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Posted on April 24th, 2008 - 1455 Reads

Rated Everyone 10+ Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys Nintendo DS Review

-- Written by Clark Nielsen



 Zombies are usually relegated to being the enemy, not the hero, but when alien brain thingys invade the Earth, it makes sense to recruit the only beings (however dead they may be) who like the taste of brains. And that's really Teenage Zombie's biggest selling point: it's silly. Cutscenes involve a lot of amusing banter between the aliens, and the three main characters are very atypical zombies. Lefty is a lanky basketball player who, ironically, is missing her left arm. Half-Pipe doesn't even have a lower body and scoots around on a skateboard. Fins is a fat lard with tentacles growing out of his back. And these are the guys who are going to save the Earth? Oh boy...

These three characters play an important role in this 2D platformer, because you switch between them on the fly to overcome different obstacles. Lefty, for instance, has the longest reach and can grab difficult ledges. Half-Pipe is able to crawl through small openings and launch off ramps. And Fins, with his tentacles, can climb up walls and across dangling ropes. Individualized power-ups are scattered throughout the levels, too, like an umbrella Lefty can jam in her severed arm to protect her from falling objects or to float down long drops. The characters are definitely unique, and it's hard to favor one over the others since they all serve a purpose.

That isn't to say the characters are all fantastic and wonderful, though. When you think about it, why would you want to play as a zombie, anyway? Zombies stagger and drag their feet and are just slow overall. While the idea of having undead heroes is funny, zombies don't make for great platformer stars. All three characters are sluggish, their default attacks are boring, and they just don't feel very versatile despite their many power-ups. It gives the game a mellower tone than it deserves, because, frankly, any game with the words "zombies" and "invasion" should be action-packed.

To be fair, Teenage Zombies doesn't try to be action-packed. This is a very methodic, puzzle-driven experience. It's not always in your best interest to drop down into a corridor and fight that herd of rats hand-to-hand. You're encouraged to seek out the power-ups first, and this requires putting the three characters' abilities to good use. But whereas each zombie only does one thing particularly well, there's not much diversity in the puzzles. You can only spin the reach/crawl/climb formula in so many ways before it becomes dull and repetitive. Fortunately, new power-ups are constantly being introduced, and a few of the later levels left me stumped, so there's still something to look forward to.

The game has a great sense of style, too. The whole thing is modeled after a cheesy, ten-cent, sci-fi comic book. Naturally, this is present in the cutscenes, but it affects the levels, as well. Yellow text boxes containing tutorial information become part of the level, whether they're tucked inside a wall or are an actual platform that you can stand on. I love this idea, not only because it strengthens the comic book motif but because it keeps the narration from being intrusive (if this were a Nintendo game, you'd be forced to read every one of those signs; thank goodness it's not). Even sweeter, though, is how the transition between levels isn't an abrupt "Level Over!" screen. Rather, you pass by a sign that says, "Chapter 12," and suddenly you're in a new level with no break in the action.

If there's anything that bogs down the flow of the game, it's the touch-based minigames that periodically crop up. Like most interstitial minigames, they aren't that fun and feel somewhat broken. One minigame sees you flicking basketballs into a hoop or into targets, but it's nearly impossible to control where the ball goes or even how high Lefty throws it. The good news is that these minigames aren't even essential to progress, so you can flat-out refuse to replay if you didn't do so well and move on. I appreciate the ability to pass, but it also marginalizes the minigames being there in the first place.

Final Comments:
The phrase "teenage zombies" just begs to be irreverent and silly, and Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys nails that. Nothing about the game is laugh-out-loud funny, unfortunately, but the comic book style is certainly clever, and the characters--both heroes and antagonists--are likeable. When it comes to video games, though, it's a little harder to back the idea of having zombies at the forefront, as the playable characters. No deadbeat, falling apart zombie will ever come close to the platforming finesse of Mario or Klonoa. Maybe if the zombies were in a different genre (RPG) or were given just a little bit more livelihood. As is, Teenage Zombies is interesting but far too mellow.

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