Shoot The Zombirds

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET staff on December 05, 2012

It's perfectly acceptable to shoot zombies since they'll eat your brains if you don't. Slow, awkward, and noisy (all that moaning), zombies don't provide much of a challenge, though, and you'll probably get bored long before your ammo runs out. Birds are much harder to hit. The answer is obvious: zombie birds! Zombirds for short, as in Infinite Dreams' Shoot the Zombirds, a sequel to Shoot the Birds. Once again you're Pumpkin Boy, guardian of a spooky pumpkin patch. Your mission is to protect the Pumpkids from being carried off by hungry Zombirds. We played the free Android app version.

Shoot the Zombirds' interface, ads, store, and settings are all fairly standard. The game takes place in a creepy Halloween-themed pumpkin patch. It's night, naturally, and spooky sounds are all around. The Zombirds attack in waves. Your only weapon is a simple pull-and-release crossbow. You have only three arrows in your quiver. Like similar games, you draw and hold to aim your shot, then release to fire. Your goal is to shoot as many of the attacking Zombirds as possible. Timing is everything, though you're helped by the fact that falling arrows from missed shots can still take down a Zombird. Or two, since it's possible to take out multiple targets with a single arrow, or by shooting a Zombird that falls on another, earning extra credits. The more Zombirds you hit, the more arrows you earn, though you can buy more if you're impatient. It sounds simple, and is, but like the best games, it's not quite as simple as it sounds. The birds fly a different heights and speeds, so you have to constantly adjust your aim and release. And the Zombirds only need to carry away a few of the squealing Pumpkids to win (only two in the entry level) so you have to get pretty good pretty fast. Not a problem since Shoot the Zombirds is totally fun to play.

Here we must confess that the Pumpkids suffered terribly while we perfected our aim, but we quickly turned the tables. Then it was the Zombirds who suffered!