Platform: iOS

Developer: Playforge Games LLC

Publisher: Playforge Games LLC

Release Date: July 8th, 2013

Genre: Platforming, Endless Runner

Nerd Rating: 5 out of 10! 

From the developers of Zombie Farm 2 comes Zombie Farm Escape, an endless runner platforming spin-off game in the Zombie Farm series. Following the true fashion of the endless runner fad, Zombie Farm Escape is essentially a re-skin clone of the Temple Run games. I don’t really see why a bunch of clones of Temple Run became a mobile gaming fad, but I know that there are too many clones in my opinion.

Zombie Farm Escape takes place when the zombies are captured by the first antagonist of Zombie Farm 2, Ol’ Mcdonnel. The goal of Zombie Farm Escape is to escape from Ol’ Mcdonnel’s farm while gathering other zombie friends to survive. Much like other endless runners, Zombie Farm Escape gameplay is very simple as you simply slide your finger up, down, and to the side in order to make your character jump, roll, or move over respectively.You will be using these finger controls to jump over, smash into, or avoid obstacles in your path. These said obstacles match the theme of being on a farm and consist of farmers driving tractors, hay bales, lakes, etc. Zombie Farm Escape is for the most part a pretty easy game, but it definitely gets more difficult as you keep running and gain speed. Before playing this game, I also recommend you completely forget what you know about zombies, because the zombies in this game aren’t just extremely fast, but can also do flips, rolls, and double jumps.

Like most endless runners, Zombie Farm Escape does have upgrades and power-ups that you can get while running as well as from the shop after doing a run. While running you will find magnets and zombie heads, which will get you a magnet and an additional zombie to run with you respectively. The upgrades for these power-ups are simply to make the magnet longer and to allow you to run with more zombies (the default max being 3 without upgrades). As you play, you will eventually unlock and be able to buy three more power-ups with coins, and these power-ups include a flying pig that you can ride, a golden apple which turns obstacles into coins, and finally a mad cow which you can ride that destroys any obstacles in its path. There is one more power-up that I haven’t mentioned yet, and the reason I haven’t mentioned it is because it will cost you $4.99 (or your regional equivalent) to unlock which is in every way overpriced as all it does is double the coins you pick up, which is in many other endless runners for free.

The art style of Zombie Farm Escape is decent but nothing special. The game has a very cartoon-esque style much like Zombie Farm 2. One of the biggest issues I have with the art style is the skybox in the background that is done so poorly due to the foreground moving that it looks as though you are chasing a green screen. The very thick black lines around the characters is pretty annoying and in my opinion unnecessary. Two of the obstacles in particular, a pile of logs and a barrel, looks extremely out of place and very fake, which annoys me when I play the game. Perhaps the absolute worst part of the game is the very annoying soundtrack and sound effects. There is nothing in the sound effects or soundtrack that sounds like it even remotely belongs in this game or in any game at all. I highly recommend having your volume off if you decide to play this game.

I simply can’t recommend Zombie Farm Escape at all. While I will say that it most definitely is not the worst endless runner that was bred in this fad, it also isn’t anywhere near the best. The gameplay and graphics are the best parts of the game, and even they aren’t that good. If you are going to play an endless runner, and even worse spend money on them (this costs $0.99,) then I highly recommend Boson X, not Zombie Farm Escape.

Written by Nerd Bacon