draw a path for the main character to follow. Meeting up with other survivors, snagging coins and moving quickly are a must in order to earn all three stars in a level. Of course, that's easier said than done.

While Zombie: The Rescue starts out with more than a toe dipped in the waters of familiarity, things quickly get interesting. Survivors follow the main character, snaking behind him in a line, and if anyone gets spotted by a zombie it's like ringing the dinner bell. So it's best to tread very carefully. Things get even more complicated when new zombie and survivor types are introduced, each with their own behaviors that must be planned for accordingly. Of course, being spotted doesn't automatically mean death (it's possible to avoid and hide) and losing a survivor isn't instant failure, but it can have a severe effect on a level's score.

Aside from being a little slow to ramp up, the only thing that kind of bugs me about Zombie: The Rescue is the sensitivity of the line drawing. It works perfectly fine in open spaces, but trying to sneak around narrow corners led to walking in circles more often than I would've liked. It makes those moments where timing is absolutely critical somewhat irritating.

Even with the touchy touching, it's still hard not to have fun with Zombie: The Rescue. The slightly too-loose controls can be adjusted for after a little experimentation and there are plenty of levels (60) to keep players occupied. Especially if they compulsively go after the maximum score for each. Plus it's a zombie game that doesn't immediately focus on firearms. That has to count for something.