Stubbs The Zombie
When you hear the word zombie games like Resident Evil immediately spring to mind and you expect the usual one man against impossible odds type game. Stubbs turns the tables on this cliché however by giving you the chance to actually be the zombie. Now you can eat brains to your hearts contend and slowly take over each area you move through by turning everyone into fellow zombies who will then help you out. Your undead quest takes place in the futuristic city of Punchbowl. This 60s utopian view of the future has all the usual gadgets like hover cars, lasers and jet packs giving the game that authentic B-movie look and feel. Although very bloody the game also has its tongue firmly in its cheek so expect plenty of laughs along with the carnage.
Stubbs is another console port and this one actually uses the Halo engine to power all the mayhem. Graphically the game looks good but not exactly cutting edge although a few special effects have been used to give it the right look and feel. Firstly the color has been faded and there are some noise effects while you play which really makes things look like one of those old monster movies. Not everyone will appreciate this though and I haven’t found any way to disable it but I liked it and it gave the game the right atmosphere. Thankfully they haven’t cut back on the violence and things get just as graphic as those old movies did. Blood spurt in all directions staining the walls when you sink your teeth into someone’s brains and you can even rip people’s arms off and use it as a weapon. Decapitation is possible and seeing someone ripped in half isn’t unusual either. Since everyone you kill turn into zombies it’s cool to see those headless corpses coming to life or that person that was cut in half crawling along with its hands. The game also features all those classical zombie hot spots to play through like the mall, a farm, police station and town itself. Zombies aren’t exactly known for carrying around big weapons and Stubbs is no exception. You can sink your teeth into civilians without any problems but stronger enemies like the army, militia and security guards need to be slapped around first for a bit to soften them up. Jus walking up to a person carrying a gun and then trying to eat their brains is obviously a bit stupid so you’ll have to be a bit sneakier than that if you want to survive. Anyone Stubbs manages to surprise from behind is an instant meal but sometimes it’s better to hang back and let your fellow zombies draw the fire before you move in for the kill. Along the way Stubbs can learn special attacks which are filled up by eating brains and some of these abilities are loads of fun. You can unleash devastating fart attack which will stun everyone surrounding you making them easy pickings or you could rip out one of those rotting intestines and use it as a makeshift hand grenade. Ripping off your head and using it as an exploding bowling ball is also possible. My favorite is the possession whereby you rip of your arm and then control it as it runs around like “Thing” from the Addams family as you search for a hapless victim. People with helmets are immune as you have to fasten the hand to a person head to control them but since it can run along walls and even ceilings getting the drop on someone before they stomp on you isn’t that hard. Once possessed you have full control over an enemies actions so you can use their weapons on against other foes until they get killed. Just make sure you leave your body somewhere safe while you’re off having fun since Stubbs is still vulnerable while in control off someone else. Being a zombie Stubbs regains health by munching on brains but if you don’t get damaged for a while your health regenerates by itself as well. Stages are quite big but there are plenty of checkpoints and the game auto saves before any major events so I don’t have any problems with that. With only twelve levels (one of which is a rather short dance section!) you’ll have the game licked in no time however and once completed there’s not that much reason to come back. You can play any of the levels you want but don’t expect much in the way of extras. Some of the levels are a blast since you get to control vehicles like jeeps or tanks but this seem to be added as an afterthought and are never really required to make progress. One of the highlights is definitely the audio and some of the speech snippets as you lay into enemies are hilarious to say the least. I was laughing out loud on more than a few occasions and the corny screams rarely gets annoying. The game also features plenty of really old music snippets like Mr Sandman, Lollipop, My boyfriends back and There goes my baby which further adds to that old B-movie feel. The game engine is used for the cut-scenes as well although these are in full color and while some or corny there are a few brilliant ones. Controls are a breeze and you’ll be pulling off all of the movies without a hassle. While I had a blast playing Stubbs I really wish there was a few more levels to sink my teeth into. Sometimes things can also be really frustrating as against hordes of gun packing foes Stubbs doesn’t have much of a chance so you have to take them down one at a time with all kinds of sneaky moves. Still this is probably one of the most original games in a while and definitely deserves to be played even if zombies aren’t really your thing. In case your wondering what a zombie is doing running amok then you’ll have to play the game right through for the shocking truth. |
System Requirements
TAGS: Stubbs The Zombie, Zombies, B-Movie, Punchbowl
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