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Zombies Ate My Neighbours was one of my favourite Super Nintendo titles. Those who are unfamiliar with the game, it is a 2.5D shoot 'em up. The basic idea is to rescue your neighbours from a zombie apocalypse using all manner of weapons. The game was released about a decade before zombie apocalypses were cool! Why am I talking about a classic Super Nintendo game? Well, Virus LQP-79 (from here on referred to as Virus) has clearly been inspired by Zombies Ate My Neighbours, to the point where it even makes references to the LucasArts classic.

Your main character is the gun-toting Amy, initially a harmless girl who was minding her own business until an incident at a nearby research facility. There is no mention of what was being researched but if I had to guess I would assume it was something a little bit sinister. Naturally the government denies all knowledge but Amy's neighbours started acting a bit weird. So what's a girl to do? Grab a gun and rescue the other survivors, that's what! It will take Amy 32 levels to get through her neighbourhood and the zombie plague gets worse the deeper into the game she gets. Thankfully Amy is no one hit kill heroine, and the inclusion of a life bar will give you plenty of opportunities to escape the undead masses. Naturally this life bar can be replenished and the gun upgraded. Be careful though as it can overheat, so watch the meter in the top left corner. If it gets too low you will need to wait before you can start firing again. Once you have rescued your neighbours you are given a time limit to find and enter the exit.

The title screen features a moody tune to get you into the right frame of mind. You are on a mission to rescue your neighbours from the undead. There are no flowers or magical rainbows in this game! This is serious stuff! The tune that plays throughout is constant, but I enjoyed it. I was too absorbed in the gameplay to really notice it, which is a good sign. The music doesn't grate and it fits the game nicely, a much needed change from some other MSX games I have been playing. The graphics are basic, though colours are used to good effect, particularly on the zombies. Amy herself is red and white, looking not unlike a character from a Neo Geo Pocket Colour game. She moves smoothly across the screen, until she gets to the edge of it. Screen scrolling is jerky, as per most MSX games. This is a fault of the hardware, though other games have managed to hide this problem a little better. The jerkiness does mean that you will occasionally run into a zombie, though it doesn't happen as often as you might expect.

Controls are basic, with the standard directions and fire. There is no delay in your movements and everything is on point. It's actually a fun little game and one I can see myself returning to every now and again. I am a bit of a sucker for overhead games though, I do admit. I even rank Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past above Ocarina Of Time! Yes, I know that goes against conventional thinking but I make no apologies for it!

Virus is a simple game that is just really enjoyable! While earlier levels can be breezed through quite easily, later stages can be quite hectic as you find yourself constantly shooting and avoiding zombies. There is a pleasing strategy in not being able to rely on your gun the whole time and having to duck and weave while you wait for it to recover.

The scrolling is a little hideous, though I find that I can deal with it. The game is so much fun that I want to deal with it just to keep playing. If the developer is so inclined they can always attempt to refine it in a later release.

I highly recommend Virus. It is one of those games that will appeal to everyone, MSX enthusiast or not will enjoy it.