Burn Zombie Burn (PSN) Review
Posted by Armando Rodriguez on 04.14.2009
Burn those damn zombies!
Title: Burn Zombie Burn
Publisher: Kuju Entertainment
Developer: Doublesix
Genre: Shooter
Players: 1-2 players
Rated M for Mature
Zombies are like World War II: There are far too many games about them! It really takes something special to make a zombie game (or a WWII game for that matter) stand out from the pack. Burn Zombie Burn has that something special.
Taking us back to the days of yore, Burn Zombie Burn is about scoring as many points as possible. Playing as Bruce (because you know, it would not be a zombie game without a character named Bruce) from a top down perspective you shoot, cut and blow up zombies to rack up huge points. The arsenal of weapons is pretty typical for the genre: In addition to Bruce’s pistol, which never runs out of ammo, you also have the Uzi, Shotgun, Chainsaw and some not so conventional weapons, like a baseball bat that can send Zombies flying out of the park and a weird gun that sucks zombie brains and throws them back at them. Zombies like to eat brains as you know, and this creates a diversion that allows you to escape the pack. Also there is a lawnmower that sucks in zombies and shreds them. Zombie types range from the basic grunts to Ballet-dancing zombies (complete with tutu) that are faster than standard zombies, Chargers that (duh!) charge at you with their football helmets and exploders, which, well, explode and deal massive damage to you and any zombies in the vicinity. The catch is that any zombies blown up by exploders don’t count in your score unless you are responsible for shooting the exploder directly.
In order to score big you need a big score multiplier and this is where Burn Zombie Burn’s unique design kicks in: In order to have a multiplier, you need to set zombies on-fire with your torch or flamethrower upgrade. The more zombies are set on fire, the higher your score bonus is. However, when zombies are on fire (fire does not actually kill them) they are faster and deal more damage than before! You have to establish a careful balance between risk and reward if you want to succeed. The ideal circumstance would be to set as many zombies on fire as possible and kill those that are NOT on fire, since killing anyone who is on fire removes him from your multiplier. This is not as easy as it sounds, however, due to the insane number of zombies roaming any given level. Throw in variables like exploders, who blow up as soon as they touch fire (and this does not count for your score) and that multiplier can be wiped away in a second.
In addition to standard weapons you also get dynamite. Dynamite is the weapon that rewards players with the highest amount of points per kill, but one that is a bit tricky to use. Standard dynamite blows up after a few seconds, but always seems to blow up just when the zombies have moved away. Dynamite can be upgraded to proximity dynamite (that detonates when zombies get close) and later on to remote-detonated dynamite to help you out.
Another thing that you need to worry about is pick-ups and upgrades. Killing zombies that are NOT on fire gives you pick-ups like health, dynamite and ammo, but to get dynamite upgrades and other upgrades (such as speed upgrades for Bruce) you need to kill zombies that are on fire. This adds another element of suspense: will you find a zombie not on fire that you can kill for a health boost? Or will you just keep running into fire zombies and burn to death?
In addition to the standard Free Play mode, we get a Time Attack mode in which zombies drop time pick-ups to extend your clock and a mode in which you need to defend Daisy, Bruce’s girlfriend, who is inside Bruce’s car and cannot move. In this mode enemies drop health pick-ups for Daisy that allows you to extend the amount of damage she can take. All three modes are solid and support a second player locally for cooperative (you share a single score total) and competitive (separate scores) play.
THE 411 - There are many shooters in the Playstation Store, but Burn Zombie Burn stands out from the pack with its unique gameplay mechanics and throwback scoring action. If you enjoy action-packed games, Burn Zombie Burn is $10 well spent.
Graphics
8.5
Zombies and Bruce alike are well detailed, the special effects for weapons, explosions and blood are fantastic. The only blemish is that some levels (like Woods and Suburbia) look a lot alike.
Gameplay
8.8
Arcade-style fun, everything works well and the controls are really good. The lack of dual-stick mechanics hurt a bit, especially since the auto-targeting feature does not work as well as intended.
Sound
9.5
Bruce's one liners steal the show. He is the cliche macho guy that sounds funny. Weapon sounds are great and the music stays out of the way.
Lasting Appeal
9.0
The trophies are really hard to get. The game itself is very hard and like the arcade games of yore, practice and repetition makes perfect. Even with only three different modes of play, it will last you a long time.
Fun Factor
9.4
The combination of funny one liners, action-packed gameplay and the dismemberment of zombies makes for a good time. There is a lot of value here for $10 and I would call this game one of the Top 5 games in the PS Network.
what about getting weapons upgraded to gold blue or silver what does it mean like more range damage or points. And the zombie upgrades what happens to them when thaey turn silver gold or blue stars
Posted By: Dustin (Guest) on April 14, 2009 at 08:26 PM
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Taking us back to the days of yore, Burn Zombie Burn is about scoring as many points as possible. Playing as Bruce (because you know, it would not be a zombie game without a character named Bruce) from a top down perspective you shoot, cut and blow up zombies to rack up huge points. The arsenal of weapons is pretty typical for the genre: In addition to Bruce’s pistol, which never runs out of ammo, you also have the Uzi, Shotgun, Chainsaw and some not so conventional weapons, like a baseball bat that can send Zombies flying out of the park and a weird gun that sucks zombie brains and throws them back at them. Zombies like to eat brains as you know, and this creates a diversion that allows you to escape the pack. Also there is a lawnmower that sucks in zombies and shreds them. Zombie types range from the basic grunts to Ballet-dancing zombies (complete with tutu) that are faster than standard zombies, Chargers that (duh!) charge at you with their football helmets and exploders, which, well, explode and deal massive damage to you and any zombies in the vicinity. The catch is that any zombies blown up by exploders don’t count in your score unless you are responsible for shooting the exploder directly.
In addition to standard weapons you also get dynamite. Dynamite is the weapon that rewards players with the highest amount of points per kill, but one that is a bit tricky to use. Standard dynamite blows up after a few seconds, but always seems to blow up just when the zombies have moved away. Dynamite can be upgraded to proximity dynamite (that detonates when zombies get close) and later on to remote-detonated dynamite to help you out.
