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Zombie Revenge

Score: 90%
ESRB: Mature
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Media: CD/1
Players: 1 - 2
Genre: Action

Graphics & Sound:

The graphics in Zombie Revenge are excellent, as most Dreamcast titles are. However, Zombie Revenge exceeds normal expectations with the detail found in the various characters and areas. Some of these creatures are downright disturbing. Take, for instance, that guy with the pipes sticking out of his chest. Now, that's a creepy looking boss! The playable characters and people you encounter are well-rendered as well. I must say, however, that Busujima is really messed up looking - he looks like he is well on his way to becoming 'one of them'. And what's with Linda's outfit? Who goes to fight zombies dressed in a low cut halter top and Daisy Dukes? It's all about the T&A.

The background music is very effective in setting the mood for a tense and frightening series of battles and the sound effects are more than appropriate. Man, are those little psychos with the hatchets irritating, though. Oh, and the voice acting? It's a veritable cheese-fest. Flashbacks of Resident Evil. Zombie Revenge gets an A+ in this category.


Gameplay:

Zombie Revenge is a semi-sequel to House Of The Dead, and it certainly lives up to it's predecessor's reputation. The plotline is this - Bad government is using the undead as an army to overtake the world. Some insane guy named Zed is leading you and your team on a seemingly wild goose chase throughout the city and beyond, but he is always one step ahead of you and he always has some new and nifty freak for you to battle. The gameplay is pure fun, though. It's a free-for-all shooter, with alot of hand-to-hand stuff thrown in for good measure. You can choose to be one of three team members - Stick, an all around character, Linda, the trigger-happy babe, and Busujima, who is more deadly with his fists than with a gun. You can choose to play the game in Arcade mode, Original mode (which is a mode designed specially for the Dreamcast version), VS. Boss mode (to get some extra practice) and Fighting mode, which is a damn cool 3D fighting mode. There is also a VMU game called Zombie Raising where you can train your team member, Pokemon style. The food items that you pick up in the Original mode will automatically be saved for use in your VMU game. And then there is Zombie Fishing - just like Bass Fishing, only with zombies, and Zombie Doubt, a memory game. This CD packs quite a punch, let me tell you.

Difficulty:

The difficulty scale is very good. At times, you feel overrun with zombies, yet other times, it's quite easy to pick them off. Gives you a chance to catch your breath. Gun Mode allows your shots to be more powerful, while reducing your damage with your fists. Linda is highly recommended on this mode and Busujima is not. All in all, the game is easy and fun enough to keep you glued to your Dreamcast, as you can have a number of continues and get pretty far in the game without getting a Game Over. I wish you could save it though, so I could leave my house and come back and pick up where I left off.

Game Mechanics:

This game is good. Not perfect, but very good. You are given a nice choice of different playing modes, and once you get into a game, it's a ton of fun. The crazy weapons available to you alone are enough to make you want to add Zombie Revenge to your collection. There are shotguns, machine guns, flame throwers, grenades and yes - the drill. Run those zombies through with your mondo drill and watch the green slime fly! Good stuff. Plus, it helps that every time you skillfully cap a zombie, you are rewarded with goodies. Ammo, weapons that you knock out of their hands, antidote (hey - if they HAVE the antidote, why don't they take it???) and then the food items that I mentioned earlier. Course, I don't know about you, but I'm not all that hyped on eating food I knocked out of a rotting zombie's hand. Maybe it's just me.

One problem I did find creeping in now and then was the sporadic auto-aim feature. Sure, when you have bullets, you can use the gun. It supposedly auto-aims at the most dangerous zombie in your proximity. If you are a bit patient and wait for the target to turn red, you get a much more damaging shot. I found that occasionally there would be a far more threatening zombie (right in my face with a machine gun, for instance) than the one the auto-target thingie thought I should kill first. ARGH! And sometimes, my auto-aim wouldn't work at all. Hmmm. Especially on the Fighting mode. It would auto-aim at my opponent when I had handgun bullets, but should I be lucky and fast enough to score a machine gun, I was on my own. :( That's pretty much my only complaint. Well, that and the fact that you can't save your game, so you can leave and come back to it later. As a result, I am at times housebound. Ah well.

Ok, one more thing. Early on in the game, you put a CD in a computer to read it and the insane floating head of Zed comes in. He tells you to pick a card and it will seal your fate. Well, I've tried all the cards and nothing seems to be different. What's up with that? If you know, email me and tell me.


-Psibabe, GameVortex Communications
AKA Ashley Perkins

Sega Dreamcast Star Wars Episode 1 Racer Sony PSOne Die Hard Trilogy 2

 
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