Review: Infected – PSP

by Nick Haywood on 14 October 2006, 13:09

Tags: THQ (NASDAQ:THQI), Shoot 'em up

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And the bells were rining out, for Christmas Day...



Violent zombies infected with a killer virus intent on destroying mankind? Sounds like an ordinary day at Nick Haywood’s old school…

Picture the scene… It’s Christmas in New York and the Mayor is addressing the crowd for the Christmas lights ceremony, with a small boy ready to throw the switch. As the lights flick on, a gruesome gang of undead zombies is revealed, which then rampage through the crowd, killing everyone…

And so begins Infected, a run and gun shooter from Planet Moon Studios which has its tongue planted very firmly in its cheek as you blast your way through New York in an attempt to stop the spread of the zombie virus. I’ll briefly outline the story behind Infected, purely for the sake of being thorough, but to be honest, it doesn’t really matter, who cares when you’re having this much fun?



You play the part of rookie Police Officer Stevens, who just happens to be one of the first victims of the Infected. But unlike everyone else, you’re immune to the virus and don't go zombie. The mysterious Dr. Schaeffer discovers that your blood, with its special immunity, can be used to destroy the otherwise unstoppable Infected. Schaeffer creates a special "viral gun" that fills shells with blood from your arm and blasts them straight into the Infected, causing them to die in an explosion of blood and body parts. Nice.



So, now you know why you’re there, how do you get down to the business of wasting Infected? You’re armed with two weapons at any one time… the most important is the viral gun, which is the only way to actually kill the Infected. But before you can give them a quick shot of explosive viral death, you have to soften them up with more conventional weapons. You start off with just a pistol but, as you progress, you can research and buy increasingly damaging bit of kit, from shotguns and grenade launchers right up to airstrikes and napalm drops. Which should make New York a bit messy…