Zombies Ruined My Day was developed by Mancebo Games and retails for 80 MSP. A copy of the game was provided for review purposes.

Zombies Ruined My Day tells the tale of one man who finally got a date with his dream girl, only to have it completely upstaged by a zombie apocalypse. He has only two options, be eaten or save his girlfriend and the world. He chooses the latter and that’s where the game starts off. In Zombies your goal is to mow down hundreds of zombies while staying alive and rescuing survivors. Each level has a set number of zombies that come out in waves. The trick is figuring out which zombies to kill first and how best to do it. Fortunately there is plenty of firepower to help even the overwhelming odds.

Here’s what we liked:

Puzzler meets gunplay – At first glance Zombies appears to be a brainless shooter, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Positioning and ammo conservation are key, and each level is pretty precise in how it must be tackled. If you get four grenades it’s likely you will need all four. The standard pistol is incredibly weak, but you need to occasionally use it to conserve stronger ammo for more critical situations. As the waves start pouring in, barricade positioning must be done just right. But even with best laid plans you will still have to think quickly on your feet. Having a punk zombie jump your barricade will lead to death unless you keep your cool.

Lots of character – Zombies really oozes character. The Zombie designs are varied and humorous, and each zombie behaves differently as well. Some take more damage, others can jump. You have to be tactical about which you take out first. Beyond that, certain zombies will either drop ammo or barriers. It’s important to take care of them quickly and ensure that their cargo is accessible when you need it.

Tense – Despite being a largely humorous take on the zombie theme, this game succeeds where any zombie game should: being tense. Even when you’re in control of the situation it always feels like a bad wave will ruin everything. Knowing your fortifications can only last so long really adds to the tension. There is rarely a moment when you don’t have to be on your game. This lack of downtime keeps the pace of the game tight while pushing up the tension.

Challenge – This game is challenging. As you progress the game gets more complicated and difficult. It’s easy to pick up and play, but difficult to handle everything it throws at you. The great part about Zombies is that it makes you want to retry a level as opposed to frustrating you. But be prepared to be zombified on more than a few occasions.

Here’s what we didn’t like:

Jumping animation is lacking – The only thing, at all, that we didn’t like about Zombies is the incredibly stiff jumping animation of the hero. It is rather laughable and does seem out of place. But it should stand as a testament to the quality of the game that this is the only complaint we will level against it. It really is a superb game for the price.

Zombies Ruined My Day is a very fun puzzle/shooting game that will appeal to a wide variety of gamers. Figuring out how to survive the endless waves of enemies is very rewarding. But blowing away zombies with a shotgun still feels visceral and fun too. The cartoony look of the game is very appealing and the controls are very tight as well. This game is easy to recommend to anyone.

Score: Buy It