To be honest, I recently had some free time and played a new game called "Blast That Zombie". I didn't have much expectations. After all, there have been too many idle idle mobile games in recent years, and most of them have changed skins. But this game reminded me of those zombie-themed games I played on the Nokia N73 more than ten years ago. I suddenly felt a little emotional and wanted to post about it.
Let's talk about the game itself first. Not to brag, it does combine "hanging up" and "strategic defense" quite comfortably. The setting of millions of zombies coming sounds bluffing, but after getting started, I found that it is actually a variant of the classic tower defense - build a defense line, upgrade technology, recruit special forces, and then watch a bunch of green little people on the screen automatically fight zombies. The operation is really simple, and you can hang up with just a few clicks. It is suitable for office workers like us to play secretly when fishing. The painting style is a somewhat rough cartoon wasteland style, which is quite pleasing to the eye and does not burn out the phone's configuration.
But the point I want to make is not so much about the game itself, but that it reminds me of some of the older zombie games I've played in the past. I don't know if there are any guys from the Symbian era on the forum. Back then, there was a series of Java games called “Zombie Death” and “Land of the Dead”, which were pixelated and awkward to operate, but at that time, I could press the keys with a nine-square grid keyboard. The one that left the deepest impression was that you had to search for supplies, block doors, and make simple weapons in a supermarket. Zombies were coming from all directions, making you feel tense. You must know that the mobile phone screen at that time was only 2.4 inches, and the number of colors was only 65536. However, many masterpieces cannot achieve that kind of immersion.
Later, when Android first came out, I played the ported version of "Plants vs. Zombies". Although the PC version was already broken, the experience of placing sunflowers with your fingers on your phone was still fresh. Later, there was a survival sandbox like "Zombie Apocalypse", but when I played it, it felt too boring. To be honest, the current zombie mobile games are either about earning money to draw cards or changing skins to fight zombies, and there are fewer of them who are truly sincere.
"Blast That Zombie" is a free game with no in-app purchases. The developer, Nanjing Moye Network Technology, is relatively well-known and has released several casual stand-alone games before. This kind of charging model is quite rare in the current mobile game environment. At least they don't want to cheat you. Moreover, there is a "Technology Research" system in the game, which actually requires hanging up and waiting for a while. It is not the kind of krypton-gold-second upgrade routine, which surprised me a little.
In short, if you are an old player and want to relive the simple and pure feeling of hanging up to defend your homeland, you can try this game. But don't expect any in-depth plot or stunning visuals. It's just the kind of short-grade work that “turn on your phone to fight two zombies, turn it off to do whatever you need to do”. For me, it's worth it to be able to get back a little bit of the feeling of hiding in bed and playing mobile games in my busy life.
Finally, I would like to ask, does anyone else remember the name of the game on Symbian that uses infrared to fight zombies online? I've been thinking about it for several days and haven't remembered it...😅