I like zombies. I love killing zombies – un-killing them? Re-killing them? Best not to think too hard on that one. Burning zombies is also a plus. Burn Zombie Burn is trying to appeal to me with these ingredients by imitating so many top-down zombie destruction simulators that have come before it. The game uses a specific mechanic to try and keep things fresh – lighting zombies up without destroying them is beneficial, so long as you can keep Bruce, the Elvis-like, jive-talking hero, alive.

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I was looking through my gifted games on Steam, and found many that had not been redeemed.  So I figured I would offer them up to people who actually want them! Free games!!

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So I was browsing around this gaming press site I am a member of, looking for press releases and what not, and all of a sudden I saw this little blurb about a Resident Evil trailer for Nintendo 3DS. Oh reallllllly…..

Resident Evil has always been a favorite for me, but they lost me with RE:5. I just wasn’t feeling it, but I think Revelations might be something pretty awesome. The trailer is a little short, shows off no gameplay, and I’m unclear if the scenes shown are in-game. Some gripes on other websites are the changes done to Jill Valentine’s look, but fans are digging Chris Redfield.

Here is where I get a little thrown off: There is a guy sitting in a chair, but I can’t tell who he is. Jill asks Chris if he has something, but Chris says that she will have to kill him in order to find out. Could that possibly be a strain of the virus, and by killing him he turns into a zombie? Finally, the last line of dialogue is of the guy in the chair saying how it doesn’t matter because they are already….and that’s it. If I had to put money on it, I’d bet that the word needed to finish that sentence would be ‘dead’. I could be totally wrong though.

Either way, check out the trailer below. It’s truly gorgeous, and this is a title I’ll be looking forward to.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY2jY5ErhBI

- Me

Oh man, I need to get this game. OK… so, if you took any English or Literature classes, you will be familiar with the novel known as Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. No? Well, maybe you were sick that day. Anyways, some genius individual went and rewrote the book, and while everything is basically kept the same, they added zombies. I love zombies, and I’m sure when the zombie apocalypse comes, they will love me too, but let’s not get off topic.

The book was a huge success, spawning other parodies such as Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and Jane Slayre.  It really was only a matter of time until a video game adaptation was released. What surprises me the most is that it is in the form of an iPhone game rather than something that could be found on PlayStation Network or Xbox Live Arcade. Regardless, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies looks great on the iPhone from what I’ve seen. I haven’t actually downloaded the app yet, mainly because it’s not free and I don’t feel like spending $2.99 when that can go towards a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread, but that doesn’t mean I won’t try my best to get this.

For the iPhone and iPod Touch, Freeverse has created something really outstanding. Because there are tens of thousands of apps available in the iTunes store, it’s easy for things to pass under the radar. Hopefully that doesn’t happen with this. From the trailer I watched, the controls seemed nice, graphics and frame rate was really fluid, and who doesn’t enjoy kicking the shit out of zombies?

So, check out the trailer below, and if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, download the game because if you don’t, then I will send **NSFW** this guy to your house. You’ve been warned.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0X6V7DTTLY

- Me

I should probably start this review off saying that I am a big BioWare fan. I cracked out on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire, so I wasn’t shocked when I lost many hours of my life to Dragon Age: Origins. Being a huge RPG fan, I found Dragon Age to be fantastic. When a proper expansion was announced, I was excited and counted down the days. Three DLC packs had already been released – The Stone Prisoner, Return to Ostagar, and Warden’s Keep – but they weren’t long enough, or at least in my opinion. I guess you can say that I am hard to please.

Anyways, knowing that the Dragon Age: Origins Awakening expansion was to be released on a disc, and not DLC, I knew I was in for a treat. You start off having the option of using the character you already have, or starting off as a random Grey Warden sent from Orlais to restore the order in Ferelden. This time your travels take you to Amaranthine, which was once the land belonging to that corrupt asshole Arl Rendon Howe (who, might I add, was wonderfully voiced by the amazing Tim Curry), and now the domain of the Ferelden Grey Wardens. The primary character has been given the title of Warden Commander, and your stronghold is Vigil’s Keep.

I have to admit that I missed my old companions. I put in close to 100 hours in Dragon Age: Origins, and as corny as this may sound, one starts to get attached to their party. I loved the banter between Shale and Alistair, but I was very happy when I saw Ogrhen. For those who might not remember that name, he was the fabulously drunk dwarf, and he is still a little boozer. Depending on the sex of your imported character, and the relationship you went with regarding Alistair, you will get the appropriate conversation when he comes to visit briefly. I did run into Wynne, had a short conversation with her, got a little side quest, and depending on what you did with Loghain and Anora, I know you run into them too. I didn’t see them because I happily slaughtered Loghain and locked Anora away in Origins. At Vigil’s Keep, Herren and Wade, the blacksmiths from Denerim’s Market District, join you and become your go-to guys for armor and other items. Other than that, I didn’t run into any familiar faces.

After awhile I started to get used to having different people, but there was one character I had a hard time with. In the beginning at Vigil’s Keep, you hear of a prisoner who was trying to steal some things. When you go to investigate, you see that he is Nathaniel Howe, the son of Arl Rendon Howe. My imported character is from the female human noble origin, and if you’ve played through that, you know that Arl Rendon Howe was a close friend of your Father, and somebody he trusted. The Arl decides to be a complete dick, betray your family by attacking your home, and in the end you are forced to leave with Duncan while your Mother dies trying to defend your fatally wounded Father. The last thing I wanted was a Howe in my party, but at the time he was the only rogue available and I needed somebody to pick locks open.

