14 DAY TRIAL // A lot of games are going online on Steam's Early Access section and, while there have been quite a few great success stories, such as Rust, there have also been some failures, with developers abandoning the titles or just ignoring feedback from users who have already paid for the game.
Over 9000 Zombies promises to be in the former category, with independent developer Loren Lemcke partnering with Mastertronic to bring forth a 2D top-down zombie game that blends together twin-stick shooting with tower defense mechanics.
Does the quirky-named experience manage to deliver a fun zombie killing time or should its zombies devour it whole? Let's have a quick look.
Over 9000 Zombies may have a menacing name but its beginning isn't that filled with zombies. Your goal is to survive as many days as possible while shooting the undead that roam towards your general location. With one controller stick (or WASD on the keyboard) guiding your character and the other (or the mouse) controlling the target, you must take out the menacing horde.
There are quite a few different weapons, ranging from pistols to SMGs and other such things, each with different rates of fire or reload times. New guns drop from the zombies, as well as health kits and, more importantly, scrap metal.
Survival in Over 9000 Zombies can be done in two ways. You can run around trying to stay one step ahead of the horde while shooting your gun or throwing grenades, or you can collect scrap metal and start building turrets that help you defeat the zombies.
There are several powerful turrets in the game right now, each with a different cost in terms of scrap metal. There are regular machine gun ones that automatically fire bullets into your foes, but also grenade or rocket launchers. You can also deploy actual fortifications that resist more or less in front of the zombie attacks. Bear in mind that your turrets aren't indestructible, so pay attention to their health status, not just your own.
Each day lasts quite a few minutes and new ones bring different challenges, such as zombies that deal more damage or have more health, thereby requiring even more bullets to take down. You can also pick up temporary boosters that enable special features like no reload or incendiary rounds.
In terms of the general gameplay experience, Over 9000 Zombies is a fun and frantic experience. Your playable character does move a bit slower than expected and it would be nice if you moved a bit faster when you weren't firing against the zombies. There are also restrictions when it comes to turret placement in a general area, as it seems that you can't install more than five, no matter how much scrap metal you have.
Even so, the game has some great pixelated graphics, and the only downside is that the dropped objects from zombies are a bit hard to spot sometimes, even if they have circles with different colors around them.
The soundtrack is top-notch, as Clearside Music has come forth with some amazing songs that complement the post-apocalyptic experience.
You can play Over 9000 zombies alone or with a friend and it's quite fun in both situations.
Overall, the indie experience is rather good, especially for an Early Access title. It can certainly use more maps and a bit more explanation about certain game mechanics, but it doesn't detract that much from the whole zombie killing and tower defending fun.
Check out a gameplay video below.
