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Audio Defence - Zombie Arena

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Audio Defence - Zombie Arena

With Audio Defence - Zombie Arena, sound-only game maker Somethin' Else asks whether you can survive an arena filled with zombies, by only using your ears.

The answer is yes: you'll look like a goofball spinning around in circles with headphones on and your eyes shut, but sharp audio makes it surprisingly easy to pinpoint the screams, shuffles, and belches of the undead.

But, it loses its appeal when it gets too hard, and the gameplay gets a little old quite fast. It's an ideal Halloween gimmick, but perhaps not a must-play game.

Can you hear me now?

The game is split into challenges, where you are plopped at the centre of an arena and then set upon by zombies.

Your screen only shows four buttons: shoot, reload, change weapon, and melee attack. You move by spinning on the spot (though there are others options if you're sitting down) and find zombies by listening.

You'll also have to listen to the incessant babbling of Dr. Bastard - the tiresomely sadistic organiser of this event, who prattles on and provides instructions over an omnipresent loudspeaker.

Braaains

Things start simple with basic zombies that shuffle towards you. But you'll soon have to juggle different weapons, slot machines that offer power-ups, annoying generators that drown out sounds, and more advanced enemies.

There are chainsaw-wielding maniacs that zig zag through the arena, but you can track them by the whir of their machinery.

Farts are a dead giveaway for the gaseous zombies that explode when they die. Let one get too close and you'll be left with a ringing in your ears.

There's a lot to do, and the game introduces new mechanics slowly. Plus you can jump into an endless mode that randomly lets in waves of zombies for you to annihilate until you kick the bucket.

Bang bang

Overall, it works as advertised. You'll hear a zombie just behind your left ear, spin on the spot to meet it, let off a few revolver shots, and hear the walker scream out in pain.

It can also get pretty tense, especially as you hear a thumping heart beat as zombies get close. But the barmy set-up and short levels stop it from being too scary.

Once you start getting really overwhelmed by zombies in later levels it's decidedly less fun. And you start to question the fairness of pitting a blind person against a pack of ravenous monsters.

Sure you can upgrade your guns, increase your arsenal, and boost the efficacy of power-ups. But the one power-up you start to crave is the ability to peek out from under your blindfold.

The Talking Dead

There are also some annoying quirks like unresponsive buttons and the game straight-up crashing to the home screen too.

Audio Defence - Zombie Arena is a clever idea, and it's executed well. It's also Somethin' Else's most approachable game yet and the easiest to show to a friend without a lengthy explanation, which makes it a perfect game to have on your phone for parties.

But a game that you'll sit down with (or, I suppose, stand up with) and play through to completion? That's a harder sell.

Audio Defence - Zombie Arena

Audio Defence expertly executes on a clever idea. But it's more of a fun gimmick than a game you'll want to keep coming back to
Score
Mark Brown
Mark Brown
Mark Brown is editor at large of Pocket Gamer