THE DEAD TIMES

RATING:

ZOMBIE RATING:

DESCRIPTION:

This is a Zombie game like no other. Ed, the only self-aware, intelligent Zombie yet found in this hypothetical world has been captured by the nefarious Hans Showmaster. Forced to take part in Hans' new show, Rundead, Ed must run around obstacle courses at freakish speed, avoiding limb-removing, spinning saw blades and leaping over perilous gaps in order to save Ben, his best friend.

MY VERDICT:

Happy New Year zed-fans and what better way to celebrate than by looking at a Zombie game so unlike anything I have played before! Yes, in Ben and Ed you actually play as a Zombie and, even more bizarre, do not have to kill anything or survive through an apocalypse - a very welcome twist to the crowded Zombie game genre. Instead, controlling Ed, you run around colourful 80's style obstacle courses, packed with twirling blades, neon lights and giant swinging hammers. The fact that your character is already dead boosts this fairly mundane, "get to the end" gameplay to a whole new level. Every swinging axe can slice off a limb and, because this means nothing to a Zombie, you can keep on playing; hopping, crawling or slithering your way to the finish. This neat feature is not just a gimmick either; some levels actually require you to lose limbs. For example, many courses force Ed to rip off his head and chuck it across an impassable gap, controlling the severed head to lower a bridge before rejoining the body. The one warning I would give to prospective buyers is that Ben and Ed is a short, trial and error, "swear yourself to death" game in the style of Super Meat Boy and Hotline Miami; you will fail a lot and you will get frustrated. Still, restarting from the last saved checkpoint, which come along regularly, is only a simple button push away. If you can handle that and are looking for a more unusual Zombie game then Ben and Ed is a gem of a game that you should definitely go for.