Stubbs the Zombie (Xbox)
Article by – Jason Julier
The undead and their ilk, on the whole receive a bad press in the world of video games. Whether it’s legendary creatures such as vampires, werewolves and so on, they only exist to be shot, gutted or excised throughout the course of an adventure. This rule probably applies to zombies more than most. If Resident Evil with its T-Virus wasn’t enough, then House of the Dead allowed you to gun each and everyone in a bizarre free-for-all hunting marathon. However, Wideload Games for their first release turned the tables with Stubbs The Zombie In Rebel Without A Pulse.
Based on the title alone, it is a fair assumption to suggest that humour is prevalent in this release. After the brain munching has lost its initial appeal, you can laugh at the various sound bites and design elements that the team have incorporated. In a gaming first, expect to urinate in a medical facility pool until its totally infected. This is just one of several unique events that Wideload have put in this memorable adventure.
You take the role of Stubbs, a former travelling salesman who, for some reason, met a grisly end and awakes decades later from his grave. It’s not explained how or why this reanimation occurs, but there are some sinister powers behind the futuristic city of Punchbowl. As a zombie it is your fundamental role to spread disease and the joys of being a decaying soulless corpse. You take to this with ease and gladly redistribute your genes via innocent civilians, policemen or even the armed forces later on. Soon your zombie horde takes shape and can be left to stagger around each level, spreading more joy to anyone silly enough to try and stop the inevitable.
Stubbs himself has for some reason more of an understanding, and packs a punch with his extra powers. You can use your head as an exploding bowling ball, your extreme flatulence to knock out groups of opponents or your dynamite guts. Best of all is the option to rip off your arm and control the scampering limb as you seek out someone to possess and thereby control. You can rip off the arms of passers by, but this is only to use their limb as a baseball bat – fun, but not as enjoyable as possession.
Stubbs The Zombie has a great deal going for it, including an original soundtrack full of famous American period songs. But it does lack options, with only a co-operative mode and little else on offer. The graphics, despite the use of the Halo engine, soon become shrouded in fog and many of the levels feel similar and lack detail. Even with the options Stubbs has for combat, it can become repetitive.
At the end you’re left with an entertaining experience that still manages to be novel a few years after its release. For all its limitations there is no denying the charm and heart Stubbs the Zombie conveys, even though he has a huge chunk of his torso missing.
Actually, the reason why Stubbs reanimates is explained (or at least strongly hinted at) by Dr. Wye at the beginning of the lab level.
Good game this – what I played of it at least. Was quite impressed with the outdoor level near the beginning, the streets etc, looked really well done – think that was the halo engine doing its thing though.