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> Results: Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without A Pulse
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What is a misunderstood zombie to do in a prototype town of the future? Eat brains and build an army of zombie minions, of course! Stubbs the Zombie is an action game based on the Halo graphics engine, and after a small scene showing the object of Stubbs's attention, the player sets out across several settings and locations to uncover the purpose for his undead rebirth.
The rest of Stubbs the Zombie is spent figuring out why you are here, and unfolding an interesting love story with roots 36 years prior. Along the way you learn how to use various parts of your body as weaponsﾗfor example throwing your pancreas as a grenade, bowling your head as a way of converting people to zombies, and throwing your hand to take possession of another character. Each of these is fun in itself, and made better by the reaction of civilians and soldiers throughout the game. The action is non-stop and exciting, and you are constantly challenged to use your powers and ever-growing zombie horde to deal with the crowds of police and soldiers and militia trying to destroy you.  Stubbs the Zombie is entertaining, but it is also disappointing on several levels. The biggest issue is the length and depth of the experience. It takes about five hours to complete the game but seems like it would be and even better three-hour game. The gameplay mechanics make many sections a grind. There is a pretense of openness in some areas, yet there is a single exit. And occasionally that exit will not open when you approach, as through the game thinks you need to destroy more enemies before proceeding. The campy fun wears thin, and despite the great lines and soundtrack, the game amounts to a unidirectional linear march to a final confrontation. Because of the short game length, linearity and the lack of unlockable content or multiplayer there is very little replayability and therefore questionable value. (There is cooperative play of single player levels in the console versions). As a budget-priced game this is must-have, but for a full-priced game it is harder to recommend for anyone except fans of zombie films. For them, the excellent realization of brain-eating zombie mechanics and the thrill of sending a group of your zombie minions to terrorize a crowd of innocent civilians will make the game a classic and be worth any full price.  
Despite the opening cinematic showing the fictitious modern town of ﾑPunchBowl' circa 1959, the game immediately launches into scenes of a zombie (the titular Edward 'Stubbs' Stubblefield) emerging from the ground and stealing a hot dog from two high school kids on a picnic. This is followed by a tutorial section that includes learning to beat up civilians and police in order to eat their brains. The constant blood-spray, decapitation and dismemberment and death-screams of innocent civilians ably earn the game its' M-rating and an Adult age seal.
The story and settings in Stubbs the Zombie are hilarious. You often find yourself laughing at lines and situations as you progress. Most of the humor is crude and immature and of a sexual or ﾑpotty' origin, but despite that much of it is clever and funny. There is a stark contrast between the ﾑfilm reel' cinematic style, the 1950's pop music backgrounds, and the zombies and soldiers and screaming civilians. There are dozens of funny quotes and scenes throughout, such as the gas station attendant robot molesting the police car, or proclamations of people being dismembered such as ﾑmy mother gave me that arm' or ﾑnot my beautiful brain!' There is even a ﾑdance challenge' interlude to inject even more silliness. The game is clearly targeted at adults, but teens will be immediately interested in the game based on the zombies and crude humor. If they are already playing other M-rated games, and if the eating of brains hasn't made your decision, then nothing else in the game should be a problem. If they are playing mainly T-rated games, this should be avoided. This review edited by Dave Long Comments? Chat about it in our forums! Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Browse Amazon.com's selection of "stubbs" themed games Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without A Pulse |
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