We Hate Zombies

Title: Pandemic II (click to play)
Style: Strategy Simulation
Source: www.crazymonkeygames.net

Unlike movie sequels which more often than not destroy the will to live, flash game sequels tend to get better, bit by bit, as the original is expanded and upgraded. Sometimes they get a lot better, sometimes only a little. We’ve seen it before in all the sequels we’ve reviewed so far, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that this game is better than the original.

To some extent, it’s the same game. You can customize your virus as it lives, and you can watch it spread across the earth and strike down the common man like a cosmic gavel in the world’s most depressing courtroom. But there are changes, updates, enhancements. For instance, you can now monitor geographic regions with more precision, determining if an airport, hospital, or school is open. You also get a better world summary that describes attempts at creating a vaccine, how many days you’ve been in the killin business, and how many people you’ve ruined the lives of. Now that’s convenient!

The graphics are also a lot better. I liked the original’s leanness, but the new version actually has something to look at. In this game, you can watch airplanes and boats move around the globe, and everything is generally just much more polished than before. Unfortunately, I couldn’t figure out how to view the whole world at once, which was kind of a downer.

As for changing the fundamentals of the game, there is now a choice between virus, bacteria, or parasite, and each one has a little different feel to it. Do you want to be the parasite that lives in a penis, or a bacterium that enlarges the thyroid? They just change things up a bit, and I’m sure that makes a bit of a difference in the game.

I liked it. It’s addictive. It takes a little while, but there’s a casual mode for people less addicted than me. Overall, it’s not a zombie game, it’s not a killin zombie game, it’s an infection game. However, this could easily be changed if only the creator added a characteristic, “Dead rise to attack living.” Then it would be like the future.

Game Score:

Graphics:		4
Sound:		?
Fun Factor:		5
Satisfaction:		5
Total: