Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie BBQ

Rating Teen Genre arcade shooter Publisher Destineer

We all have a Z-Day plan, but what about those in the storybook realm?  What happens when childhood memories face uncertain zombification?  Well, time for Little Red Riding Hood to grow some boobs and get a gun.  It may seem crass to you, but it’s exactly what happens with Little Red Riding Hood’s Zombie BBQ from Destineer.  After the woodcutter’s death in battle, the land of the dead invades the land of fairytales.  Grandma, The Three Little Pigs,  even Pinocchio suffers the wrath of the untimely disease, forcing Little Red Riding Hood to dispense some hard core horror-survival justice.

Your character gets a seven-block row at the bottom of the touch screen.  You can move with the D-pad, but the game can be completely touch navigated.  Tap the square you are on to have your character duck.  Drag along the bottom to move left and right.  Tap any square to do a dodge roll to that position.  Touching enemies will activate your overdeveloped trigger finger.  The dual screen shows you what’s coming and what’s in front of you as you scroll upward through vertical maps.   You can even time your character’s shots to reach an area on the dual screen in order to stop zombies in their tracks long before they reach you.  If any zombies get up close and personal, furiously tap the screen in order to enter melee combat.

As you progress through each level, your progress is automatically saved once you finish each stage.  During combat, you have the option to collect and store special weapons, such as a shotgun, laser or flamethrower.  Tap each weapon symbol to choose between them.  Also, you can collect grenades.  Double-tap any area above your movement row and you can launch a grenade.  Kill each zombie, waste each boss while avoiding their movement and attack patterns, and move on to the end.

Casual gaming has heavily influenced this title and, unfortunately, the novelty wears off as quickly as you pick it up.  Only those who are willing to reach the end will do so.  The ups about this game lie entirely in its execution.  Every technical aspect of the DS has been honed perfectly.  No stray touches (except the occasional accidental grenade launch) and collision detection is remarkable.  Destineer took the time to make sure its product worked properly in every detail, and that’s something you don’t see everyday nowadays.