Review: Zombieland: Headshot Fever

It’s “Time to nut up or shut up” as we dive into Zombieland: Headshot Fever, the latest game set in the Zombieland universe.

Featuring the characters, action and humour of the hit movie franchise, we see Tallahassee, Wichita, Columbus and Little Rock rolling up in Silicon Valley to run the Zombieland Invitational - the fastest, most dangerous zombie killing race course ever devised.

This light-gun game has been built for VR. Set across a multitude of levels this action arcade game will challenge you to beat the fastest time and surviving as you battle through scenes full of zombies.

Adrenaline and Double Tap

The main feature is adrenaline mode, this is crucial to the gameplay and how you’ll rack up combos, get faster times and slow the scene so you can better aim for that next headshot. “Rule #2 The Double tap” Hitting a zombie in the head twice in a row will enable this mode so accuracy is key especially since if you miss that second shot it won’t count. Don’t worry though like most great arcade shooters each level is learnable with the same spawn and attack points so you can practise getting those smoother runs.

What’s great about this feature is it adds to the enjoyment, you don’t find yourself getting bored of rerunning a level instead you find it more and more fun as you improve and progress close to beating those high scores.

If you’re looking for ways to maintain your combo keep an eye out for explosives throughout the scenes as these will give the player a short adrenaline boost. If you’d rather you can also use your special weapon to extend combos with shotguns being a great way to battle those tougher zombies and SMGs on the weaker ones.

Shooting Range

You don’t have to be highly skilled to enjoy this game, you can progress and still have fun as you’re naturally improving. If you do want to practise your skills before taking on the undead then you can jump into the shooting range and practise hitting those targets.

“It's amazing how quickly thing can go from 'bad' to 'total shit-storm'” so make sure to also practise reloading as in those tense moments you can find yourself fumbling for ammo which isn’t going to end well.

Challenges

Little Rock’s level select shows off a bunch of challenges for you to try and complete per level. These can feature a few different things such as time trials, prop hunting and limited load-outs. Don’t worry about trying to finish them all in your first run, you can go back to take them on again and again.

Within the menu, if you also pay a visit to Columbus he’ll show you a whole host of additional challenges. These will help you to unlock perks and in turn, give you that each little boost as you’re going after those improved runs.

Weapons and Skins

Tallahassee has you’re back when it comes to weapons and will even upgrade them, but it’ll cost you. Load outs are important as you can only carry two weapons per run, one main weapon (infinite ammo) and one special weapon (with limited ammo). I’m a fan of the infinite ammo pistols but it’s handy to have a shotgun or machine gun on hand for those moments you feel a bit overwhelmed as you struggle to reload as you’re being rushed.

Skins are a subtle feature of the weapons, don’t be expecting over the top crazy additional looks but they provide a nice alternative look to show off your progress. I say this as they are unlocked by completing challenges throughout the game.

Perks

As mentioned earlier by completing Columbus’s challenges you’ll unlock new perks. Players can equip a max of two. There are a whole host of them to choose from such as Focus which helps to retain your adrenaline, Rock Steady which reduces recoil and Ammo Sack which increase the ammo of your special weapon.

Final Thoughts

A very enjoyable VR game, that’s had me challenging myself over and over again to beat my previous run scores and continue to complete the challenges. It has got just the right balance of fast, fun gameplay but whilst keeping its concept simple yet solid. If you’re looking for a new arcade shooter then this may be the one for you!

Zombieland: Headshot Fever

Platforms: Oculus (Available Now), PC VR and PlayStation VR (Coming later in the year)

Price: $19.99 / £14.99

Developer: XR Games Ltd. Publisher: XR Games

Rating: PEGI 16

I received 'Zombieland: Headshot Fever' for free, to play and review thanks to the team at XR Games who kindly gifted a Oculus copy of the game.