Last month I proffer a first look at the much anticipate Stubbs the Zombie , develop by Wideload Games and released for the Mac by Aspyr Media . The game is now out , and while it succeed on many level — assuming you ’re a fan of gore and off - colour trick — it comes up short in others .
Stubbs the Zombie is a third - mortal action game that puts you in the role of Stubbs , a zombi who has been reanimated into 1950’s - era Punchbowl , Pennsylvania . This “ city of the future ” make full with hovercars , friendly robots , and a universe that is totally intolerant of anything unlike — especially a zombie with a taste for brains .
William Stubbs ’ unending thirst for white-haired thing will get off citizen of Punchbowl holler , and bring out the authorities in personnel . The body he eats can fall back as zombies — utilitarian for diverting the attention of cops and other enemies . What ’s more , Stubbs can buck off his own arm and utilize it to possess the great unwashed , or pull gut grenades out of his own abdominal tooth decay . If that does n’t do the trick , he can also emit explosive bursts of turgidity that will daze any bystanders .
As you might surmise , the secret plan is dominant with ribald humor . If fart gag and situational automaton liquid body substance are up your alley , Stubbs is certain to please . If not , you ’ll probably find the plot over the top and now and then in wretched taste . In fact , the biz is unapologetically blood - soaked and really , really nasty . It emphatically realize its Mature rating .
My biggest complaint against Stubbs the Zombie is the game ’s length . While there are multiple levels of difficulty , you ’ll probably get no more than a few hours of use out of it — disregardless of which set you use .
The Xbox version of the game offered a cooperative two - player way , which is unhappily absent from the Mac ( and PC ) outlet . And the game ’s sophisticated lighting effects make some pretty high demands on your system . At the minimum , you ’ll require a 1.2GHz G4 and a 64 MB video recording card .
Stubbs gets points for style , however : Much of the game is draw in a grainy haze that give it the feeling of a 1950 ’s driver ’s ed film The effect might not appeal to everyone , but I liked it . Stubbs also has one of the good game soundtracks I ’ve take care in years , thanks to concealment of 1950 ’s pop tunes do by today ’s indie darlings such as Cake and The Dandy Warhols .
The bottom line
Despite a few helplessness , Stubbs the Zombie is sure to please gamers who care their legal action with respectable amounts of ancestry , and their temper a little on the perverted side . The game is emphatically not intended for kids — or for adults with weak stomach .
Stubbs the ZombieRATING : PROS : curious ; awesome soundtrack ; unequalled tale . flimflam : The game is short ; no multiplayer choice . toll : $ 40OS COMPATIBILITY : Mac OS X 10.3.9 and laterCOMPANY : Aspyr medium
