Ubi Soft
£9.99 cass, £14.99 disk

It is said that when Hell is full the dead walk the Earth. Well, in Zombi it appears this is indeed the case: corpses have been rising from their graves all over the world. And they're after only one thing - human flesh (yuck). into this nightmare situation you are thrown: you control the actions of four survivors of this disaster. They've escaped the deadly hordes in a helicopter, but are now are vainly searching the shopping center they were forced to land on for fuel. This doesn't stop the undead from getting peckish, and the search of the shops is dangerous. Best be quick abut getting that fuel.

Guide each of the members of your team (three guys and a gal), through the maze of corridors. The actual game area seen is small (about a third of the screen) because of the icon displays used to control the chosen player. Below the playing screen are the use, quit game, and save/load icons, above are graphical representations of the characters, with the objects collected screens and the current time on the side. Your view is a first person perspective through the characters' eyes, and to move you click on the arrows at the side of the playing screen. Visiting the shops in the precinct turns up handy objects such as guns, food, a computer and a torch for exploring sinister dark places.

Unfortunately UbiSoft haven't received much acclaim from CRASH recently. Zombi may be a turning point: it's really rather good. The zombies of the title really do scare you when first encountered. Although the sprites in general are monochromatic, they're well drawn. Fans of horror films might like to take a look, but only from behind the sofa.

MARK [80%]

This has got to be one of the best games Ubisoft have ever done. It uses an old game style but brings it bang up to date with a good storyline, exciting locations and lots to do. You have to move around the 3-D building, picking up objects that may be useful and collecting fuel for your helicopter so you can escape the zombies. The four characters all have different strengths and weaknesses and each can be moved around separately. All the graphics are very well drawn and the 3-D works well. If only there was a bit more colour in the game. You can have great fun just roaming around shooting zombies and exploring the rooms, but with more time you could really get into the story and be totally addicted. Zombi is great, I'll be playing it for some time, you can't drag me away!
NICK [83%]

Ubi Soft
£9.99 cass/£14.99 disk
Reviewer: David Wilson

'Zombi'? 'Zombi'? Shouldn't that be 'Zombie'!? Ah! It's a French game, zat explains eet. Hmm, and by my reckoning these living dead must be masculine - la zombie, le zombi, ho hum. Anyway, have you ever fancied taking part in one of those spooky zombie flicks like Georgo Romero's Dawn Of The Dead or Michael Jackson's Thriller video (hem hem)? Well, Ubisoft is offering you the chance to do just that! So, if you'd just like to hold onto my hand (Very tightly. Ed) let's see what gory goins-on they've got in store for us.

Zombi is an icon-driven sort of adventure game with you moving a pointer and clicking on things like objects and directions. The graphics are largely monochrome, and there's very little animation. Oh, and there's no sound either, (Blimey! Reader's voice) But don't let this put you off, 'cos Zombi isn't a bad little game at all.

The instructions you get are minimal, and there's also a ropey 19-page cartoon strip that sets the scene. The story is set in 'Berkleys, United States' in 1986 (!) and basically loads of dead bodies have been coming back to life and eating the living. Eeek! in a bid to escape this rather unpleasant fate, four chums have stolen a helicopter from the local hospital only to find that hey don't have sufficient fuel to safety! in search of more, they land at a large shopping mall (just like in the aforementioned Dawn Of The Dead) and this is where you join them!

You control all four characters as you wander about exploring. You find various objects with various uses (some of which I haven't even figured out yet!) - you can walk in and out of stores, use the lift, and of course fight zombies. You start doing this with your bare fists, but finding weapons is a tad more effective! There are four main levels to the mall, with a roof, where your helicopter is parked, and a basement - this bit's largely in the dark so it's better not to go down without a gun! You can also venture out of sthe mall, but don't go too far or you'll be confronted by a squillion zombos intent on enrolling you into their rank! if your health and strength levels are falling then find the chemists or pop into MacDonalds! Yep, clicking on food items replenishes your energy as does clicking on a bed for a bit of shut-eye! in all there's a lot of exploring to be done, and perhaps some mapping would be advisable.

You'll have to use your noodle to figure out just which item is used for which purpose (I'll be looking forward to seeing some tips come in for this one!), and ultimately you'll have to find some petrol. Oh, and there's also a gang of Hells Angels out there looking for food (although I actually haven't seen them yet). Watch out for them, 'cos in this situation it's every man for himself!

