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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.

It's nearing the end of the twentieth century, and Earth has been all but taken over by the undead. The player takes on the roles of four humans, desperate to find a safe haven from the zombies. Using the helicopter on the outside heli-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...

I for one am a great fan of Romero's Zombie Trilogy, so you can imagine my delight when this game came into the office. Zombi captures the mood of the Dawn Of The Dead movie perfectly - it's a suspense-filled romp through a deserted shopping mall, just like its big-screen counterpart, and while the graphics aren't fantastic, they portray the action to a tee (although I was dismayed that the baldie old zombie from the film doesn't feature in the game!)

Sound effects are what you'd expect from the PC - limited beeps and squawks - but that in no way damages the player's enjoyment of the game. The icon controls are initially confusing and do take a while to get used to, but once mastered you'll be using them without thinking.

Altogether, Zombi is a first rate adaption of a classic horror film, which catches the mood perfectly even before you begin (you get a scene-setting "comic book" with the packaging) and will keep your interest until completion.

Although the game is the same, the control method is different to that of the PC game. Movement is controlled using direction icons placed around the outside-view display. This makes for far simpler control of your characters and an ultimately more impressive game which horror lovers and fans of good games will eat brains for.