Just couldn’t get enough of Zombie Infection? Well, there’s no need to worry about that, because some artwork has been leaked for the sequel, Zombie Infection 2, onto Gameloft‘s Latin America blog page. Why is this a big deal when this is just artwork? Well, it’s pretty simple for two reasons — one if you love shooting zombies (like I do) and the first Zombie Infection was pretty epic which got a 4/5 in out review. As of now, we have no information at all, however, I am guessing it may continue on the storyline and possibly involve new characters as well but who knows. As always though, we’ll keep you updated as this develops.

Zombie Infection is Gameloft‘s take on a 3D third person shooter zombie action (not survival horror) game that launched without much fanfare and is now available in the App Store for just $6.99. But does this infection cause all the right undead flesh-eating symptoms? Or is Zombie Infection a miss diagnosis? To find out check my full in-depth review, after the jump.

Noteworthy Features:

• Un-lockable Survival Mode
• Lots of zombie types, plenty of levels and variety
• impressive 3D graphics, lots of action with decent & standard touch driven controls

Major Complaints:

• Amateurish story, dialog, voice acting and cut scene animations
• Another shameless rip-off
• No multiplayer

In Zombie Infection you play as either Alex Rayne (renown international journalist) or Damien Sharpe (ex military action cameraman), who work together as a famous action news team, but always seem to get separated throughout the whole ordeal. The game starts off with Alex and Damien in transit (via helicopter) for a rendezvous with an anonymous informer to get some dirt on a shady powerful corporation, only to land smack dab in the middle of a developing zombie apocalypse, upon arrival. Matters escalate from there of course, as it becomes an action packed struggle to survive, an adventurous discovery to learn the truth behind the zombie infection, and a bit of personal revenge thrown in randomly for good measure. It all comes across as B-movie status though, due to some cheesy dialog and a mixed bag of amateur voice acting work, but it’s an ambitious and honest effort nonetheless, even if the whole concept is somewhat inspired nay mirroring the Resident Evil franchise.

Gameplay

The gameplay picks up and runs with a lot of elements brought to life from the tenured Resident Evil franchise, specifically the inability to move fluently when aiming your weapon, and a some what limited item management aspect that will have you searching for crates, or crossing your fingers hoping each zombie you take out is kind enough to drop some health packs and/or ammo for you to collect. On the normal difficulty settings I never found myself running completely out of ammo/health for very long, while on the harder difficulty setting though, this tried and true formula becomes very apparent where you really have to make every shot count opting to melee unless you’re completely surrounded or up against a boss.

Zombie Infection is all about shooting zombies and that is most definitely the highlight of the gameplay experience here, with tense bursts of zombie swarms that always seem to try and ambush you as you make your way through the levels. It is clear the gameplay was designed with more of an action oriented approach in mind, as there is tons of zombies to deal with and really no complex puzzles to solve, or multiple pieces of keys to track down, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing in this context.

As always, you start out with the standard handgun and must find an adequate arsenal of weapons, ammo and health packs along the way to stay alive. To help with the zombie assault there is everything from shotguns to submachine guns, even a handy grenade launcher to find as you progress through the game.

If you’re in a pinch or low on ammo you can always bust out some melee attacks (Alex does a roundhouse and Damien does a face punch) to knock back the zombies. Surprisingly, they are incredibly efficient and powerful against the generic horde (unless you’re surrounded), there’s even some instant kill finishing moves to employ as well.

In addition to general zombie slaying, there are a few epic boss fights scattered throughout the game that will have you going up against a huge mutated zombie crocodile on one level, and a dual chainsaw wielding worker zombie (just to name a couple) on another level. Although, most of them don’t have any specific sequence or an inherent strategy to taking them down, aside from one huge boss encounter near the end (which I’m not going to spoil for you) they really just need a lot of lead and patience to get the job done.

If you’re looking for zombies, Zombie Infection has them in spades. There are your typical Resident Evil inspired zombies, plus zombies that shot/throw stuff at you, some zombie dogs, some zombie birds, lions and crocodiles (oh my). A few beefed up 7ft tall zombies, a couple quick and fast zombie types, and of course boss zombies, which are more like mutated monsters if you ask me.

All and all this is a solid single player experience, but it’s nothing new and it’s not going to blow you away. Make no mistake about it, there’s plenty of action to be had here, but you cant help but to think that Gameloft could have done better had they scratched their heads to come up with something original. Overall the game clocks in at a good 3-4 hours of gameplay on medium difficulty (depending on how good you do) with no multiplayer features or any replay value other then the standard difficulty settings to conquer, hidden tokens to find, various in-game achievements to nab if you’re a completist, and a survival mode to unlock once you beat the game. The survival mode will have you going up against wave after wave of zombies, similar to the Mercenary modes of the Resident Evil franchise, all the while competing for top scores on Gameloft‘s very own leader boards.

