Stubbs the Zombie
Review
Scares U.S. government officials but makes regular gamers laugh
by Lazarus
reviewed on PC
Time of retribution
After all these years of hunting down and killing every kind of video game monster imaginable, finally it's the zombies' turn to get even. "Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel without a Pulse" puts you in control of a fully functional reanimated dead body, complete with a detachable arm, head and guts that are used as weapons against the living. Along with these unlikely weapons, Stubbs has a few bad habits such as eating the brains of his victims. This is a particularly nasty habit of course, and with human brains as your primary diet, one would only expect that the result of eating all of those corrupt, dirty minds could result in a devastating area effect weapon that I'll get into more detail about later. The result of attacking your living enemies initially is not to destroy them, but to recruit them into your resurrected zombie horde.
Expected reaction from U.S. government officials
Reactions to Stubbs the Zombie have come quickly from activist groups and even two U.S. Senators: In "Stubbs the Zombie," the lead character eats the brains of humans as blood splatters across the screen... It's just the worst kind of message to kids? They can be dangerous to your children's health. These are just a few of the complaints registered by some of the government officials who've obviously never been chased around the screen by a hungry zombie before. Most zombies are bad news and need to be eliminated as quickly as possible, but Stubbs is on a mission that only becomes totally clear in his final battle.
Fate of Edward
Edward "Stubbs" Stubblefield's story starts with his untimely death in 1933, when Stubbs was a traveling insurance salesman. One day, one of his prospective customers obviously took him the wrong way and wasted him with a shotgun blast to the belly, then buried him in an open field in Pennsylvania. Fast forward to 1959, and the open field where Stubbs is buried has been transformed into Punchbowl, PA, a retro futuristic city not unlike the genre of (for those of you old enough to remember) Buck Rodgers. Billionaire playboy Andrew Monday, the world's richest man, used experimental technology to create this 50's futurama, complete with hover cars and robot assistants. Then for some unknown reason the same day that the gates to Punchbowl are opened to the world, Stubbs arises from the grave to begin his brain munching reign of terror.
Humor is the key
Stubbs does not have to work hard to get you laughing, the basic premise of the game is funny enough, (except, of course, to the aforementioned stuffed government shirts) but when you add the lines mumbled by Stubbs and screamed by his victims while being assimilated, it's enough to have you hitting the escape button to contain yourself before continuing. Stubbs is a very funny game that does not try to force comedic situations, as some other games try to; rather it creates instances that are patently ridiculous because of the surreal 50's futuristic environment and the premise that you are in fact a zombie, commanding your zombie troops around much like a general on the battlefield. Stubbs can order his minions to follow him by whistling to them or by pushing them in the way of enemy fire. Otherwise once you become a zombified minion, you pretty much need to eat brains to survive so you don't necessarily need to be told to attack your enemies, Stubbs is just your basic zombie platoon commander.
Weapons of a dead man
Your organic weaponry as I mentioned before, is bestowed to you in stages as you progress through the game. First, you will learn the all important area effect stun weapon, "Unholy Flatulence", which gives you the opportunity to momentarily disable your enemies so that you can eat their brains. Next you will learn how to remove a portion of your bowels and use it as a ranged hand grenade type weapon. The most important weapon in your arsenal is your detachable arm that once deployed can crawl up walls and on ceilings, through air ducts, etc. The arm can also be used to sneak up on someone, attach to their head and possess them, giving you complete control of their weapons and other abilities. Finally you will learn how to detach your head and bowl over your enemies. The head weapon can also spit at victims, while rolling around, infecting them for zombification or be exploded much like the guts grenade. Your health and all of your weapons need to be re-charged or powered up over time by (what else?) eating lots and lots of brains.
8.0
fun score
No Pros and Cons at this time
