ZOMBIE GAMES

There are a lot of games where you slice the rope (or in this case chain) and try to complete your goal based on the physics of the environment. This one keeps me interested because it's challenging, but not so hard that it's overly frustrating. Oh, and your goal is to smash zombies in the face with a wrecking ball!

You don't have to knock the zombies off their platforms, just make them fall over, which is a big distinction. Often times, I don't even hit the zombie with the ball, I knock over some kind of crate or something which then barely touches the zombie, but just enough to knock him over. Strangely, when a zombie falls on another zombie, they don't interact at all, so you can't fling one zombie into another, you need a wrecking ball, crate, or some other object.

My favorite level so far has been one that incorporates 1) more zombies than wrecking balls 2) good guys that you can't knock over and 3) moving platforms. Which zombies do I hit with which wrecking ball? How should I time it so that the platform will be just at the right height to kill the zombies? Why does that stupid good guy keep getting in the way?!

With so many different variables interacting, this game has complicated, but interesting puzzles... and zombie face-smashing!

Lego zombies are attacking! Despite looking eerily similar to my favorite childhood toys, these zombies are not to be toyed with. You need to protect your home (the hearts at the end of the path) and you don't have very much time between waves, so get building!

Spend your allotted amount of money on tower defenses and then hit the 'Start Next Wave' button. You can continue to place towers during a wave, which I found very helpful since I often ran out time between waves. That fast-paced nature of the game will really keep you on your toes.

The only thing I don't like about this game is the scrolling. I recommend keeping your finger close to the spacebar, because it will stop the dizzying screen movement. It is a little annoying to have to hold down the spacebar so much, but I'm willing to overlook it for the overall theme of the game.

Minifig Zombie Tower Defense, you had me at Lego.

You ran into an abandoned farmhouse to escape the zombie apocalypse, but now what? You have no choice but to wander the house in search of useful objects and information. If you're persistent and creative, you just might get out with your life.

A lot of 3D point-and-click puzzle games require you to pick up objects and use them in other places. In this game, objects can be combined in your inventory to form new ones. If you pick up an object and it doesn't combine with anything, you can click on the hand symbol to get rid of it.

The thing that I like most about this game is that it gives you hints as to how to proceed without totally spelling it out for you. There's just enough mystery to keep you interested without overwhelming you with too many choices. And a glimpse of a zombie here and there, though not an immediate danger, adds a nice thrill to the post-apocalyptic theme.

Do you have what it takes to survive?

Lure the unsuspecting zombies to their demise using delicious-smelling brains. They'll follow the smell of brains anywhere-- off a cliff, for example. There are lots of different ways of killing zombies, and I like that this game has thought of some of the more creative ones.

The zombies almost seem like lemmings blindly walking toward the scent of brains. Yet, even though the zombies are easily fooled, the puzzles aren't easy to solve. Many times they require more than one step and multiple brains which need to be dropped in the right place at the right time.

Once you've beaten a level, you can go back and play it again at any time. Many levels have a coin that you can get if a brain touches it, but they're usually very difficult to get. I have to admit I watched a bit of the walkthrough with coins and some of the methods to get coins are fairly ingenius. The coins are sort of like an expert mode for the game if it starts getting too easy.

Overall, this game is fun and challenging. If you beat all the levels, you can always play through the first All We Need Is Brain, or go back and get all the coins. And if you get really frustrated, there's always the walkthrough. Good luck!

Nothing spreads the holiday spirit like Infectonator-- and by "holiday spirit" I mean zombie virus. Your objective for each level is usually to kill or infect a certain number of people. You get one chance to drop your infection where it will do the most damage, then sit back and watch the mayhem.

Even if you don't hit the level's quota on the first try, you still earn money for every person you infect or kill and for damage to property. You have to manually collect the coins using your mouse, and then when the level is over, you can use them to upgrade different aspects of your virus.

My favorite part of the Infectonator series is the speech bubbles. In this Christmas version, they say things like "Merry Christmas" and "I love the snow" which quickly change to "Baby Jesus!" and "Santa's dead?!" once you unleash the zombies. Overall, this game is fun and Christmassy, but pretty simple. Of course, you can always try the other Infectonators if you want more of a challenge.