Zombies, Run! Review

Zombies, the seemingly ever-present staple of gaming, can be found on countless iOS titles. Usually players are doing their best to run away from any hordes of zombies that they encounter, and that's exactly what players do in Zombies, Run!. The difference here is that while in other, more traditional games, players control on screen characters and run them away from the zombies whereas in this fitness game players are actually doing the running themselves. This clever cross between a game and a fitness app tracks players via GPS and plays an original audio story while the player runs.

This app is much more than just an audio book. Players become the character "Runner 5" in the story and as they run they gather items that will help themselves and other survivors build and maintain a safe haven against the zombie masses. While running, players will pick up special items that can be used back at their home base, and their progress is tracked as their base grows and flourishes. The runner can run in a casual mode where they can run at any pace they choose, or they can run in a hard core chase mode where they will actually have to outrun packs of zombies by running fast and far enough in real time as the story progresses.

The story/game currently includes 13 missions which can be attempted over several runs. There are also another 17 missions promised to be released later as free updates to the app. Depending on how often and how far runners run, this content has the potential to last for a significant amount of time. Both GPS and accelerometer modes means that runners can use this app on the treadmill as well as out on the track.

Zombies, Run! effortlessly blends fitness and fun. Runners will enjoy the top notch story and its professional quality audio production. The progression of the story and the incentives and rewards received for running will also give runners that extra boost they might need to go just a little farther or just a little faster.