Zombies & Trains! Review

Zombies & Trains! It's not the most obvious of combinations but it works surprisingly well in this satisfying, if shallow, kill-em-up. No, I'm not sure either if kill-em-up is an actual genre but it suits Zombies & Trains! perfectly.

The idea is that there's an important coliseum with an even more important statue in the middle of it. Zombies are out to get it and if they reach it, it's game over. The only savior for such an important statue? Er, a bunch of trains. Yup, it's a pretty weird concept but one that's enjoyable to play. Players simply tap on the train track in order to unleash a train, hopefully squashing a number of zombies along the way. It's not quite as simple as that, though. Timing is important, given that there's a brief pause between when it's possible to unleash trains on the same track. That brief pause can make all the difference when there's a fast moving zombie about to descend upon the center of the screen. Trains can also collide with each other, which can mess up a lot of things, so it's wise to keep an eye on where they are all traveling.

Power-ups also help matters, with things such as a zombie bomb which wipes out all the zombies on screen, as well as flame attacks and slow motion abilities helping matters. It keeps things interesting, too. A series of challenges would have been appreciated to continue such trends, but at least Zombies & Trains! does offer four different game modes. These involve the same idea, but a wave based mode lends itself to an extended session while the 1 minute survival mode is ideal for a brief play.

Zombies & Trains! isn't cerebral in any way but it's a great way of annihilating stress levels at the speed of, well, a fast moving train. Coins that can be used to accrue new upgrades and bonuses increase at a slow rate, but other than that, it's smooth sailing for the gory yet fun filled zombie slasher.