"Before House of The Dead and before Resident Evil there was... ZOMBIE RAID!"

Drop in the quarters, pump that shotgun, and get ready to blow away zombies, werewolves, deranged shotgun wielding grave-diggers, and other macabre monsters because this... is... ZOMBIE RAID!

Zombie Raid was a 2-Player light-gun arcade game made by Sammy back in '95. It was the only light-gun game I know of that had sawed-off shotguns as the controllers. Blast away zombies and then blast away some more. Sound cool enough yet? Let's do a run-down:

STORY: 2/10
Basically, you are a miserable detective named Edward Windsor who takes a case in a run-down town when mass grave-robbing is reported. Down on his luck, Edward takes the job and unwittinly launches himself into a town full of zombies. An unnamed, grotesque foe has been running around making zombies and other various monstrosities. Along the way you meet up with another gun-toting detective named Charles with a bad English accent and it's off to kill more zombies. There's some spoken dialogue and some text to keep the story going between levels but there’s nothing to fancy here. It doesn’t matter anyway because this is an action game.

GRAPHICS: 8/10
For graphics in '95, this game is still pleasing to look at. There's not that much variety in enemies but the massive amounts of gore MORE than make up for it. Everything you shoot explodes with blood. There is also a dungeon level with some very disgusting rotted corpses. Not for the faint of heart.

SOUND: 7/10
Vintage shotgun blasts and reloading sounds really are the best sounds in this game. Sometimes, you want to pump the shotgun just to hear that sound. Thunder in the graveyard level certainly adds to atmosphere. The music is there but mediocre at best. The best parts are when creepy silence takes over instead of music. When you know something is coming but don't know from where. The in-game heartbeat is all you hear. Very nerve-racking.

GAMEPLAY: 9/10
Ahhh yes... the ol' shoot 'em up! I can't tell you how much fun it is to pump a shotgun and blast away everything in sight. Reloading is a breeze, as you don't have to shoot off-screen to reload. Just pump the gun and start killing. There are various powerups to collect: Fire Ammo, Auto Shotgun, and Super Shotgun. Finding these powerups is fun too because there's a lot of objects to blow up on screen. Although the game starts off slow, don't think the rest will be walk in the park. The amount of enemies goes up sharply after the first area and a second player really helps.

For a game this fast however, I wish it were longer. With the right amount of skill you could beat it in probably less than a half-hour. Also, the final boss isn't available unless you pick up certain items along the way and use them to unlock the final door. This can be frustrating your first time around but worth it in the end.

OVERALL: 8/10
If you can find it around anymore, Zombie Raid is definitely worth your time. Although it can seem a little dated and short, it delivers a unique zombie-killing experience.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/06/03, Updated 09/24/03