While playing Dead Effect, I was frequently reminded of the original Unreal. Not so much because of its gameplay or how Epic's seminal title helped revolutionize FPS games, no. Rather, it was the lens-flare. Lots and lots of lens-flare, and bloom, and colorful lights. Epic used these tricks to advertise its (for the time) awesome new graphics engine. Dead Effect uses them because... they look cool?

Well, I guess they do, although the effect is a bit over the top sometimes. It's not a bad looking game, considering it origins as a mobile-title, although it does suffer from a severe lack of variety and the monster animations are decidedly unimpressive. Still, the sheer number of bad-guys on screen at the same time (10-20 per room) was a welcome change from most other FPS games, where you are lucky to see five or six monster at a time. It's also hard to fault a game that lets you blow away crowds of zombies (space-zombies, no less!) with a gatling gun. But beyond that there is little positive to say about the game; it's short, linear, lacks any sort of novelty, and - beyond its flashy lighting effects - has rather poor production values. It's a C-list game with passable gunplay and a price of less than a dollar. I wasn't expecting much from the game - and didn't get it - but I can't say I left disappointed.

Recommended, with the understanding that you get what you pay for: this is a cheesy, unpolished game that's nowhere nearly as good as most shooters. But if you can forgive its many gaffes and flaws, it has a certain enjoyability to it.

While playing Dead Effect, I was frequently reminded of the original Unreal. Not so much because of its gameplay or how Epic's seminal title helped revolutionize FPS games, no. Rather, it was the lens-flare. Lots and lots of lens-flare, and bloom, and colorful lights. Epic used these tricks to advertise its (for the time) awesome new graphics engine. Dead Effect uses them because... they look cool? Well, I guess they do, although the effect is a bit over the top sometimes. It's not a bad looking game, considering it origins as a mobile-title, although it does suffer from a severe lack of variety and the monster animations are decidedly unimpressive. Still, the sheer number of bad-guys on screen at the same time (10-20 per room) was a welcome change from most other FPS games, where you are lucky to see five or six monster at a time. It's also hard to fault a game that lets you blow away crowds of zombies (space-zombies, no less!) with a gatling gun. But beyond that there is little positive to say about the game; it's short, linear, lacks any sort of novelty, and - beyond its flashy lighting effects - has rather poor production values. It's a C-list game with passable gunplay and a price of less than a dollar. I wasn't expecting much from the game - and didn't get it - but I can't say I left disappointed. Recommended, with the understanding that you get what you pay for: this is a cheesy, unpolished game that's nowhere nearly as good as most shooters. But if you can forgive its many gaffes and flaws, it has a certain enjoyability to it.