Review: Texting Of The Bread - Typing To Kill
by Felix Xiao
October 5, 2010
Overview
There are plenty of zombie shooters in the app store, but none are near as innovative as ScrewAttack's homage to Sega's Typing of the Dead. Rather than applying heavy firearms, you type words to use as weapons against a horde of mutilated gingerbread zombies in a game that'll improve your iPhone texting skills.
Features
The game has arcade, freeplay, and survival modes packed with 75 levels that provide over 10 hours of gameplay time. As the levels progress in arcade and survival modes, stronger zombies appear with different forms and frequencies. To kill the monsters, you simply type the word that appears in a bubble above their heads. Every time you eliminate a certain number of menacing gingerbread men, a meter fills up, and you can shake your device to unleash a deadly tsunami of milk upon the enemies. 70 or so achievements and leaderboards are included as well.The Good
Texting of the Bread is really easy to learn, but could really benefit you in several ways. The entirety of the game is played using the default iPhone keyboard, and only typing accuracy and speed can save you from an unlucky fate. If you've never been good at texting, sending emails, or any other form of typing on your iDevice, this game will really help you. As you get further into the game, you'll need to type progressively faster, and by the time you reach level 70 or so, there's no doubt that you'll be a legend at the iPhone keyboard. The game stands out from the numerous zombie shooters because it has more depth than just aiming and firing at monsters. Texting of the Bread features a concept that is scarce in quantity in the app store, and the usage of gingerbread men adds a delicious yet evil twist to the game. The milk effects are superb, and it feels lovely watching ten or more angry bakery delicacies drown in their perfect snacktime companion.
There is much variety to the words that you have to type to extinguish the zombies, and they're often grouped as parts of entertaining messages. Small enemies with one letter each sometimes warn you of upcoming bosses and minibosses. Quite a few waves in arcade mode have words from a similar category, and you won't find yourself typing the same words repeatedly.
The Bad
The downside to a game with such a simple concept is apparent in Texting of the Bread. While there are 75 included levels and 3 game modes, the game still gets repetitive. In every level, you simply type the words that show up on the screen and shake your device once every minute or so. It would be nice to have more types of gingerbread men, as well as other elements so that the game doesn't get stale so quickly.
If you've been using your device to reply to emails, type up notes, or even just search for a game in the app store, then you've probably already mastered the art of texting. An iPhone newbie will find the game very exciting as they get accustomed to using the keyboard, but anyone else will find the game extremely easy and boring. It is really easy to get to wave 20 or so without ever losing a life, as the difficult level increases very slowly.
