Writings of Mass Deduction

I’m purchasing an Xbox Live Indie Game (XBLIG) every day, seeking out the quality titles that got lost in the shuffle and are not well represented in the top 50 lists on the Xbox Dashboard. Today is day #355, and today’s game is “Zombie Death Zone”.

“Zombie Death Zone” (zed-dee-zed to its friends) is the epitome of a guilty pleasure. It’s a twin-stick shooter with a ridiculous number of simultaneously on-screen enemies, and just enough innovation to make the grade. It turns the death-fest into something more of an exploration-fest due to a key innovation that definitely separates it from its peers. It’s not made for hours of play, but it’s fun for short bursts every once in a while and at 80 Microsoft Points is worth that, IMO.

First, from the developer (diskyoz):

“1,000,000 Zombies, 60 Seconds, 6 Power Orbs, 5 Super weapons… Twin Stick Zombie shooter.”

The key innovation of Zombie Death Zone is that the screen is so full of enemies that you can’t even see the area around you. You plow into them with 5 weapons (all of which would be the one ultimate super-weapon in any other game), and have to find 6 power orbs. Find them before your 60 seconds runs out, get another 60 seconds. Fail, and the game’s over. No extra lives, no continues. You’ll likely have your fill of this after 15-20 minutes… but (and it’s a big but) you’ll likely find yourself coming back again and again for additional short bursts of play in this guilty pleasure. That’s what makes Zed-Dee-Zed (or zee-dee-zee if you prefer) worth 80 Microsoft Points.