The digital delights of Sony’s scrumptious PlayStation Network service know no bounds. Aside from letting punters compete in online gaming, stream films, browse the Internet and more, its premier attraction rests in the copious supply of downloadable games ripe for the picking. From PSN exclusives to PSOne Classics, minis and plain old add-on content, Sony’s online space is chock full of goodies battling it out for your hard-earned digital dollars.
Welcome back to another installment of Inside PlayStation Network, where every Monday – Friday we’ll pluck a PSN release—be it new or old—and put it in the spotlight for a thorough dissection. Fancy getting a new PSN game but don’t know what one to plump for? Perhaps this feature will help. Didn’t realize that a game was available in your region until now? We’ve got you covered. Or, perhaps you were musing over what those lucky Japanese folk were tucking into over in the Land of the Rising Sun? You can be sure our coverage will extend to those rare regional exclusives as much as those firmly embedded on the public consciousness.
For our latest entry, we dip our decomposing fingers into the downloadable mini outing, Zombie Tycoon.
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Developer: Frima Studio
Region(s) available: North America, Europe
Players: 1
Blimey, is there nothing that our ubiquitous, rotting friends can’t turn their bony hands to? Apparently, not, as Zombie Tycoon has the shambling monstrosities trying their luck at world domination in this top-down strategy romp. Yes, it’s another zombie apocalypse, this time inaugurated by the whacky experiments of one Dr. Brainhov, who’s hell bent on raising an army of undead. Typically, things don’t go quite according to plan. Brainhov ultimately turns himself into one of the moaning, groaning monstrosities, leaving command duties to long-suffering helper Ernest and a mysterious masked chap. And this is where you come in.
Zombie Tycoon’s premise isn’t anything too fancy; you manipulate the camera with the PSP’s analogue nub, and can order around up to three rotting sentinels at once to go about their global domination duties, city by city. Zombies can execute various context-sensitive commands depending on what the cursor’s pointing at. Want your undead horde to shuffle to a specific location? Point the cursor at any empty space and away they shamble. Want to unleash hell on an enemy? Then a quick point & click at said enemy will get the job done. You can also command all three squads simultaneously by hitting X.
Speaking of foes, your decomposing buddies will find themselves up against many different types of pesky human adversaries. Cops and army sorts will attempt to pepper you with bullets, while others may seek to barbeque the brain-hungry hordes with Molotov cocktails. If your adversaries manage to send all your squad back to the grave, however, it’s game over. Fortunately, you can augment your corpse collection by having zombies invade local hospitals and ‘convince’ its near-deceased occupants to join your ranks. You can also kit out your moaning minions with items that increase various attributes, such as defence, offence and movement. Check out the hilarious animal slippers for a stealthy upgrade.
Human opponents aren’t the only hazards to be on the lookout for, however. There’s also an assortment of traps to impede your rotting rampage, such as those that tear off limbs and bottomless pits. A checkpoint system is in place to ensure you don’t have to retrace your steps from the beginning, though there’s no mid-game save function. Zombie Tycoon offers up 10 stages to devourer, and players should be kept reasonably busy attempting to gobble up the extra helping of Achievements thrown in for good measure. Mmmm…braiiinnns.
Join us again tomorrow for another peak Inside PlayStation Network.