Everybody else was pretty basic – two mages, another rogue, etc – except for a warrior named Justice. At one point, you get sucked into The Fade, and you come across a group of people protesting a woman known as Baroness. You are greeted by a Spirit of Justice, who explains what is going on, and after the events unfold you are sent back to the “real” world. Only problem is that Justice gets sent as well, but he inhabits the body of a dead man you were tasked of finding. So yes….you have a Zombie Warrior in the Awakening expansion, and as time goes on, you see his face decompose more and more. I approve BioWare, I approve.

Graphics, controls, and gameplay are the same, and that’s to be expected. The main differences are the locations you go to, the people you interact with, but most importantly the Darkspawn. Before they were mindless drones, but now they plot, have strategies, and can even speak. What were once idiotic creatures are now pains in the ass who have a thought process. Also, this time around you have two big bads to worry about: The Architect, in which there is a method to his madness, and The Mother. I only have two words when describing The Mother – sagging boobs. If you thought the Broodmother was disgusting from Origins, wait until you catch a glimpse of The Mother. Just looking at her for a split second made me want to rush out to the nearest store and buy several bras with underwire support. If those Darkspawn can talk, they need to do her a favor and encourage her to put a top on, even if it’s just a bundle of twigs or something.

Dragon Age: Origins Awakening has a darker feeling to it. There is much more corruption, deceit, betrayal, and manipulation in this than in the original, and I like it. I love the twists in the plot regarding The Architect, because you find out he really isn’t as bad as he seems, but I highly suggest that you pick up the two Dragon Age books that are out there. Not only will you get some fantastic back story regarding Alistair’s bloodline, but you find out more about the bad-ass known as Duncan, and you get to know even more about The Architect. My only complaint is that I wanted it to be longer. I never want to put this game down, but when the credits roll I don’t really have a choice! BioWare has created something really special here with Dragon Age, and I can’t wait to see where they continue to take this already incredible franchise.

I give it an 8 out of 10.

- Me

The other day I was thinking about that Lady GaGa song “Poker Face.” In the song there is a part where, what sounds like a male voice, says something over and over but I can’t tell what it is.

This is my take on it:

The guy is saying “om nom, nom, nom!”

So there you have it.. Lady GaGa supports Zombies with their career endeavours.

P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face…

OM, NOM, NOM, NOM!!!!!

- She Who Has The Last Word

I love zombie games. I love zombie movies. I would go so far as to say that you can all start calling me Zombzi. That’s how much I love seeing those mindless, undead creatures get their heads ripped off.

A few days ago we rented, from Blockbuster, a copy of Dead Rising: Chop Til You Drop for the Wii. I’ve been wanting to play a version of Dead Rising for ages, and since we lack a 360 right now I guess the Wii version will just have to do.

I will admit that I was skeptical. It’s Nintendo – they have a habit of dulling down the good games to make them more kid friendly, plus I wasn’t too sure on how the controls would work much less the graphics.

When I popped it in, I was pleasantly surprised. The graphics in the beginning for the intro weren’t that bad. Capcom does a great job with facial movements so they were right on the money with this one too. The intro also gave me a bit of storyline and set it up perfectly for the event that was about to occur.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Dead Rising or what it’s about, I shall share what little I do know. You play a man named Frank. He is a freelance photojournalist. You start off in a helicopter with some random pilot and are going to a town in Colorado (I can’t remember the name right now). Population is a little over 53,000 so it’s not that large. Apparently there were reports of civil unrest, and possibly riots, in the town yet very little information was getting out into the news. What was released seemed a bit off and also the death count was way too high. Frank decided to go investigate. As they are flying in, Frank notices that the roads going into the city are all blocked off. Very suspicious. Frank then sees a helipad on the roof of the large city mall and tells the pilot to drop him down on to it. As the pilot gets ready, three military helicopters swoop on it and try to drive you away. Frank, being determined to get his story, jumps out of the helicopter and on to the roof. From that point, you begin your escapades in the mall.

I like that the zombies in this game are the slow, stupid ones. Those are always the best. You can take your time beating the crap out of them, and there are plenty of objects in this game at your disposal. One that I used yesterday was a Servbot (from Mega Man Legends) head. It was fantastic.

The controls were easy too. You have to plug in a nunchuck for the game and use the joystick on there to move you around. When you use a gun to shoot, you hold down the B button on the Wii-mote to pull out your gun, then you move the Wii-mote around since that controls your aim and the reticle, and then you push down on A to shoot. Simple, no?

I also checked on the violence factor. The default settings are that the blood be red, and that the violence is on high. Me like. If you have children, or are sensitive to blood, there is the option to either make it green or to shut it off completely. You can also decrease the level of violence but honestly, if you want to play a game like that, you need to play it at it’s best. It’s just not the same.

I didn’t get to play the game for long, but what I did play I enjoyed. I know for sure I will play some more today because nothing puts a smile on my face like a pile of zombies.

As I progress in the game I will update you guys, but for now… if you own a Wii and dig zombies like I do, go pick up a copy. If you are skeptical, go and rent it. It’s worth it.

- She Who Has The Last Word.