Um, without giving too much away, that's it really. When I first looked at Zombi I thought "Lummocks! This one looks a tad on the unimpressive side!" but then I started to play, and play.. and, er... play. The simplicity of the graphics is actually very deceptive, because despite the small-view screen and the few icons bordering it there is actually a great deal you can achieve. Not only can you click on the direction arrows to move but also on doors, cupboards and other features to open and go into. There's an arcade fight sequence - you dispatch zombies by clicking on the Use icon with a weapon (if you've got one) and clicking on the zombie, who either attacks you from the front or appears alongside you as a dead body.

Like most adventure games, Zombi gives you minimal instructions and just lets you get on with it. Unfortunately, thanks to Speccy graphics, you will also frequently come across objects that you won't be able to recognise, let alone figure out what they do (the thing that looks like a tadpole, for example). But despite this it's a good game and you can really immerse yourself in it's spooky atmosphere! if you don't have the patience to keep trying when you seem to be stuck, then perhaps this isn't for you - don't buy Zombi expecting loads of arcade action. But do buy it if you'd fancy an atmospheric horror adventure in which you really need to keep your wits about you!

Label: Ubi Soft
Author: In-house
Price: £8.95
Memory: 48K/128K
Joystick: Various
Reviewer: Paul ?

It's the late 20th century, and Earth has been over run by zombies. Okay, so they're not actually in Parliament but they're everywhere - in the streets, the parks, the shops; in fact, everywhere except where they should be, the cemeteries.

So it comes as little surprise to find that the few remaining pockets of human life are having something of a tough time, especially when you consider that zombies' favourite food is living brain tissue. So the only safe people are TV AM presenters.

However, a team of four mercenaries have escaped their hospital hideout by way of a handy helicopter and are making their way to an uninhabited tropical island when the fuel gauge drops to zero, forcing them to land on the roof of a nearby shopping centre. And this is where the game proper begins.

An icon-driven graphic adventure, Zombi is loosely based on an extremely gory horror film called Dawn Of The Dead. You control the four characters - Alexander, Sylvie, Yannick and Patrick - whose aim to find enough fuel to get the chopper up and running once more and escape to sunnier, uninfested climes. One or two little problems stand in your way, however; the first is the zombie threat. Those bastions of the dead fraternity have broken through the locked doors of the mall and are wandering aimlessly around trying to find an Asda that sells human brains, when they smell your cerebral fluids and come charging after you. As they can only be killed by destroying their heads, you're going to need either a gun or some other implement, as you'll not last long with fists alone. But the zombies aren't your only enemy. Another band of humans, the Hell's Angels, have spotted your helicopter and are making their way towards the mall, intent on pinching your wings - which will mean a violent death for your party.

Anyone who has seen the film Dawn Of The Dead will remember it more for the blood and guts which made it a classic splatter movie. Zombi, on the other hand, relies much more on suspense than gore, and this works to surprisingly good effect. The monochrome 3D graphics of the main playing area aren't fantastic, but they portray the surroundings well enough and more than serve their purpose. The icon control system is, at first, a little confusing, but after playing a few times it becomes practically second nature - especially the movement system (the relevant arrows are positioned around the outside view screen, and choosing an arrow sends you in the appropriate direction). There aren't an awful lot of locations to be found in Zombi, but you'll be so busy trying to find all the necessary escape items that there isn't time to worry about the lack of places to go.

Studying the wall-maps is recommended, as there are a couple of rooms which are almost impossible to just stumble across.

While being a faithful interpretation of the brilliant Dawn Of The Dead story (I should add that the game isn't actually a licensed product, hence the change of name), Zombi might not appeal to true arcade freaks because of its leanings toward the adventure side of gaming, but a zombie shootout section compensates for the otherwise non-existent arcade action.

Personally, I loved the game, and will be returning to it time and time again until I reach that elusive sun-drenched, island paradise!

Ubisoft
Spectrum £9.99, PC £24.99

A few years back saw the release of a trilogy of Zombie movies by George Romero. Zombi, the game, is loosely based upon the second film in the series, Dawn Of The Dead.

Its nearing the end of the twentieth century, and Earth has been all but taken over by the undead. The player lakes on the roles of four humans. desperate to find a safe haven from the zombies. Using the helicopter on the outside hell-pad, the party leave their hospital hideaway which has now been completely taken over by the walking dead: unfortunately, the chopper is low on fuel, and the four are forced to land at a nearby supermarket. After blocking all the exits, the group set about the task of finding fuel so they can continue the Journey to an uninhabited island which they plan to make their home.

One or two small snagettes stand in the way of success, however. The first is the zombies themselves. An enormous army of the creatures have gathered outside the shopping mall and, smelling live brains (a zombie's staple diet) are whipped into a frenzy and break into the supermarket. The second, arguably more frightening prospect is that another band of humans are also attempting to flee from the impending horror which awaits. They have fuel, and want to get to the chopper just as much as you do…