Yesterday we looked at a free-to-play iOS game from Natsume called Gabrielle’s Monster Match. It featured characters from Gabrielle’s Ghostly Groove 3-D, an adorably spooky music game for 3DS. Today we’ll take a look at a more recent free-to-play spinoff called Gabrielle’s Zombie Attack. It’s available for iOS devices as well, but reviewed on iPad here. It’s mostly similar to the puzzle game Zuma.

In the game, Gabrielle and her talking black cat Lola must prevent zombies from escaping a graveyard. The zombies march in a line, and if they reach the gate it’s Game Over. Luckily these zombies are weak against mandrakes (little plant monsters), so all you have to do is use your finger on the touch screen to pluck the mandrakes out of the ground and flick them at the zombies.

However, the zombies will only disappear if the mandrake is the same color as the zombie. Also, each zombie and mandrake has a number on it. The zombie will only disappear if the mandrake’s number is the same or higher. If it is lower, then it’ll just subtract from the zombie’s number and you’ll have to use another mandrake to finish the job. If you can match both the zombie’s color and number, then the zombie behind it will disappear, too! When you can’t make a match, the mandrake will just bounce off the zombie, but it’ll fill up a lightning meter that, when full, will let you clear out a bunch of zombies. You can also reload your arsenal of mandrakes, but this gives the zombies time to march ever closer.

In Story Mode, you’ll complete missions that require you to clear out a certain number of zombies, or finish a wave with a time limit. Performing certain tasks in this mode will unlock cards you can view in a gallery. Included in the free-to-play game is a Time Trial mode, but you have to buy Endless. As a free-to-play game, there are ads on the bottom of the screen sometimes, too. Unfortunately, the game isn’t very fun, controls aren’t always responsive, and it gets too hard too quickly.

Kid Factor:

The zombies aren’t scary at all, and the game could be considered somewhat educational as it teaches number comparison. Reading skill is needed for the text, and some kids may find the game boring and/or frustrating.

Tags: Game Reviews