Review: Tap of the Dead

by Matt Fox

April 25, 2009

Overview

New York City has been overrun by zombies. What should you do next? Grab a shotgun? Find a safe and secure place to hide? Nope...pull out your IPhone/IPod Touch and tap your way through the horde of the undead in this fast-paced game that is sure to take your reflexes to the level.

Features

This game is pretty straight forward here and doesn't have a large amount of features in it. (not that it really needs them) The game features over 45 different levels that are based on actual locations in and around New York City. Not a bad addition if you're familiar with that particular city and its surroundings. There's also over 40 different zombies that try and attack you so things don't get boring or stale. tap1

A future update is coming that will add a survival mode where you will have an unlimited amount of time and an unlimited amount of zombies thrown at you. A basic, "How long can you survive," type of thing. There is also a world leader board addition coming that will allow you to see how you match up against other players around the world.

Breakdown

The Good:

It's simple and entertaining...what more can you ask for? The game is well worth the price of $1.99. It looks and sounds great. Amazing detail on the backgrounds and character models too. The controls are simple and you basically just follow the pattern and hope you can tap fast enough before being eating by the zombies coming after you...and there's a ton of them coming after you!

The Bad:

Although the controls are simple in concept, tap the shape that corresponds to the pattern shown and defeat the zombie, they aren't as responsive as you'd like them to be. I noticed that sometimes when I would tap one of the shapes it didn't register right away and there was a very small lag going on there. Now, this might not be that big of a deal in any other game, but time is crucial here as the longer you take the closer the zombies are to eating you. It gets a little frustrating at times. menu21

The only other thing "bad" about this game is it is very similar to "Typing of the Dead" released in '99 by Sega in arcades and later ported to the Dreamcast in 2000. (wow, I'm a nerd for knowing that) Anyways, if you played that game and really enjoyed it...this is kind of a cheaper version of that in my opinion. Maybe that's why someone might like this though? To each his/her own I guess. For me, I was a little disappointed.

The Verdict

So here's the bottom line folks, the game is fun and entertaining. No doubts there. It does have a few minor issues about it as well that might make you want to stay away. It's also similar to "Typing of the Dead", but not in a good way. Is it worth the money, yes...but make sure you realize what you're getting. Check out the screen shots and read the reviews. If after all of that you're still intrigued...try it out. It is fun and as someone that's a fan of the zombie genre, I like the game...but the replay value on it is pretty low compared to the other games that I own.