Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (Mobile Game)
Ted Hentschke
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Developed by Paramount Digital Entertainment
Available on iOS and Android
Merry Spook-tober, everyone! Yes, it’s that time of year again, where the leaves change, winds chill to the bone, and all manner of horror treats are dumped on us like the candy rain scene from Kazaam. Just like Kazaam, it can be a bit overwhelming, and with all manner of product placement/cross promotional tie-ins. Lucky for you, I, much like the great mystical genie, am here to help.
It seems like everything is getting a mobile game version nowadays. Major game titles like Mortal Kombat and Assassin’s Creed all have some kind of unlockable costumes achievable only through the mobile game. While most of them are afterthoughts meant to market the product to the casual community and rake in a little extra cash, some like the Far Cry 4: Arena are actually pretty fun. So when a mobile game comes along that is a movie tie-in, it can really go either way. The inability to “unlock” things in the main product makes the game have to stand on its own more, but the main product being something other than a game lowers expectations down to about zero. Compound that with the unwritten rule that all movie games other than X-Men Origins: Wolverine must be cancerous twitching masses of feces, and it’s easy to understand why many would instinctively give the Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse mobile app a swipe left.
In a nutshell, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is Stupid Zombies with 3D models. It utilizes the skill based point-and-shoot mechanic that has been around since Puzzle Bobble, requiring you to hit all the zombies in as few shots as possible from a fixed point. It’s a simple kind of puzzle game, and a mind-bending joy can be found in figuring out ricochet patterns and lining up the perfect shots.
There are only five environments, each with twenty levels. Really though, no one actually cares about the setting as long as the levels are rewarding and well designed. It doesn’t matter if I’m shooting zombies in my house, a prison, or a rave, what matters is that the layouts are varied enough to make me have to scratch my head and retry several times a level. In that regard, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is actually very entertaining.
The targeting reticle doesn’t extend as far as most other games, making testing your shots part of the fun. There are various different types of zombies, some of which can only be dispatched in certain ways, which further splits up the level variety. There is usually a more complex combo solution that will give you a higher score if you can figure it out, which unlocks later stages. Later introductions of obstacles that both block your shots and can be used as a means to kill zombies adds another piece to the puzzle. It comes together to form a varied and satisfying challenge.
One extra little piece that I particularly liked was the changing ammo types. At the beginning of the round, you see what each of your shots will be in order you fire them. So the first might be a nail, which has high range and penetration, and the next two shotgun blasts, which have high spread but low travel. It adds another element to figuring out the most efficient way to dispatch all the undead, as unspent shots give you bonus points. If you waste your nail trying to get to the shotgun, you miss out on the maximum reward.
Unfortunately, the game has a dark side. Like all mobile games, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse has an extensive cash shop. Here, players can buy all of the fun boosts that make the game laughably easy. You can buy “scrap”, which is used to purchase buffs, extra weapons, and “reloads” if your ammo runs out. Scrap can be attained in game at the blistering rate of 1 per crate, with power-ups costing 500 each. It’s all pretty stupid. It would be a game ruiner for me, if not for the fact that the whole thing can be completed without them. With no multiplayer, I really don’t care if someone wants to drop $50 on basically having the game play itself. Still, the grind it takes to get scrap without paying for it annoyed me.
It’s not as robust as Stupid Zombies, but I will say it is more challenging. With the well-constructed obstacles and mind-stretching logic, it’s a fun little temporary brain teaser. Good for a 15-minute bus ride or 30 minutes waiting for your boyfriend to pick out his new pair of dress pants.
Since the game is basically a big advertisement for the film, there are no between-menu adds, which for me have always been like having to pick a spider out of every third bite of my omelette. For what’s obviously a cheap tie-in, it’s at least fun. It doesn’t really deserve high praise, but I also wouldn’t dismiss it.
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Game
Categorized:Reviews
