Welcome, true believers, to XBuck Live Arcade. I’m your host, Chaoticute, and I’ll be bringing you the best in $1 XBL games as regularly as I feel the need to. (Translation : Whenever Holly slaps me on the wrist, or drags me away from the joy that is Mass Effect : Romancing the Garrus.) For this installment, I’ve decided to start with a $1 classic of the Xbox 360 system, I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MBIES!!!1. Released in 2009, the game garnered huge praise to the tune of over 150k downloads within its first year. IGN named it Independent Game of the Year in 2009, and its developer, James Silva and his company Ska Studios, have made over $200k on the game since its release. Frankly, it’s not hard to see why.
The game itself is simple. Move with one stick, shoot with the other. Yup. No Steel Battalion style billion button controls here, just you and your thumbs. The plot is fairly simple – Zombies appear to be after your cerebral bits. A whole new layer is added when block-centipedes made of creepy smileys and blobs of green goo join the party, and the entire game is highlighted by what can only be described as seizure-inducing color changes. Your weapons are upgraded using drops and range from flamethrowers, what looks like a beam cannon, and a multiple ninja star flinging device. It’s a collection of topdown madness the likes of which have not been seen since the mid 80s.
Click to see the entire review of: I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MBIES!!!1
I PLA3D A GAM3 W1TH Z0MBIES 1N IT!!!1
Let’s get down to the meat and potatoes of the review, or, should I say, the brains and viscera.
The High Points :
* The theme song is just about the most epic song you may ever hear. Its cacophonous melody evokes some pretty intense emotions. I won’t spoil it for you, but it’s available through Ska Studios’ site and is worth downloading.
* Despite its simplistic nature, this game gets pretty challenging! And terrifying — It’s not cool having several hundred zombies rush at you. Not at all.
* The game doesn’t seem to really have an end! You start with a generous five lives, and for every time you are “dedz,” you start at the same spot. As far as I can tell, a skilled individual could go at this for days. (Note : I am not that skilled.)
The Low Points :
* The graphics are, obviously, not exactly amazing.
Best Use ;
Intoxication. Drunk? Want to shoot zombies and not have some 10 year old screaming about your noobishness whilst failing at Black Ops zombie mode? Here’s your solution. And I promise – No one will yell at you. Unless you count the theme song.
Worst Use : 
Zombie snobs may be put off by the game. Personally, I’m a huge fan of the zombie genre, and I loved it, but I’m also an equal opportunity nerd with an open mind. Those who call themselves “experts” may not be so amused.
Verdict :
Absolutely, 100% worth $1. Hell, I may even pick up Ska Studios’ other games for future XBuck Live installments.
Til next time.
- Chaoticute
Dev : Ska Studios
Platform : Xbox
Show off your Gamer Pride with these handmade finds!
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I’ve played this game.
Thanks for including my 360 controller charm!