Both Xbox Live Indie Games, and the Playstation equivalent of Minis, can be slightly hit or miss in the titles that they deliver to the market. With so many indie developers trying to get a foothold into the industry as a whole, and many individuals learning and having fun with the service it seems hard for games to become noticed and rise to the top. However when these games rise up to the top they usually turn out to be some of the best games around. Laughing Jackal’s OMG-Z (oh my god zombies) is one of those lucky few that rise though to shine from the top of the pile.

This is not your typical zombie shooting affair. This isn’t a game of survival, at least not a normal one; this isn’t even one threat. The zombies in question don’t even pose any threat to you, at least not a threat you can see immediately. At its core OMG-Z is very much a game for completionists, and so the threat posed by the zombies manifests itself in their ability to evade the sights of your gun and ruin your chance of that oh so lovely platinum medal on each level. If anything its key feature is so deeply ingrained into planning and forward thinking that it turns into a new style of survival, it becomes a zombie game all about strategy. And what is this key feature that OMG-Z has that separates it from the extremely crowded zombie genre?

Chain reactions. Chain reactions smash a level of strategy into a wonderfully stale world of zombies, something that had only been freshened up by PopCaps Plants Vs. Zombies. In Laughing Jackal’s world of zombie horror the zombies explode, least your basic zombies do. Some zombies fire guns upon their death, others dissolve leaving behind pools of deadly acid that then cause damage to other zombies too; alongside the zombies are the ever handy explosive barrel that bathes zombies in damaging fire, and if timed correctly can very effectively spread the starting points for each chain reaction and create maximum coverage of each level. And this is where the survival element comes into play. You have a limited number of bullets until the level ends, and thus intwined with the strategy of chain reactions the ideal is to end the level with a bullet or two left (Some levels can be completed with just a single shot if planned right).

To add to all the thinking you have to undertake in clearing out the city, there is a very RPGesque levelling system integrated nicely into the game. The system adds a lot more than one would first expect, by using money gained through getting medals in the levels you can improve your character directly or make the zombies themselves more effective in expanding the chain reactions. All in all the system works incredibly well, you can improve how many times a bullet from a gun ricochets or how many zombies it goes through, you can expand the explosion radius and damage of a gun too. Even with all the upgrades full it doesn’t secure you with the lofty heights of the platinum medals on levels, on the harder levels it takes skill and timing to secure a perfect sweep and the inclusion of a full upgrades system only aids in attaining it.

Ultimately this game delivers an amazing package for such a small price. It has minimal failings, such as the grey aesthetic making it awkward to pick out where zombies are and which way they are facing. However Laughing Jackal addressed this by allowing you to hold down a button and then suddenly all the zombies become coloured by type, which is very handy. OMG-Z has a wonderful comic design style to it and with the numerous levels and great gameplay it makes it an irresistible Playstation Minis title to pick up. It’s perfect for a quick blast on the train or even a prolonged gaming session on the sofa. In the end this is a title that deserves all the attention it gets given and its by far one of the best Minis available on the store.

To sum up: It’s addictive, its fun and its rammed full of blood, zombies and good times.

5/5

(Also as of going to press the game is also part of PS+ meaning you have no excuse to not pick it up.)