Presentation

Zombie Infection’s presentation is very much like a complicated love-hate relationship. There’s plenty to love, plenty to hate and plenty left to be desired.

As far as story goes Zombie Infection isn’t going to win any awards, but the plot devices are in order and crafted well enough to propel the player through a world that is at least believable and for the most part compelling enough to keep things mildly interesting, as you barge through level after level of the game. Unfortunately the story is told through dialog that is mostly cheesy though, with some voice acting decent enough to make up for it, while the rest is either barely passable or laughably bad.

The gameplay animations seemed to be decent enough and for the most part and they held up well during the intense bursts of action (aside from some finishing move animations playing out way off). With that said, the cut scene animations (to be completely honest) felt amateurish at best with all sorts of generic situations acted out with stiff movements and rigid camera angles. It’s clear that either the team is inexperienced or this product was just thrown together on a low/limited budget, whatever the case may be, I wasn’t very impressed with the cut scenes.

On the flip side though, the 3D graphics are gorgeous and will definitely get your iDevice running hot while you play the game. Some of the textures don’t hold up well under close scrutiny, and there are a few frame rate drops during some really intense action sequences, which both may be more akin to the limitation of the platform, rather then a flaw to ding the game for.

However where the presentation really shines (in my opinion), is the game’s level design, and how the experience unfolds across each level. It’s amazing work from both an artistic perspective and a gameplay perspective that really deserves some recognition as there is plenty of variety in setting to go around. Including everything from favellas (a nod to the first level of Resident Evil 5), to swamps, zoos, mines, industrial ports, and the like, all of which keep the experience fresh throughout the entire game.

Controls

If you have played a 3D action game on the iDevices before, especially one that utilizes on-screen controls with contextual inputs, it wont take long for you to feel right at home with Zombie Infection since it sticks to the standards that have been established thus far.

That means you will have a virtual joystick bottom left that handles movement, and swiping anywhere on the screen (except where there is an on screen icon of course) controls the camera. So far this set up is the default control scheme standard, but that doesn’t mean it is perfect.

To ready your weapon you simply tap on the weapon icon, which will then un-holster your currently equipped weapon severely limiting your movements with the virtual joystick in the process. When a weapon is readied, you aim by using swipes. Once you have lined up a good shot (aim for the head) simply tap on the weapon icon to fire the weapon. Don’t worry there is a red laser on all your weapons to help with aiming. To holster your weapon you simply tap on the holster icon which appears right above the left virtual joystick when you have a weapon readied, and the weapon will be holstered and you will be free to move at a normal pace.

In addition, there are four more on-screen icons to be aware of: a melee icon, a contextual pop up icon in the bottom right, a weapon icon top right, and the pause/menu icon top left. To do a melee you simply tap on the melee icon near the bottom right and you will do melee attacks. The contextual pop up icon is used when you need to bust open a crate, pick up ammo, do finishing move and all sorts of other contextual inputs. It will appear close to the melee icon when you have an action that can be executed. The weapon icon on the top right is used to show how much ammo you have left in the clip and overall inventory and it’s used for reloading just tap the icon to manually reload. The pause/menu button on the top left is used to pull up the in-game menu which has your inventory where you can switch weapons, and menu options like restart from checkpoint, exit to main menu, and others.

The controls in Zombie Infection felt tight and responsive for the most part and are technically sound. It is after all abiding by the standards set for a 3D action third person shooter thus far and Gameloft generally does very well with their touch screen controls anyways. Although, like I said above that doesn’t mean the standard is perfect, certainly a step in the right direction but with plenty of room left for improvement. Zombie Infection opts to play it safe, and while the developers were under no obligation to push the standard forward (and made no promises to that effect) it still would have been commendable to see them take a risk and come up with some new standards.

Price

Zombie Infection is priced at a cool $6.99, which in my opinion is a reasonable premium price point for a reasonably premium product.

Score 4/5

If you’re itching to pump some lead into zombies, Zombie Infection has you covered as it is more of an action game then a traditional survival horror game.

Just don’t expect to be particularly intrigued by the story enough to actually care about whats going on. It is slightly interesting to say the least, but falters with generic plot twist, and surprises that you can see coming from a mile away. Also, there’s a good possibility that you may actually cringe at times, due to some very cheesy dialog and questionable voice acting, not to mention quite a few awkward cut scene scenarios.

