Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel without a Pulse Review (no fat)

by Wideload Platform: Xbox Genre: Act-Adv	ESRB Rating: Mature Release: 2005-10-17	Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel without a Pulse Features: Third person horror action, set in the late 50s, involving zombies and humans A dozen fun packed levels, a zombie disco sequence and a co-op mode for two player action. Unique arsenal comprising of body parts Built on the Halo engine
	Egamer's Rating: 8 / 10. Reviewed on: 2006-03-10

Game Description

What happens when you construct a sprawling city on top of a grave? Youawaken a rather annoyed dead man with an acquired taste for human brains. Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel without a Pulse is the tale Edward Stubblefield, a salesman who was murdered andburied in the 30's. Edward's eternal slumber is disturbed when a city is made onhis grave and he rises from the dead.

Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel without a Pulse is a mad mix of humor and gore with enough hooks and fun elements to make a great game. The brain sucking protagonist is armed withzombie powers and a bunch of neat anatomical tricks like a dismembered arm thatcan be controlled and a head that can be used as a bowling ball. There's plentyof gore as expected in a zombie game, but the twisted humor that the developershave woven into the gamae makes it a fun experience rather than a regular killand maim game.

Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel without a Pulse Gameplay

It doesn't get simpler than this. After Stubbs resurrects, he rambles aroundlooking for brains to suck off the heads of the living. Stubbs grabs everyone insight and once they have had their brains ripped off, they become zombies too,eventually leading to a whole gang of zombies following Stubbs and killing morepeople (in turn generating more zombies).

The main aspect of gameplay is to walk around, grab people and bite theirheads. The degree of toughness varies, as some of your victims might need a fewblows to soften them up.

Stubbs can also use parts of his body as weapons. A ripped off arm serves asa device to possess potential victims, control their minds and make them performspecific actions. A piece of Stubb's pancreas serves as a great bomb that can take out a whole bunch of people in one go. The steady diet of brain also gives Stubbs a lot of gas which he uses to stun people, making them easy to prey on. Finally, Stubbs can pull off his head and use it as an exploding bowling ball to wipe out a cluster of unsuspecting humans. Stubbs has to chew quite a bit of human heads to get these abilities. There are meters to indicate the status of each ability and you can recharge them by eating more brains.

Stubbs can also use his minions to do the dirty work for him. It does takesome pushing and prodding but your zombie squad will kill your enemies while youuse the time to catch a breather and regenerate any lost limb and health.

Although the game is set in the late 1950s, the city is equipped with allkinds of modern elements including robots. There are also a bunch of vehiclesthat Stubbs can commandeer via possessed humanoids. To add a touch of varietythere's a disco sequence featuring Michael Jackson's Thriller which is worth afew laughs and a cooperative mode where you team up with another zombie calledGrubbs and go on a brain sucking spree. When in co-op mode, the game gets intosplit screen mode.

Overall, the gameplay is addictive and entertaining except for the fact thatthe game doesn't last as long as it should have.

Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel without a Pulse Graphics & Sound

The Halo engine plays a significant role in the mechanics of the game andalso it's aesthetic aspects. Stubbs the Zombie has great detailing and smoothanimation as does the rest of the game's sprites. The level designs are decent.The game is also backed by some great zombie sound effects that include thesignature moans and groans. The voice acting is great and the soundtrackcomprises of a whole lot of hit songs from the decade including the legendaryMr. Sandman.

Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel without a Pulse 2cent

Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse promises greatentertainment and delivers. The underlying theme of horror and depictions ofblood and gore is toned down by cleverly implemented humor such as the zombiedance sequence. The only downside is that the 12 or so levels that form the gameare fairly easy to get through and the scope for replay is limited. All said anddone, Stubbs the Zombie is a great game…worth a brain chew.

Cost

Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel without a Pulse currently retails at $49.99US.