Zombie Blitz

To some, the idea of vegetables sprouting legs, sporting faces, and generally taking on a life of their own might seem a little bizarre.

Then again, those folk probably haven't seen the tray in the bottom of my fridge.

Interestingly, however, while the pumpkins and sweetcorns that lead the line in Zombie Blitz may look a touch menacing – the former sporting bright green eyes after an upgrade or two – they're actually the ones saving the day, holding the hordes of zombies back from ravishing the world's flesh.

Something they can only do, of course, with a little help from you.

As such, Zombie Blitz follows the standard tower defence model, with a wealth of enemies charging down a set track towards your base in waves.

Your role is to place a growing array of what can only be described as 'vege-men' along the edges, each one firing automatically as their foe passes by.

Credit is earned when the zombies – which range from speedy flying skulls to slow trudging mummies – are floored. This credit enables you to both plant more units on the ground and upgrade those you've already secured.

This is the one area where Zombie Blitz feels out of step with many of its rivals. Upgrading really is the be all and end all, with the game seemingly weighted towards powering up the units already present rather than placing as many as your bank balance will allow.

It's a balance that takes some getting used to. In early levels, it's easy to find enemies slipping past with ease, chipping away at your base even if, on the surface, it looks as if you've got all angles covered.

The problem is, once you've come to terms with Zombie Blitz's particular approach to tower defence, there's not much left to surprise you.

The game's only real mark of distinction is the ability to clear the map of obstacles. Tapping '5' on any square occupied by level architecture will result in any units you have in the area firing to free up the space.

The downside of that, of course, is that while they're taking down a tree or freeing up a rock they're not shooting at the scores of zombies dashing by.

Still, in most of the early stages, finding space isn't an issue. Instead, judging whether Zombie Blitz has enough to keep you engaged will be at the forefront of your mind.

It's certainly no car crash, but the track its band of beasts wanders down is a little too plain and a little too predictable to serve up the kind of fruity experience you may expect from a game involving zombies.