Age of Zombies, developed by Halfbrick Studios, is a PlayStation Network game that is absolutely worth the $5 it costs. A combination of top-down shooting aspects coupled with hilarious dialogue and ridiculous sound effects have created a very fun experience for those looking for some quick fun. The game’s biggest fault is its length, which for me is way too short. Aside from that, Age of Zombies represents evolution for small game developers — an evolution that will put a bigger spotlight on the little guys as opposed to the gaming giants of the industry.

You’ll join Barry Steakfries, a manly man with a sense of justice, in Professor Brains’ laboratory. After a quaint conversation between Barry and Professor Brains, Barry discovers that a “Zomb Bomb” was used to spread the zombie virus to people. Brains has the genius idea of sending the zombies to the past to destroy humanity from the beginning. Luckily, Barry doesn’t really want that to happen and jumps into the time portal along with the zombies. Players will play through a few various levels, such as ancient Egypt, 1930s New York and feudal Japan. Barry Steakfries always has something witty to say when entering a new area, and his accent even adapts to the area he is in. Though the dialogue is minimal, the game really shines with its humor. Those who are in the loop with Internet jokes will appreciate this game even more, but it can be just as funny for those who aren’t.

The game itself is a very simple top-down shooter. You control Barry, who starts with a simple semi-automatic pistol. A massive amount of zombies constantly spawn from randomly placed time portals, and every now and then a new, more powerful weapon will appear for Barry’s use. Weapons vary from grenades, SMGs, flame throwers, bazookas, shotguns and more. Besides the pistol that Barry starts with, every weapon has a limited amount of ammo.

There are two modes of play in the game: story mode and survival mode. Story mode is the story of Age of Zombies, where the zombies travel in time and Barry Steakfries chases them down to save humanity. There are five different areas with three levels in each, so about 15 levels total in the story mode. Survival mode is simply a test to see how long you can survive against an infinite amount of zombies. A little incentive is added to the credits of the game, where instead of seeing a list of names, you see a few names with their individual scores in each level, making the player want to beat the developers at their own game. It is a nice little addition to a game as short as Age of Zombies.

My personal experience, though short, was worth the $5 price tag. Age of Zombies has an unheard of sense of humor, with jokes that those involved in the gaming community will love. This sense of humor is often absent from games today, but there seems to be an resurgence lately. Halfbrick Studios is a great representation of where games like Age of Zombies should be headed, with not just a development team but writers as well.

However, Age of Zombies is very generic in some obvious ways. It is a top-down shooter, reminiscent of hundreds of similar games available for download. Not only that, but the “zombies” idea has been done over and over in gaming, and though Age of Zombies tries to take it in a unique direction, it falls short into the area of cliché.

The music is very good, and some of the sound effects are hilarious. I would say my biggest qualm with the game would be its length and gameplay originality, but then again, it is rather fun.

Although Age of Zombies is a download only title and cannot be rented, it costs $5; I would say buy it if you are bored. Those who love these types of games, or maybe just want to relieve some stress in the form of lead on zombies, this is a great pickup. If you are looking for trophies, you shouldn’t even be in the Minis section of the PSN store, so this game would not be for you. However, for a quick piece of fun from a small developer, Age of Zombies is definitely worth a purchase.