Zombie Outbreak Review

Zombies. They're absolutely everywhere aren't they? In gaming they've managed to invade even Red Dead Redemption. In books, they've leapt into Pride and Prejudice. Now we come to seemingly yet another zombie outbreak game for the iPhone, conveniently called Zombie Outbreak.

So what makes this one different then? Rather than shooting wildly at anything that moves, you take a more restrained approach and manage the outbreak. Yes, manage.

Your job is to control the resources at your disposal and to manage the limited time before the zombies conquer the world effectively. You're able to choose which area of the world to start in, each with their own level of difficulty. There are 68 commands in all that you can choose from. There are a wide range of options on offer such as the lethal method of dispatching the army or detonating nuclear weapons. Or you can go the more subtle method and attempt to understand the zombies or even attempt to co-exist with them. The choices are huge and at times quite imaginative. It's down to you to figure out what works best at any given time. To help you out, there is a lab in which you can run a simulation. As well as that, the game has some hints and tips to help you along your way if you're truly stumped. I know I was at first when there were so many options to choose from.

The hints and tips in particular offer some lovely homages to various zombie films which show just how much thought has been put into the title. Knowledge of zombie films does come in handy to know the best method to succeed.

I say succeed. I never managed to 'win.' I'd get decent enough high scores at times but I never actually finished the game. Despite that, I enjoyed trying my best. The many humorous zombie references were entertaining and it was nice to try to solve the puzzle of success.

Zombie Outbreak is a bit of an oddity overall. It's definitely nothing impressive to look at and it is a little expensive for what it offers but it is curiously interesting.