Infectonator: Christmas Edition

We here at Browser Rousers believe in the celebrating of all major holidays... including my birthday, hence skipping yesterday... and so it would be remiss of us not to play a Christmas game.

A normal Christmas game? Of course not. Infectonator!

Concept

Infectonator was a normal game before it became a Christmas title, and so I imagine the original game plays more or less the same as the Christmas version. You are, for lack of better identification, the embodiment of a horrifying zombie disease that turns normal humans into ravenous undead creatures. What fun! Playing as the disease you need to proceed through various levels, spreading the goodness to more and more people.

The caveat? Well, you only get to spread the virus once per level. After that your placement dictates the spread of the virus, and whether or not you'll catch everyone before your zombies die out. You don't get a TON of control, though you can purchase grenades to expedite the killing. (Didn't know viruses COULD buy stuff.)

And the Christmas factor? There are two things: first, the game is graphically Christmasy. There are various small Christmas references, and every now and then you'll see Santa wandering around. Second, you have less than a month to get through every level before the game ends. That means, yes, you have a limited number of tries before the game goes kaput and you have to start over.

Controls

Point, click. It'd be criminal if Infectonator got any simpler.

Graphics

Infectonator is a few years old, so I'll cut it a little slack in the graphics department. It's not BAD. It's just... not great, either. The visuals won't blow anyone over. You can, at the very least, tell what every sprite is meant to represent, and that's good enough, right?

Sound

Christmasy song followed by zombie horror music. Rinse, repeat. Infectonator doesn't get too fancy with its tunes, but they're appropriate to the game's themes, so I won't complain. They are, if nothing else, better than the average Christmas songs you hear while in a mall this time of the year.

Challenge Rating

Infectonator is a little too easy for my tastes. Granted, you have a limited number of 'lives' before the game trounces your butt, but you get a ton of money during that time - more than enough to max out your virus' potential and make it an unstoppable killing machine. Some levels breeze by after a single click and a few seconds of waiting. There ARE things that can stop your virus, of course - distance and gun-toting meanies being the foremost factors - but a few grenades is more than enough to cover the problem areas.

I think what made Infectonator a little too easy was the fact that you get money for getting achievements. Cut back on that and the overall game should become more challenging.

Conclusion?

I'm not gaga over Infectonator: Christmas Edition, but it should be enough to stave any zombie cravings. And, hey, it never hurts to make a season-inappropriate game.

PLAY INFECTONATOR: CHRISTMAS EDITION