While some may dismiss Gameloft’s Zombie Infection as simply a Resident Evil 4 knock-off due to its’ third-person over-the-shoulder aiming and location based damage, I found it to be one of Gameloft’s more enjoyable single-player experiences and for .99 provides more gameplay and fun than 90% of the zombie drool oozing from the app store every week.

 

While the first several levels have you fighting off an onslaught of various well-animated zombies in a variety of ever-changing areas, before long the zombies are joined by rabid dogs, giant alligators, mutant sea beasts, freedom fighting special ops forces and more to make Zombie Infection more than a simple zombie fragfest.

In addition, although there’s a small overhead arrow that leads you, Zombie Infection has less of a linear feel than most of Gameloft’s shooters due to the fact that the boss fights and level climaxes offer open areas with multiple paths and different ramps or ladders for you to choose from.  This choice encourages thoughtful play and adds depth and re-playability.  The boss fights are tough and require you to find a weakness, look for a keycard,  prioritize targets or find a way to attack other than to blindly spray hot-lead.  There are three difficulty settings that can be adjusted as you progress.

 

The graphics are sharp with a much brighter color palette than RE4 allowing you to enjoy the fine detail as you blow off heads and arms.  Like RE4, touching the weapon icon puts you into a shooting view that restricts your movement to aiming.  Zombie Infection handles well with a D-pad for movement and swipe to look and aim.  All the control icons can be moved on-screen in the options menu.

The weapons are somewhat limited with a pistol, submachine gun, shotgun and grenade launcher along with your fists, your boot and the stationary machine guns.  Along the way you’ll run across instances where you’ll need to trace simple figures or quickly touch buttons to avoid danger, open doors or melee.

 

Zombie Infection offers good longevity with 12 levels, nice cut scenes and a better-than-average story that lets you play Sharpe’s female companion.  There is no multiplayer but there is a survival mode.  If you’re interested in a well-done horror/survival shooter it’s hard to beat the single-player experience of Zombie Infection HD for 99 cents.



goyami@comcast.net