Stupid Zombies 3 Review

Developer: GameResort
Price: FREE
Version Reviewed: 1.0
App Reviewed on: iPad Air 2

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Overall Rating:

Stupid Zombies hasn’t changed a whole lot after three iterations, but it’s not the kind of game that really needs to. You still get to bounce bullets around and blow body parts off the walking dead in Stupid Zombies 3, which is kind of its own reward.

To be fair, a few things have changed this time around. The visuals have received a 3D upgrade, with cartoony zombie and character models that ragdoll and blow apart more effectively. Levels are also a fair bit larger, spanning several screens instead of being a self-contained puzzle like in the previous games. And finally, there are three different characters to play as (a grenade-launching granny, a woman who uses a fire-spewing flare gun, and the shotgun hero from the first two titles).

The core of Stupid Zombies 3 is still quite fun, what with the trick shots and the satisfaction of watching zombie parts go flying, but I can’t help but miss the smaller puzzle-like levels. Instead of figuring out the best way to complete a head-scratching layout you simply have to blast your way from one end of a level to another, incrementally dispatching more and more of the requisite zombies along the way. Some minor puzzle elements remain, such as being able to hit exploding barrels to take out a group or knock boxes over to crush anything in their path, but it feels a lot more arcadey than it does thinky. And while I appreciate being able to play around with two new weapon types, neither one is really as entertaining as the shotgun.

Stupid Zombies 3 is a bit of an odd entry for the series in that it’s both a step forward and a step beck. It looks better and features a bit more weapon variety (which can affect how you approach a given level), but the puzzle elements that made the first two games so interesting have all but disappeared. It’s still fun - just not as fun.