4 Xbox Arcade Zombie Games To Checkout

With the release of two new zombie themed games on Xbox Live Arcade in the last few weeks I figured now would be a great time to go over some of the zombie goodness that the Xbox Live Arcade has to offer. At the end there will also be a little bit of information and trailer for the upcoming Dead Rising 2 game.

1. Drunk Zombies: This one is by far the most ridiculous of the bunch. In this game zombies aren’t after human flesh. Instead, they’re after all the beer in town and as the owner of a bar you have to stop them from clearing out your inventory. This game, like most zombie arcade games, is pretty straight forward, just move left or right and shoot zombies as they slowly approach the bar. There’s not a whole lot else going on and even if you enjoy this game it’d probably get old fast. It only costs 80 points on the Xbox Live Marketplace, but I would strongly suggest playing the free trail version first just to see if you get bored even before the trail timer runs out.

2. Yet Another Zombie Defense: Another zombie indie game, but is significantly better than the Drunk Zombie game mentioned above. This one involves more of an open level where you can run around and shoot zombies that are coming at you in every direction. When you kill some zombies they give you power-ups like money to upgrade guns and boxes of extra ammo. The game is really dark, which makes it difficult to see zombies when you get too far away from the street light that’s in the middle of the map, but it’s bearable, especially when the flashes from your gun help show you the way. Again, being an indie game, it only costs 80 Microsoft Points.

3. I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!! This one is by far the best of the indie zombie shooters that I have mentioned so far. The set-up is similar to that of Yet Another Zombie Defense, but the graphics and gameplay are a lot more enjoyable. In this game you’re not only mindlessly shooting dozens of zombies, but also random creatures that remind me of something you might run into in another Xbox Live Arcade game called Geometry Wars 2. There are several different guns in this game including a flame thrower and rocket launcher, which you can grab as power-ups. There’s also local multi-player so you can tag team some zombies with friends, if you choose. I definitely recommend checking out the trail version of this game if only for the funny custom theme song that’s playing while you mow down several waves of the undead. In addition to the music there’s also some great lighting effects that fit the tempo of the game beautifully. At only 80 points ($1), this game is almost an insta-purchase.

4. Zombie Apocalypse The only non-indie zombie game of the bunch, which you can tell easily as soon as you start it up. Another non-thinking zombie shooter with great guns (including a chainsaw), great looking zombies, Xbox Live multi-player games, leader boards and some other fun little features added in. There are multiple levels and backdrops as you progress throughout the game as well as multiple characters to play as and several zombie types to fight. Also, every once in a while you’ll see a non-infected lady crawl out from some wreckage, who if you protect from all the zombies stumbling towards her, will add to your overall score. However, if you aren’t able to protect this lady from the undead’s grasp you better believe she will come after you when she reanimates. This game is significantly more expensive than the others, at 800 Microsoft Points and is also available on the Playstation Network.

If mindlessly shooting zombies while giggling and high-fiving friends isn’t your thing, you could always download Dead Rising from the On Demand section of Xbox Live. And if you’ve already played that game to death, keep an eye out for information on the sequel Dead Rising 2, which just announced the release date of August 31st, 2010. Dead Rising 2 will also come with exclusive downloadable content for the 360 which will be released prior to the game as sort of a prologue.