A $1 game that deserves to be a 2009 Game of the Year nominee: addictive, funny, cheap, and definitely not to be missed
You play as some nameless gunman. There's no story to speak of. All you know about the game is told to you in its title. This is a GAM3, and it has Z0MB1ES. You walk around a field just shooting away at zombies. There is a good amount of depth to the gameplay though which comes in the form of power-ups. Scattered throughout, appearing and then disappearing if not picked up promptly, are power-up that give you upgrades. You could receive a protective barrier, a flamethrower, a laser beam that pierces through multiple enemies, or one of many other upgrades. These power-ups provide depth to the game as they are ammo-based. If you simply use your flamethrower blindly and non-stop, it will go away. Mastering conservation of the ammo is key to become a great Z0MB1E survivor. There are a few different enemy types and they appear throughout the game becoming increasing more difficult. The simplicities of I MAED A GAM3 makes it addictive to start, but surprising depth really makes you want to keep your controller and keep on playing.
Also, the game is a really sensory treat. The visual are simply and cartoony to start, but evolve into some ridiculous, groovy disco-like field filled with nightclub-esque lighting and fluorescents. Occasionally, it can become difficult to see everything, including your character, but it's not particularly annoying as it's so ridiculous that the game went to such a goofy extreme.
The goofiness is only welcomed due to the game's music. Right from the first few seconds of the game, you know the game's creators were having a blast making it. There is 7th grade garage-band quality guitar thrashing coupled with atrocious wailing of lines like "it cost a dollar, and I hope you play it." The game starts off by acknowledging that it's a cheap, simple game, and you're immediately brought in on the joke. Had it not been for the excellent gameplay. I MAED would have been immediately dismissed as a complete joke and the music would have been mocking the player for wasting their 80 MSP. But, thanks to some odd alignment of the stars, everything works, and the game actually succeeds at being hilarious. When the game really picks up and enemies are flooding the screen, the hoakiness stops and the music also intensifies, only to fuse the singing and epicness together for an awesome grand finale.
The game only has one song, and the amount of enemies on screen and difficulty go along fantastically with the changing rhythms and moods of the song. The only problem is, once the song is done, the game is done. You only have to survive about 5 minutes before the game abruptly ends and you are asked to put in your initials for the leader board. This can get really annoying, especially when you have many lives saved up and are really on fire. The game's leader board (which unfortunately is not online) does add incentive to replay it, and the addictive nature of the game also contributes to the replay value, but I MAED is definitely hurt by its length.
Overall, I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1 is an utter blast. It's the epitome of addictive gaming and makes the player want to sit down and stare at the horde of foes on screen for hours on end. Aside from being a great game, it also feels like an experience. You could tell the creators had a really fun time making the game, the titles and music are dead giveaways of that, and playing it really makes you feel like you're taking part in their fun. For $1, there really aren't many, if any, good reasons to put off downloading this title.