Not to be confused with Zoey from Left 4 Dead (who can protect herself just fine), “Protect Zoey from the Zombies” casts you in the role of protecting a woman named (appropriately enough) Zoey from the oncoming shambling hordes. River City Ransom-esque art (as reimagined via Microsoft Paint), Zombies in the title… no way this game is going to be any good, right? Well surprise, surprise, surprise, it’s actually an enjoyable diversion.
Borrowing more from “Root Beer Tapper” than “Left 4 Dead”, the game has you serving root beer to… I mean, shooting at rows of zombies, forcing you to move up and down the rows depending on how close they are to poor Zoey. As with the Tapper games, you have to consider not only how close the nearest enemy is but how dense a concentration of them there is. Too much jumping around slows you down, not enough risks some of the enemies drawing too close. Between rounds there’s a weapons shop where you can buy ammo and weapons upgrades. That upgrade aspect definitely sets it apart from the Tapper games (there was no power-up/upgrade in Tapper that simultaneously quenched all the thirsty patrons, for example, but there is such a screen-wiping anti-zombie weapon here).
The art style is definitely simplistic, but it plays a whole lot better than it looks and is worth its 80 Microsoft Points. Recommended for zombie game fans, and fans of Tapper/Root Beer Tapper.
Here’s what the developer (sodafountan) has to say about the game:
“Are you ready to fight waves of zombies using various weapons (including a flamethrower and nuclear bomb) to protect Zoey from the zombies?”
Writings of Mass Deduction 