Resident Evil but not: Zombie Infection (iPhone)

11:40 AM on 03.16.2010   |   Dale North

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Gameloft's me-too survival horror iPhone game Zombie Infection has you going up against an evil corporation as a one-man army. Sound familiar? Don't worry about that. I remember saying the same thing about Gameloft's excellent space marine first-person shooter, N.O.V.A. Yes, that game reminds one of Halo, but it's a still a great game. I have only played a bit of Zombie Infection, but I feel about the same way as I did with N.O.V.A.

Read on for our preview of Reside...or, um...Zombie Infection.

A corrupt South African group is controlling the country's resources, becoming a sort of shady dictatorship. People are starving, riots are starting, and things are going south. Freedom Fighters are hired to restore peace to the country, but they end up killing people. You play as Anderson, a war correspondent camera man. He is looking to find his lost brother in South Africa. Starting out, a helicopter flew me over barren wastelands and shanties and dropped me into the action. I jumped off a corrugated metal rooftop and pulled my gun out its holster to -- you'll never guess -- shoot a zombie.

Zombie Infection is a third-person zombie shooter, just like Resident Evil Pick A Number. The control is exactly as you'd expect: virtual d-pad, touch-and-drag to move camera, fire/reload buttons, and so on. You'll manage limited ammo and health restorers while exploring creepy locales where evil is clearly resident. Used to shaking your controller when a zombie gets ahold of you? No worries, as you can also shake your iPhone to push them off. Your guns (rifle, shotgun, grenade launcher) all feature a laser sight to help you get that headshot in. 

Just like in the game obviously that inspired it, Zombie Infection has you fending off hordes of infected beings, including humans and animals. Enemies are tied to the locales. The zoo has zombified animals and zookeepers. The hospital? Zombie doctors and nurses, of course. The Lab has zombie scientists. My favorite was a zombie crocodile that popped out of the water, Jaws style.

In my demo I worked my way through a village and shot zombies in the head. I carefully inspected a dock area and got my head bit off by an alligator. In the zoo I found myself caught in a pit going up against angry zombie lions. Finally, Iworked my way into a dark mining cave where I had to man a turret to take out a huge wave of moaners. You've seen this before, but you haven't seen it on the iPhone yet. It's not the most original game, but it is pretty fun. Just close your eyes during the title screen and then open them when the game starts, and then you can tell yourself you're playing Resident Evil.

Zombie Infection will have 10 levels when it's all said and done. No release date or price point are available yet.