Burn Zombie Burn (PlayStation 3)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 7.0 (3.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Carolyn Petit
• Reviewed on: 04/06/2009
• Released on: 03/26/2009
• Originally published on GameSpot: Burn Zombie Burn (PlayStation 3) Review

It's a fair bet that we'll all be in a considerable amount of danger when the zombie apocalypse comes. But Burn Zombie Burn, the new downloadable action game for the PlayStation 3, suggests that mobs of deadly zombies aren't so dangerous that you can't have some fun at their expense. The game's scoring system uses a terrific risk-vs.-reward mechanic that makes Burn Zombie Burn stand out from the slew of top-down shooters on the market, even if some control issues and lack of variety hold it back it from true greatness.

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As Bruce, a cocky combination of Bruce Campbell and Elvis Presley, you take part in a series of standoffs in relatively small, enclosed spaces against unending hordes of undead. Your goal is simple: to stay alive as long as possible and earn as many points as you can. When they first appear, zombies are typically of the aimless, shambling variety. They're easy pickings, but they're also worth hardly any points. The key to scoring big is to set as many zombies on fire as possible, because each burning zombie contributes to your current score multiplier. But a zombie on fire is a zombie with a purpose: to pursue and kill you. This creates a delicate balancing act. You'll want to maximize your multiplier while keeping the deadly throngs of flaming zombies manageable and avoidable. It's tricky and compelling.

Contributing to the complexity and the challenge is the variety of zombie types you'll encounter. You'll face several varieties in addition to run-of-the-mill shambling corpses, including dancing zombies in tutus, zombies who will charge right at you--easily identified by their oversized football helmets--and exploding zombies, who have an infuriating tendency to take out the flaming zombies pursuing you and wipe out your score multiplier. This all adds up to create an experience that looks very simple on the surface but actually requires you to take a variety of things into account at any given moment.

Of course, every zombie hunter worth his salt has a number of effective tools at his disposal, and Bruce is no exception. In addition to the comically snub-nosed pistol that you always have available, a good variety of weapons will spawn during the zombie onslaught, from typical shotguns and Uzis, to a selection of more unusual contraptions. There's a dance gun, for instance, that compels the undead to get their groove on, "Thriller"-style, making them easy to avoid or kill. There's also the clever brain gun, which fires brains that the zombies are helplessly drawn toward. Bruce is also handy with a chainsaw, and seeing zombies sent hurtling through the air after being hit with a powerful swing from a baseball bat is satisfying. But the greatest tool in the war against zombies is TNT, which, when used skillfully, can not only take out huge numbers of zombies at once, but can also rake in the points like nothing else. Like the variety of zombies, the selection of weapons adds another element of complexity and strategy to the action, because you'll want to seek out and use the most effective weapon for the moment.

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