Z.I.D: Zombies In Dark Review

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Z.I.D: Zombies In Dark Review

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Z.I.D: Zombies In Dark Review

By Rob Rich on September 7th, 2011
Our Rating:

:: PRETTY STIFF
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Z.I.D: Zombies in Dark can be decent fun, but it feels more like a proof-of-concept.

Developer: Qubicware
Price: $0.99
Version: 1.0
App Reviewed on: iPhone 3GS
Graphics / Sound Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.69 out of 5 stars

Anyone who’s been playing games knows that, while graphics do make a difference, they aren’t the sole deciding factor on how much someone with enjoy a game. Case in point: Z.I.D: Zombies in Dark. A game that looks pretty impressive, but doesn’t really have all that much game to it.

There’s no real story here, but there doesn’t really have to be. A lone soldier has to survive wave after wave of bloodthirsty corpses using nothing but his assault rifle and a couple of grenades. Movement and aiming is done via two virtual sticks, as is customary, while shooting and throwing use virtual buttons. I wish I could say that more gear gets unlocked through playing or that the gold earned from each level is used to purchase upgrades, but that’s just not the case.

The best thing Z.I.D has going for it is that it looks pretty. The animations are impressive, with zombies shambling quite convincingly. The small cone of illumination from the rifle’s flashlight is a nice touch, too. And while the grenade and flashbang seem to have odd blast radii, the gun is quite effective and satisfying to use.

The underlying problem with all of this is that the experience feels pretty much devoid of meaning. There are Game Center leaderboards, but there’s no other reason to keep playing at this point. As I’ve mentioned, there are no unlockables, no upgrades and as far as I can tell no new challenges save facing off against larger numbers. There’s also the problem of my thumb constantly slipping onto the fire button when moving up, causing me to waste shots unintentionally, but the real problem is that Z.I.D just feels like a tech demo or a proof-of-concept.

There are certainly better games on the App Store that cost the same amount, but there are also worse ones. Z.I.D does feel like it’s missing a few features, but it can be mindlessly entertaining in it’s own way. Whether or not that’s “worth it” just depends largely on the user.