I'd buy THAT for a dollar!
Full disclosure: I played this at Armor Games, and am writing the review here.
I'm showing my age here, but that really took me back to the Smash TV days.
INTEREST AND DIVIDENDS:
Rich graphics and colors, and the BGM and sound effects really set the mood here. I particularly liked what they did with the power-ups and pick-ups.
Theme and story. Crooked traders and zombies. You know this was bound to happen. And bringing back the 1980s/90s with the Smash TV motif and dark humor was great.
Variety of weaponry, boom-boom stuff, and buffs to go with it. I'm partial for the room-clearing rocket launcher, nukes, and the laser. And Mexican school buses para el ganar!
Difficulty: I could play the darn thing and find it was a challenge without it being a frustration. I had to earn my win.
FEES AND PENALTIES:
Lag time on my older computer. It slows down especially badly when the screen's chock-a-block with zombies and cash'gem pickups on the Story Mode's last level, difficult setting, or if I last particularly long on Survival.
The directional arrow: I have to agree; it's a distraction and not needed.
The mature rating: Yes, I know, it's blasting zombies, not playing with Teletubbies. (Or blasting Teletubbies.) But a bit of a shame I can't share it with the kids (this year, anyway).
No end boss: I was hoping to blast a Bernie Madoff or G. Gecko-esque Big Bad at the end of this thing. Having only more zombies to ventilate on the last level... well, it felt more like the end of a day at the office than a triumph.
SUMMARY:
I guess what really sells this game is that it takes all sorts of neat bits and pieces (the stock ticker, lame puns, story for what it is)... and puts it together in one great package. Lots of planning and combining went into this, and it's a winner. I give this one a "buy" recommendation.