Zack Zero is a 3D side-scrolling game that pays homage to the many platforming games that we all witnessed back in the ‘80s and early ‘90s when these types of games reigned supreme. It has a mix of Mega Man and Castlevania rolled into one which makes this game pretty fun to play. Platform games of this nature can be pretty difficult to play for some gamers so will Zack Zero suffer from being too hard?
Side-scrolling games were pretty rare in recent years but have now since made a comeback with lots of indie developers making games exclusively for you to download. With this in mind, does Zack Zero offer any unique and exciting features that separate from the rest? Let’s find out as we take a look at what’s HOT and NOT from the PSN exclusive Zack Zero.
Hot
Lots of Powers
Normally super heroes only have one kind of power. Spider-Man has the abilities of a spider while Batman has all the abilities a billionaire can afford. Zack Zero thankfully isn’t tied down to only one super power and can be described as having most of the powers the entire Fantastic Four team possess. Although he cannot turn invisible and stretch like the Invisible Girl and Mr Fantastic respectively, he does possess some of the powers that the Human Torch and The Thing have. Not only that, but he can turn into ice much like X-Men’s Iceman.
If you’re a fan of the Marvel comic books, there’s no doubt you will love the amount of super powers that Zack Zero has to offer. You don’t even have to earn these super powers at the beginning of the game as they are all there for you. All you need to do is press any of the directional buttons to change into the desired super power you want to be. This keeps the gameplay somewhat refreshing compared with other games since he has loads of abilities that other main characters wish they could have.
Graphics
Zack Zero has some pretty decent graphics and again its design is heavily inspired by other video games and movies alike. Zack Zero will visit a few different planets and levels that all offer varied environments. Graphically, the game looks very similar to the Ratchet and Clank series and it plays a bit like them too. Although Zack Zero himself doesn’t look too detailed, surprisingly his enemies look very cool. You will encounter many weird yet wonderful creatures in this game. Most of them will be hostile but there are some creatures out there they will try to help Zack out. One of my favourite looking enemies in the game was a pair of huge robots that were blocking a door. If you know what Hunters look like in the Halo series, you will know how cool they might look like.
Cartoon Cutscenes
Zack Zero is a 3D game but the cutscenes are told via 2D comic book style illustrations. Zack Zero and the other characters surprisingly don’t have voice overs of their own as the narrator tries his best to both act out their voices and tell the story at the same time. He doesn’t have the capabilities of varying his voice like other professional voice actors so watching the cutscenes will be humorous to some. Not to mention the story and simplistic and easy to follow. Zack is on a quest to find his kidnapped girlfriend called Marlene. She has been kidnapped by an alien named Zulrog who wants revenge on the pair because they killed his brother. He wants to lure Zack so he can dispose of the pair once and for all and then build a time machine so he can prevent his brother’s death so they can rule the universe together. It may not be too original but it’s a good enough narrative for a game like this…
Loads of puzzles
Most side-scrolling games require you to run from left to right and kill a lot of bad guys along the way. There is a fair share of that style of gameplay in Zack Zero (more on this later) but this is broken up by a mix of puzzles and exploration of the levels. The level design in Zack Zero is excellent as it forces the player to actually observe the entire area sometimes in order to solve a specific puzzle or find a way out. You will also have to make use of all the abilities that Zack possesses. Some of the puzzles took me several minutes to solve but you will feel very proud of yourself once you have accomplished the puzzles.
Frequent Checkpoints
Zack Zero is not an easy game but it’s not entirely hard either. This is all thanks to the very frequent checkpoints this game offers to you. Boss battles are very generous as they are in three stages. If you die in the third stage of a boss fight, you don’t have to fight the boss all over again from the beginning which makes life a lot less frustrating. You will also receive a full set of health too. I cannot remember the many times I’ve played other games fighting bosses with low health and needing to start from the beginning when you die…
Not
Repetitive Gameplay
As aforementioned, there is a load of puzzles to vary up the gameplay somewhat but the game can get very hard and repetitive when there are a load of baddies coming at you all at once. Sometimes you are required to defeat all of the enemies in an area before you can progress. This is easier said than done in most cases and you will die a lot of times in this game. I remember retrying certain areas more than five times or more as the baddies would instantly kill me all the time. Let’s not forget there are loads of dreaded jumping segments in the game too. Visually, the levels look great but in the end, they all play the same and the gameplay can get boring very quickly despite the fact that Zack has all these different powers at his disposal.
Predictable Boss Fights
I love the design of the enemies in bosses in Zack Zero but the actual boss fights themselves are very predictable. Most boss fights in this game are repetitive as they only follow the same sort of pattern. Patterns in boss battles have been a staple in gaming for many years now and they’re a little clichéd and overused in my opinion. For a game that is released in 2012, we should expect boss battles to be a little more exciting than this.
No multiplayer
I love the Metal Slug series because a second player can always jump in and play alongside you anytime you may need help with the game. There are multiple enemies and a second player can prove to be very helpful and it makes the game more enjoyable to play as a whole. Sadly, there is no co-op option available in Zack Zero whatsoever. It gets a little boring playing a game of this nature all by yourself. Unless you are a trophy collector, once you complete the game, I’m sure most of you won’t bother to play through the game ever again.
Verdict
Zack Zero offers a fun gameplay experience for any gamer looking for a side-scrolling game on the PSN. Fans of comic books will love the cutscenes and the many powers that Zack can conjure up inside his nifty suit. The graphics are great and the level design is very clever. The only thing that bogs this game down is the repetitive gameplay and lack of multiplayer. Had these issues been fixed, Zack Zero would have been a more enjoyable experience.
[Editor’s Note: Zack Zero was reviewed on the PlayStation 3 hardware. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]
