Crazy Bill Review

Anyone ever play a celebrity zombie hotel sweeper before? Yeah, me either. And yet here it is: Crazy Bill, a game about a guy who loves donuts blasting his way through floor after floor of a zombie-infested bed & breakfast while hunting for brain-hungry celebrities. It’s pretty much as ridiculous as it sounds and a bit rough in spots, but the real crazy thing is it’s actually a lot of fun regardless.

So Bill apparently hates zombies. So much so he’s willing to put his life on the line in order to free an entire multi-level hotel from the clutches of the undead horde. In many ways Crazy Bill plays like a zombie-themed endless runner, only instead of running in a straight while dodging hazards and blasting rotting ghouls in the face Bill runs left and right along much smaller areas as he climbs from floor-to-floor. The overall mechanics are similar with tapping the right side of the screen to shoot and the left to jump, but the constant changing of direction coupled with the smaller bursts of activity make it feel a whole lot different.

I was honestly a little confused at first but after spending some time with Crazy Bill I’ve really started to enjoy myself. There are a lot of little nuances that really appeal to me; like the surprisingly detailed pixel graphics, the sizeable number of unlockable and upgradeable weapons and gear, and the crazy multipliers that can lead to earning quite a bit of cash after each run. Then of course there are the “collectible” celebrity zombie bounties that run the gamut from famous physicists to aliens with a terrible cellular network.

And yet, despite all the fun I’ve been having with Crazy Bill there’s also been a fair amount of frustration. Many of the obstacles seem just a tiny bit too large to make it over without the double-jump, but the double-jump tends to leave Bill open to attack. I later learned that these can typically be avoided with a single jump, but it requires some fairly precise timing. The obstacles also have a tendency to pile up in ways that seem insurmountable. I’ve come across floors that I’m pretty sure I’d have only ever managed to make it through unscathed with a temporary invincibility power-up. I also hate the floor gaps with a burning passion. They’re incredibly difficult to spot in time.

I’m honestly a little shocked about Crazy Bill. It’s a whole lot more fun that I ever expected, even with the frustrating obstacle placement and chameleon holes in the floor. Heck, even the ads aren’t all that intrusive. Anyone who likes runners or shooting zeds in the face absolutely needs to check it out.