Halloween may be nowhere in sight, but that does not mean we cannot have zombies on the brain. After all, The Walking Dead just ended, and we need something to keep our zombie cravings at bay. Enter Brainsss ($2.99) , an innovative take on zombie games where you are not trying to stop the zombies; instead, you are the zombies.

Brainsss is an interesting take on zombie games. There are far too many games out there where you are trying to kill all the zombies, and most of them are of the action variety. With Brainsss, not only do you get to be the zombies, you get to do it in the form of a puzzle game.

Gameplay

The objective of Brainsss is to corner humans and turn them into zombies. Each level sees you start out with just a few zombies, and you need to find creative ways to split your group so you can eat some humans and add them to your crew. Once you eat someone, they will merge with your group, and they will help you take out more humans.

The goal of each level varies. Some will have you take out all the humans as fast as possible, others will have you preventing a certain number from escaping and so on. Your performance is rated on a 3-star system. The faster you complete the level, or the better you perform the objective, the more stars you receive. The levels vary in size, and as they get bigger, they become much more challenging.

As you go further in the game, humans will start defending themselves, and this requires a new take on strategy. You will have to have a larger group before you can start going after people with guns.

The gameplay is rather fun. It requires a great deal of strategy and thinking in order to get through the levels as quickly and efficiently as possible. The levels are quick, and there is enough variety to keep the game from becoming stale. There are not that many levels in the game, so do not expect to be playing this one for a super long time.

Controls

The controls for Brainsss are akin to a real-time strategy game. You select a group of zombies, and tap a location on the map for them to attack or move to. They work well, and make it easy for you to select the zombies and get them killing some humans.

As I said previously, cornering humans is important, and because of that, they included a button that allows you to divide your selected group in half. This way you can easily send half of your group the opposite direction and back the humans into a corner.

There are a couple of problems with the controls. Selecting zombies when they are a little spread out can be cumbersome. It is also problematic when they are close together and you do not want exactly half of your squad. Since the levels are large, moving the camera around with a two-finger swipe is not necessarily the best way to scroll around, and it can throw off your human eating rhythm.

Presentation

Brainsss has highly stylized graphics that remind me of Minigore. It looks good, but it is certainly not the best-looking thing you will see on the iPhone.

The environments are pleasant to look at, and it makes navigating around them while killing humans that much more enjoyable. The world is viewed from a top down angle with the ceilings cut away. It suits the gameplay well, and it allows you to take in the city and find your next targets easily.

The sound is well above average. The ambient noise and music in the game really add to the experience. It is not a gory game, and the cartoony sounds the humans make as you eat them is enjoyable and comical.

Suggestions

I wish the controls were a little better. They are not terrible, and once you get used to them they will not detract much from your enjoyment of the game, but there is room for improvement. I also wish there was a little more story and comedy in the game. There are some funny parts here and there, but the game could have benefited much more from a little story.

Conclusion

This is a great game for zombie lovers. If you are sick of always having to kill zombies, and you want to take control of them for once, you will love this game. It has a couple of flaws, but the sum of its parts negates most of those. I have no problem recommending this game to anyone, especially with the promise of free level packs right around the corner. 8/10