The game has a lot going for it for sure, as the gameplay experience is well crafted and has merit, there’s nothing new or innovative here though, as it’s all elements lifted from other games and gameplay experiences we have seen many times before, but that necessarily isn’t a bad thing either (well depending on if you feel like this is a shameless rip-off of Resident Evil or not). In any case if you can excuse the inspired approach, its lame story, dialog, and cut scenes (all of which is skip-able) you will have a blast shooting zombies, as that is really what this game is all about.

Zombie Infection on the App Store.

Intro

The latest anticipated game from Gameloft is finally out. Zombie Infection, an intensive Zombie FPS that boasts rich 3D graphics and immersive backgrounds. However, does it live up to all the hype? We shall see.

Gameplay 10/10

Fight an array of zombies, yes even dogs.

You play as either Damian Sharpe or Alex Rayne, exploring South America, from a dirty backstreet favela to a gloomy abandoned mine. Oh, and did I mention the zombies?

On each level you are faced with a ton of different type of zombies, and each one is dressed to fit their surroundings. For example in the mine level you will come across zombies dressed as miners, whereas in the secret laboratory level they are dressed as scientists. Furthermore, the zombies mechanics are excellent, meaning you are able to blow limbs off zombies (including the leg which makes the zombie crawl on the ground) and also take head shots. This feature is amazing and adds to the scare factor of the zombies.

There are 4 weapons you can equip yourself with during the game: Pistol, Shotgun, Machine Gun and Grenade Launcher. All weapons have limited ammo, which you can collect scattered across each level. This prevents the player from fragging everything with a grenade launcher, but also might discourage the player from using the better weapons because of ammo restrictions. Nonetheless, each weapon has certain stats, so for example the shotgun has a short range but amazing damage, whereas the pistol is long range and accurate, but not as powerful. It is a great feeling when shotgunning a nearby zombie and watching as he flies back and whilst losing an arm or two.

Alternatively, rather than using weapons to fight of the impenetrable horde of zombies you could resort to melee. Punching works surprisingly well, even compared to using weapons, but I would have liked to see a variety of punching styles rather than a repetitive movement. This is mostly because of a thing called fatalities. A fatality is when you are able to make a critical hit against a weak nearby zombie which kills it instantly. This can either be when you are fighting a zombie very close, or if you approach one lying on the ground. This can result in either punching the zombies head off or grabbing both of his arms and pushing the zombie away with his foot, ripping both its’ arms off or stomping on its’ head if it is on the ground. This is especially satisfying, but compared to the conventional way of shooting the living daylights out of the zombie, I could see many players resorting to the melee and then fatality technique as it is so much easier.

The saving in Zombie Infection is good and bad. It is good in the way that the game constantly auto-saves, which is excellent as when you die, you will return not far of where you left off. However, the bad thing is that there are no auto-save slots. So for example if you are in the middle of one level, and then you want to show your friend the first level, your saved game on your previous level will be removed once you play on a different level so therefore you have to start from the beginning of the stage you were at.

An example of a fatality, always as cool as it looks.

One aspect that really shines through in Zombie Infection is the cut scenes. These range from the fatality cut scene where you pull the zombies arms off to the longer ones at the end of a level, furthering the story. Even jumping down from a ledge is smooth and realistic. My personal favourite is when a zombie gets too near and attacks you. You are then led into a struggle as you try and fight off the zombie clinging to your back. You have to constantly tap a button to throw him off. All these cut-scenes make the character seem more realistic and free in his/her environment and not as linear in their movements.

There are also some interactive cut scenes where you have to turn a handle by spinning a finger in a circle to turn the handle. This is also used in some combat situations (although quite rare) in a boss fight where you have to deflect and dodge the opponent using various hand gestures and tapping points. Even-though I did find this a bit unresponsive in the heat of a fight, and it was disappointing when you get whacked in the face by the enemy when you know you hit that button, but nevertheless it makes great use of the iPhone touch interface.

There are 3 difficulty modes that you can choose from: easy, medium and hard. The harder you get the stronger the zombies become and the melee attack is less effective. However I did not see a massive leap from easy to hard which could have been improved.

Other than the standard Story Mode, there is a survival mode coupled in with Zombie Infection which you unlock once you have finished the game. In survival mode you are placed in one extra map, and you have to fight against never-ending zombies (from all levels, including bosses) until you die. The map in survival is very large and works extremely well in a survival setting, however, more than just one map would have been better, with maybe a level for each level in the story mode. Nonetheless it is an excellent addition for those looking for a quick fix once you have completed the game.

Lastly, there are Zombie Infection logos hidden in almost every level which, once you have collected all of them, release a surprise. These logos are not exactly well hidden and just require you to keep your eyes open, however, it would have been nice to know what levels you still need to find logos on.

