For $10 and a title like Zombie Panic in Wonderland, how could I possibly ever turn that down. The WiiWare shooter has been getting some decent press, mostly for its admittedly very nice graphics. Everything looks really good and runs at a nice clip, and those titular zombies are animated really nicely.
I have to post a gameplay video of this one, because you wouldn't believe how fucking weird this game is otherwise. I couldn't really tell you the plot in detail, except that there's something to do with zombies, a panic, and the "secret of the scented dwarves." Yes. That's a real thing, and not another case of my schizophasia kicking in again.
Earlier this year, another really weird game from Japan was released on WiiWare called Muscle March – that game ruled, though, because it got by on its campy charm. Zombie Panic in Wonderland is campy too, yes, but underneath it all… well, I just found it to not be all that fun. If the game had more going for it than its nice graphics, wonderfully weird J-pop soundtrack, and zany storyline, it could have been a contender for weird niche game of the year.
See, basically, Zombie Panic in Wonderland is a 3D Galaga, with really, really slow moving targets. You move your character on the x-axis only, and fire with the IR pointer. It all works, sure, but after fifteen minutes, I was just bored, and you should never make a game called Zombie Panic in Wonderland boring. It might get more interesting with multiplayer, which I haven't tried yet, but the fact remains – Zombie Panic in Wonderland is a better title than it is a game.
(Time played: About an hour)
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The style of this game reminds me of Cabal for the NES and Sin and Punishment for the N64. It's too bad this game isn't any good, because I always liked the scrolling shooter where you had slight control over your character as in those games.
Funny, because I downloaded Sin and Punishment at the same time, thinking they'd make a good two-fer. Sin and Punishment is way, way better though (and the second one looks frickin' amazing).
Also, a small note – this one doesn't really scroll at all, so it's mostly just a shooting gallery, kind of playing into its repetitiveness. SERIOUSLY HOW DOES A GAME MAKE A FLAMETHROWER BORING? HOW?
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