Granny vs. Zombies Review

Friday, August 12, 2011

Granny vs. Zombies Review

at 12:50 PM

Granny vs. Zombies Review

By Phillip Levin on August 11th, 2011
Our Rating:

:: RIDICULOUS
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Take on the zombie apocalypse as a granny with her arsenal of weaponry.

Developer: Jalapeno Games
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPhone

Graphics / Sound Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Replay Value Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars

It often feels like every week’s there some new zombie game on the App Store. That’s probably because there is. But while there are a lot of tired, mostly forgettable zombie games released for Apple’s mobile platform on a regular basis, Granny vs. Zombies manages to distance itself somewhat from the crowd.

As the title implies, this is a game about a granny taking on the walking dead. Players control a cute but deadly granny as she fends off the zombie apocalypse. Gameplay takes the form of a 2D sidescroller. Players control Granny with the touch screen analog stick and attack/fire with her equipped weapon by pressing the attack button. The control scheme is simple, but that’s because the gameplay is. As Granny explores zombie-infested surroundings, she’ll come across different weapons she can equip – everything from baseball bats to automatic rifles to rocket launchers. There’s something kind of ridiculous about a grandma blowing away zombies with a rocket launcher, but I think that’s what the creators of Granny vs. Zombie were betting on.

There are two modes. In Story, players must traverse 8 different stages. Each stage is split into a number of waves which must be survived to move onto the next stage. Granny’s travels see her blasting zombies just about everywhere, including but not limited to the interior of a small home, the fields of a farm and a small-town neighborhood. In Survival, meanwhile, Granny’s mission is to survive endless waves of zombies for as long as possible.

If the idea expressed in the title Granny vs. Zombie doesn’t immediately appeal to you then don’t bother with this one. There isn’t a lot more to the game than its ridiculous but admittedly somewhat entertaining theme. That’s not to say the game isn’t well-designed. It actually is. The sharp visuals and cartoony art-direction bring to life a game that features some decent gameplay mechanics and interesting ideas.

But at the end of the day, this isn’t a high-art game or anything like that. It’s about a granny killing zombies. Take it or leave it.