The living dead are all over iPhone, stars of a frightening amount of games ranging from the good (Resident Evil, Alive 4-Ever) to the bad (Zombie Mansion, Pet Semetary). Now here comes the ugly… and I mean that as a compliment, as it’s largely thanks to Z is for Zombie’s unique crudely hand drawn style that the game manages to stand out in an already zombie invested App Store.

A comic strip that endearingly looks as if it were drawn by a seven year old with emotional problems precedes the story mode- an insect bite in Peru has resulted in a zombie outbreak stateside- and then it’s into the action. Inexplicably armed to the teeth with ninja stars, the stick man central protagonist heads to the mall for supplies. Only, predictably, to be ambushed by hordes of the undead on the way.

Tilt controls move your character up and down and from left to right, while tapping the screen allows you to pelt attacking zombies with the aforementioned projectiles. As you progress through each level more ammo can be collected from the crates scattered throughout the city, sewer, and mall settings. Z is for Zombie plays like a generic side scroller, with zombies attacking more rapidly and in greater numbers the further you go, the overall aim of the game to kill (again) as many as possible without becoming lunch. If a zombie lumbers into you- you lose a life; if any escape -points are deducted from your end score. And that’s basically it.

So disappointingly slim pickings are to be had on story mode, but fear not, there’s always survival and freeplay modes to flesh things out a bit. Survival, as the name suggests, sees you trying to last as long as you can against endless waves of the undead, taking potshots from behind a makeshift barricade. While freeplay allows you to revisit and replay any of the three levels at your convenience.

However in spite of its initially intriguing hand drawn graphics and a B-movie style sense of humor, Z is for Zombie is ultimately a lifeless affair. Its solid premise unfortunately let down by a few niggling problems. For example the mystifying lack of gore (when hit zombies disappear rather than being reduced to the expected pool of blood), no control options other than the default tilt and tap combination, and a very short life span due to the repetitiveness of the meager amount of levels on offer. For a quick blast Z is for Zombie can be dumb fun, and is far from rotten, but this title could do with some added depth. A variety of weapons (shotgun please!), more control options, objectives within levels, and above all plenty of gore would be welcome additions to this, the bare bones of a true zombie classic.

Overall Score: 6 out of 10

Z is for Zombie on the App Store.

Screenshots: