Endless runners are as ubiquitous as zombies. Beatshapers latest release, Z-Run, combines swift movement with masses of the living dead. Running passed the zombies only works if they are far away from you. However you will need to slide, dodge, kick and utilize melee/projectile weapons to get to the end of the relatively brief stages. The challenge is that there are one too many barricades, cars, gates and barriers in the environment in addition to the zombies. Those objects serve to guide the path you take but they must be dodged, slid under or jumped over too frequently.
Any swift movement in Z-Run comes with a cost. You have health and stamina meters at the bottom of the screen along with their color-coated corresponding pick-ups. Every slide, dodge, jump or kick takes a little away. While it does replenish itself slowly I found that some moves take away almost unfair amounts of it. Taking out zombies earns you XP which allows you to earn points. These points can be used, in-between stages, to level up abilities like: vitality, toughness, agility, recovery, stamina, item/weapon capacity and more. Weapons you gather in stages can be stored in your inventory and selected on the map screen before you take on another mission.
The campaign is accompanied by a survival mode that offers 3 areas and actual endless running. Ultimately Z-Run is a game that sounds like more fun than it is. Your initially underpowered character combined with overpowered zombies and overused environmental hazards bite and chew away at the fun you could be having.
Recommendation: Worth a buy on sale – if you like a challenge and death by crowd control barriers
Full Disclosure: This PS Vita version of this game was provided to GameEnthus by the publisher.
Genre: endless runner with Zombies!!
Developer: Beatshapers Ltd.
Publisher: Beatshapers Ltd.
Platforms: PS Vita
Price: $8.99
http://beatshapers.com/zrun
http://GameEnthus.com
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/gameenthus-podcast-video-games/id286435007?mt=2
Scale:
Worth a buy – paying full price for fans of the series or genre makes sense – often includes a caveat
Worth a buy on sale – not quite full price worthy – often includes a caveat
No – borrow it if you must play it
Please no – Don’t waste any time and/or money on it