Name: Burn Zombie Burn
Genre: Shooter
Platform: PlayStation Network

Zombies are hot right now, especially in the realm of video games. For the last six months or so, it has seemed like you couldn’t throw a rock without hitting a game with zombies in it. Between Left 4 Dead, Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, and Resident Evil 5 (not to mention all the games with added zombie modes), the market might be a bit oversaturated. That didn’t stop Doublesix from releasing downloadable title Burn Zombie Burn on the PlayStation Network recently. Though the game appears to be just a simplified zombie shooter at first, there are some unique gameplay aspects that make Burn Zombie Burn worth taking a second look at.

Burn Zombie Burn looks like a two-stick shooter, between the top-down view and the simplistic layout, but the controls are a bit different. The concept behind Burn Zombie Burn is remarkably simple: kill zombies, get points. However, there’s a twist: the more zombies that are on fire, the higher the score multiplier. It seems confusing at first, but luckily, there’s a lengthy tutorial to explain everything, from using fire and weapons to planting TNT and raking up the most possible points. As Bruce, you will explore a number of unlockable zombie-ridden locations, destroying everything in your path until you have lost all of your lives.

Like I said earlier (and as the title implies), using fire is what makes Burn Zombie Burn more than just an average zombie shooter. In addition to various weapons that can be picked up around the board, Bruce has the use of fire, which can be used to torch the undead. However, fire doesn’t kill them—it makes them faster and stronger. The more flaming zombies are on the board, the higher your score multiplayer, and trying to kill regular zombies while avoiding those engulfed in flames is the real challenge. Combine this with wave after wave of varying undead, and things will quickly get dicey.

The variety of weapons is something else that keeps Burn Zombie Burn interesting. Weaponry will spawn throughout the level, and Bruce will have access to pistols, shotguns, lawnmowers, baseball bats, chainsaws, and more. TNT can also sometimes be used to blow zombies to smithereens. Different types of zombies also add diversity to the game, and help dictate what kind of weapons to use; chainsaws and lawnmowers aren’t good for explosive zombies, and baseball bats are too slow for speedy zombies, but a well-aimed machine gun can take care of just about anything.

Two different multiplayer modes also help to keep things interesting, and this is a fun game to play when you have other people around. Both co-op and versus are available locally, with co-op forcing players to work together, while versus has each player vying for the highest score. Unfortunately, there is no online multiplayer, so you will have to have friends nearby if you want to experience Burn Zombie Burn with another living human.

With four game modes and six levels to unlock, there is a good amount of things to do, but even with different environments, Burn Zombie Burn can still be more repetitive than addictive at times. There is definitely a lot of replay value, and the game has plenty of fun moments, but it lacks the originality and charm of some downloadable titles. That being said, at ten dollars, this is a great timewaster, one you’ll find yourself playing in short spurts for a long time. There may be no shortage of zombie shooters on the market right now, but Burn Zombie Burn still manages to make a mark.