Don’t be fooled by the graphics, they are less reliable than they look

Graphics 7/10

The graphics are no doubt, amazing. The scenery is vibrant and effective, and never got boring. The character animation is excellent as mentioned before and the zombie animation is fluid and realistic. Despite this, I have found the game to crash frequently. Even though I have been able to beat the game without too much frustration (mostly because of the numerous auto saves) it can be annoying. I also experienced lag, especially on the bigger levels, which can be particularly frustrating when you are in a fight. Sometimes, I had to wait a couple of seconds for the game to unfreeze. Nevertheless, don’t get disheartened, and even though there was a bit of lag, it didn’t ruin the game entirely.

Controls 7/10

The controls are reasonable, and probably one of the best for a TPS (third person shooter) on the iPhone and iPod Touch. To move you use the toggle stick on the left and then swipe on the screen to look around. Then to shoot you need to aim down your gun and a red laser sight will appear for you to shoot. The laser sight may add a realistic tone to the game, but I found it had to see where your aiming at times. Also, when enemies are closing in it can be quite cumbersome having to aim down your sights, swipe to position the gun and then shoot. Nevertheless I fund the controls manageable, and I was able to make my way through the game without any major problems concerning the controls and it is unlikely you are going to find a better control system.

Sound 10/10

The sound effects are superb in Zombie Infection. Even the little details, such as a different step sound depending on whether you are on a. The gun noises are punchy and the zombie groans are life-like. There is a tremendous amount of detail in the sound effects that make the game very realistic. The music is also great, and in-game, the music gets faster when there are zombies around you. This can be helpful to know when a zombie is about to jump on your back.

The gameplay is varied, with a load of bosses and plot lines to contend with.

Menus 10/10

The menus look great, and match the theme of the game brilliantly. They are also responsive and easy to select apart from sometimes where I accidentally select a level to play on in the level select menu, but this was too rare to deduct a mark.

Longevity 9/10

There are 11 levels in the story mode, which may not sound much, but each level is massive, and takes quite a bit of time to complete. Also the difficulty levels and collecting all the logos add more play time. Furthermore there are achievements and leaderboards from Gameloft Live which adds a ton more replay-ability.

Cost 10/10

$6.99/£4.99 may seem steep at first but for the long story mode and extras, Zombie Infection is well worth it’s price point.

Conclusion 63/70 – 4.5/5

Zombie Infection has certainly lived up to the sort of game i’d expect from Gameloft. But in the end it is an excellent title, and if you can look past the occasional lag then this is a perfect addition to your game library.

Zombie Infection on the App Store.

Gameloft has finally released their much anticipated zombie shooting game that’s much like the Resident Evil series: Zombie Infection. Zombie Infection is very much like the Resident Evil games for the iPhone and iPod Touch, so I wonder how this will compare to the Resident Evil games. I do, however, have both of the Resident Evil games for my iPod Touch, but I don’t have Zombie Infection just yet, I do plan on getting it though. Zombie Infection features:

12 LEVELS OF FEAR
Survive 12 levels in Campaign mode as you fight your way through favelas, mines, a zoo, docks, a boat and secret lab.

KILL ‘EM WITH STYLE
You can finish off weakened zombies with brutal and amazing fatalities by touching the action icon at just the right time.

WATCH YOUR BACK
Switch between 2 characters, ex-soldier Damien Sharpe and reporter Alex Rayne, as they fight together to survive and uncover an evil plot.

MANY FORMS OF EVIL
Fight countless enemies of all shapes and sizes, including mutants & infected animals, each with unique abilities

UNCOVER THE STORY
Discover the full depth of the intrigue as you discover the source of the infection and the plans of the ones who created it.

IMMERSIVE VISUALS
Every environment and character is meticulously rendered in full in 3D so you can feel as close to the action as possible without starting your own zombie outbreak.

Unlock 20 trophies and show them off to friends over Gameloft LIVE!

Hopefully, this will just as good or even better than the 2 Resident Evil games I have for my iPod Touch. The game looks pretty good and the graphics appear to be well done too. Here’s the trailer for Zombie Infection:

Zombie Infection costs $6.99 and weighs in at 223 MB.

Zombie Infection on the App Store.

Gameloft has released a game trailer for their upcoming Resident Evil like game: Zombie Infection. Along side a game trailer being released, Gameloft has announced the released date of Zombie Infection which is in 2 days (Monday, May 8th). A while back, Gameloft released screenshots which you can see here. Zombie Infection will most likely be $6.99 because that price seems to be the trend for most new Gameloft games. Zombie Infection has over 10 levels and you’ll also control 2 different characters, however, they don’t have the best background in armed combat. Apparently, the controls in Zombie Infection are similar to Gameloft’s first-person shooters: NOVA and Brothers in Arms 2: Global Front. Anyway, here’s the trailer that was released: