iPhone Game: Resident Evil Degeneration

If you love to hate zombies as much as I do, ignore the rest of this review, alt-tab over to iTunes and immediately buy Resident Evil: Degeneration. Not only is it one of the better zombie games I've played of late (on any system), it's by far the best game I've ever seen on the iPhone.

I'm told the game is based on the new Resident Evil movie that's coming out, but I haven't seen any of those and I haven't been keeping track. All I know is, this is an incredible full-3d game that allows you to explore the ruins of an infected airport, killing zombies and solving simple (but entertaining) quests.

The basic concept isn't too far off from any other Resident Evil game. You play as Leon, and you're dropped off in the airport to investigate the "strange" zombie situation. You find that a plane load of infected people has crashed into the airport, and that's where the trouble begins.

You run from area to area in the airport, trying to find survivors and then trying to help keep them alive. Along the way you do a bunch of the standard "find and retrieve" missions that have been the staple of adventure games for years now. You find a locked door, which can only be opened by a key on the other side of the map. You go to get the key, and of course it's guarded by a handful of zombies, who you then shoot in the head.

I'm realizing now that this sounds kind of boring, but the kicker is, it's not. It's incredibly fun, and the ability to pick up new weapons and upgrade them goes a long way towards making you want to keep exploring. Furthermore, it's just plain fun.

The control scheme is pretty well-crafted, although the aiming can take a bit of getting used to. There's a virtual analog stick in the bottom left corner, which you hold with your thumb and move up, down, left and right to move accordingly. Unlike modern shooters, this game is "back to basics" where the stick turns you left and right, rather than strafing.

To fire, you click the weapon button to first arm your weapon. Then the analog stick becomes your aiming mechanism, and you click the target button on the right side to shoot. Some people don't like that you have to stop moving in order to shoot, but it adds to the suspense. You have to get far enough away from the zombies so you can shoot them without them catching up to you.

To make a long story short, this is simply one of the best mobile games I've ever played. I've had a DS, a PSP, and now the iPhone, and this game trumps anything I've seen on all three consoles. If you're looking for a good way to spend six bucks, here you go. Resident Evil: Degeneration.