Thanks to a new initiative taken by Sony known as the “Pub Fund”, independent developers are able to more easily create PSN exclusive games. First and foremost to this new initiative, Burn, Zombie, Burn! is an action-based or “arena” shooter developed by doublesix, a subsidiary company of Kuju Entertainment.

At first glance, Burn, Zombie, Burn! looks a bit unassuming. The visual of style of the game smacks of zombie horror flicks and fifties-era futuristic gadgetry, and the control is akin to directional shooters. While zombie games are by no stretch of the imagination a rare video game attribute, the visual and play style of Burn, Zombie, Burn! is something unique and refreshing. The basic premise of BZB! is that the protagonist Bruce is set into an arena which is then flooded with mobs of undead foes.

The controls are a bit unusual and take a little getting used to, but they lend themselves very well to the game. Essentially, the left analog stick controls the protagonist, R1/X fires his current weapon, and R2 pulls out the torch. L1 locks onto targets and L2 enables players to strafe. Beyond these basic controls, Triangle drops bombs like TNT while Circle can detonate them, Square is used to manipulate special battlefield items, L3 shows current weapon drop locations, and the right analog stick in conjunction with L1 can be used to fine-tune which direction Bruce is targeting.

There are three different play modes: Arcade, Defend Daisy, and Timed mode. The main goal of arcade mode, simply put, its to kill as many ghouls as possible before Bruce meets his end. Defend Daisy puts players in charge of defending Bruce’s awkwardly complacent girlfriend from the hordes of undead, and Timed mode is a countdown to the end of the level that the player can push back by collecting time drop items.

While all of these modes are fun, what makes them truly shine is the unique multiplier/reward system that doublesix has come up with. Normal kills count as a base number of points, and item drops such as health or ammo are randomly given. However, as the title implies, the player is intended to burn the zombies. Bruce can light his adversaries on fire by running into them with the torch. Each flaming fiend adds one point to an overall point multiplier, and destroying them takes away one point. Burning zombies also have more powerful drops, such as speed boosts and TNT upgrades. However, these flaming enemies are faster and more aggressive, requiring the player to make smart decisions as to what situations can and can’t be handled given the equipped items. Though it may seem a bit daunting, after a run through the included tutorial mode new players should have a pretty solid grasp on what they should be doing and how to do it.

The interesting balance between risk and reward is the main reason why this game is so addicting. Players can just start throwing lead in all directions, but getting big points means being chased down by a mob of fiery ghouls. This plays into all kinds of intense scenarios such as running away from and fighting off enemies with the relatively weak pistol until a much more powerful weapon can be found to push back the evil masses. Also playing into rewards is the weapon combo multiplier which, when filled three times, allows to player to toggle the Big Red Button, giving everything from an abating rain to an aerial TNT raid.

The weapons in Burn, Zombie, Burn! are the standard fare, though a certain few are creative and entertaining. At the start of a level Bruce is equipped with a pistol, which as later waves come can be swapped with a shotgun, Uzi, gatling gun, or melee weapons like the bat and chainsaw. Available as a replacement for the basic torch are the flamethrower and dance ray gun, which forces the undead within its range to start dancing against their will. The pistol and Uzi are good for holding off a select few zombies, but fall short when it comes to crowd control. Unlike those, the shotgun and chainsaw can easily push back legions of zombies. The balance of the guns is well-executed, but I personally found the chainsaw and lawnmower more useful than any of the other weapons, and tended to use them any time they were available.

Each level on the various play modes allows for the acquiring of medals as well-earned spoils of battle. Earning a bronze medal usually unlocks the next level, whereas silver and gold medals unlock rewards such as concept art or visual filters that change the appearance of the game. Some of the trophies are tied into basic goals of the game like getting all bronze or silver medals, while other trophies are awarded for racking up pre-set amounts of kills or combos with certain weapons. Some of the medals and trophies can be acquired with general ease; however, the later prerequisites seem to be inordinately hard.

For how easy it is to pick up and play, BZB! is a very difficult title to master. Waves come in and pass quickly, and the screen can have so many ghouls of different varieties that options for escape or evasion almost seem to disappear. While not discouragingly brutal, this is definitely a title for those players with the virtue of patience. It should also be noted that the game’s infinite play style gives no real ending to any level. Any skilled player would have the means to rack up implausible amounts of points, but would never meet a final boss or defining stopping point.

The graphics are around what you would expect from a PlayStation Network title. The  models and animations are solid and well-polished, but the action is so frantic that a lot of the visuals go unnoticed. This game throws a hundred or more zombies on screen at a time. The zombies themselves are designed very well from the dancing zombie animations to the various types of ghouls that are thrown in at later waves. The sound might be the lowest point in the game, although it is by no means bad. Crunchy guitar riffs and basic rock beats infused with some horror-themed instruments fill the void they were created for, but don’t really stand out otherwise.

Burn, Zombie, Burn! has plenty of action and polish, as well as a surprisingly complex scoring system that should keep players coming back to see just how many undead they can smite. Topped off with outrageous trophies and many unlockable goodies, gamers of all skills should find something to enjoy. While not the most technically impressive game available, BZB! stands as a proud example of just what developer doublesix is capable of.

Doin It RIGHT: - Interesting theme - Addicting gameplay - Lots of unlockables - Easy to pick up and play	Doin It RONG: -Rewards can be enormously difficult to acquire - Forgettable music
FINAL SCORE: 8 / 10

Tags: Burn Zombie Burn!, PlayStation 3, PSN, Review

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 at 7:06 pm and is filed under Featured, PSN, PlayStation 3, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.