Zombie Island Review

Make way for more zombies. From the seriously grim monstrosities of The Walking Dead, to the lovable brain eaters in Plants vs. Zombies, audiences have made it clear they love the undead. 6Waves is feeding more of that zombie hunger with a new Facebook sim entitled Zombie Island. It might be short on limbs, but it’s still a joyful romp that should make for a fun holiday companion.

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Zombie Island provides more undead fun to get you in the hallowed-holiday spirit.

Make way for more zombies. From the seriously grim monstrosities of The Walking Dead, to the lovable brain eaters in Plants vs. Zombies, audiences have made it clear they love the undead. 6Waves is feeding more of that zombie hunger with a new Facebook sim entitled Zombie Island. It might be short on limbs, but it’s still a joyful romp that should make for a fun holiday companion.

Zombie Island is comprised of many elements Facebook gamers will find familiar, but it’s an app that also has its own unique flavor: brains, to be precise. Rather than dole out energy every few minutes, work on Zombie Island is dependent upon brains. You’ll need to chop wood and gather stone in order to build structures and such, and each member of your undead workforce requires a brain in order to get the job done.

Zombie Island

But let’s back up a bit. Zombie Island is something of a city management game, though its pacing feels more like a virtual garden – something along the lines of Viva Piñata. Though your real estate is fairly limited, there’s a surprising amount of satisfaction to be found with these walking corpses.

Zombie Island incorporates both coins and “zombucks” (which can either be purchased with Facebook credits or earned from leveling up), and simple quests offer an impetus to return each day. It’s not the type of game you come back to constantly, but as part of a daily gaming routine, Zombie Island is an enjoyable, laid back experience.

Your main zombie acts as overseer of the island, tilling land, collecting resources, as well as hunting for treasure. The grunt work, however, is doled out to helper zombies. You’ll need to purchase specific graves for the various jobs, and burying friends grants you additional brains for your workforce. It’s a delightful premise with charm to spare.

Unfortunately, many quest items can only be acquired through friends. With only one exchange a day per friend, the process of collecting certain items can be quite tedious. If you’re playing completely solo, you’ll need to rely upon zombucks to purchase rare quest items.

Zombie Island

In spite of snags with the gameplay, the presentation will encourage players to stick around. Without a doubt, Zombie Island is one of the best-looking games currently available on Facebook. The colors are beautiful, the animations are smooth, and the entire art style is playful and inviting. There are some humorous nods to gaming’s other zombie favorites, and the music and sound effects are paired wonderfully with the rest of the game’s presentation. Sadly, the quest menu sits a little too close to the middle of the screen, often blocking areas you need to click on.

Zombie Island isn’t the most engaging experience around, but its charm and enthusiasm go a long way toward making it a Facebook app worth checking out. It’s more of a zen experience than anything else, so don’t expect to mine hours of playtime each day. Zombie Island is quaint, cheerful, and fun in short bursts.

The good

    The bad

      70 out of 100