I Saw Her Standing There

NOTE: Reading this review will spoil a funny little fact about the game that's worth discovering for yourself. I recommend at LEAST watching the intro before you read the review, 'cause from here on out, it's spoilers aweigh.

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All done? Okay. Yeah. Then you should know that this game is, surprisingly, about zombies. And that, piled on top of the puppy love, makes it a weird, sweet, funny little title.

Concept

I Saw Her Standing There is the classic tale of a boy and a girl. Boy loves girl, girl loves boy. Something is separating them, however... and in this case, it's 'cause the girl is a freaking zombie. Bit of an obstacle for a relationship, eh?

Not for the boy. He loves his girl. So much so that he keeps her locked in a cage. And whenever she escapes, he happily lures her back to captivity. It's a rather twisted dynamic, but judging by the little cracking heart over the girl's head whenever her boyfriend dies, she doesn't mind.

That, then, is the point of the game: lure the girl into her cage, using the guy as bait. When necessary, and it's OFTEN necessary, avoid other zombies. Proceed through the story. Aww, how cute.

Controls

For such a simple game, I Saw Her Standing There is surprisingly well-tuned. Your little boyfriend goes exactly where you tell him to go, and his jumping skills are quite amazing. The controls actually make it a little difficult to die, which is... quite a reverse...

Graphics

The boy's love for his girl is simple, and the graphics perfectly reflect his affections. Everything in this game is little more than a symbol. I might bemoan the lack of detail in other titles, but here, nothing else would be suitable. The love story would lose its subtle impact if the girl looked anything more like a zombie.

Sound

I Saw Her Standing There is virtually silent, save for one thing: one acoustical song that plays forever in the background. I LOVE THIS SONG. It carries the pleasant, grassroots theme of the game from beginning to end, completely robbing a zombie apocalypse of its threat. Never has the annihilation of mankind seemed more relaxing.

Challenge Rating

This is not a hard game. It's only fifteen levels long, and most of them can be demolished in a minute or two. Disrupting the pleasant little story with too much difficulty would rob the experience of its charm, however, so I'm fine with that.

And for those of you who might complain that games SHOULD be challenging? Once you beat I Saw Her Standing There, you'll unlock a series of little cheat codes that can make it REALLY hard. Namely, by tossing more zombies into the mix... and allowing them to jump. Yeesh.

In Conclusion?

Quirky, cute, eminently playable. I Saw Her Standing There is a short-lived experience, true, but one you're likely to remember for a while. Enjoy.

PLAY I SAW HER STANDING THERE