Any game where the main character’s primary weapon is a toilet plunger definitely has potential. The good news is that Monster Madness Grave Danger from SouthPeak games does not disappoint. My PS3 has been burning a hole in the disk the past couple of weeks and I would rather not admit how much time I’ve spent playing it.

Monster Madness Grave Danger is a top down arcade style game. While it is a very satisfying single player game, the real fun comes in when you team up with up to three other people to kick some zombie butt as a group effort.

The premise of the game is simple yet enjoyable. You play one of four characters (I chose Andy, the plunger wielding lad I mentioned before) who gets caught up in, what else, some Monster Madness. For some unknown reason, Suburbia has been taken over by mind eating zombies and their friends and it’s your job to slash and slack your way through it all.

Adventure mode is the main story mode. You start out in a house and quickly move out into the streets. With trips to the police station, the mall and dozens of other locations, there’s a great variety of scenes and locales to send the undead back to, uhh, death… The monsters were one of the greatest features of the game in my opinion. Of course you have your normal zombies. Add in some really dopey sounding fat dudes who leap in the air ala WWE and crash down upon you as well as decaying grandmothers who just want to hug and kiss you and of course send their psychotic little kitties after you as well. Whoever came up with the monsters for this spectacle deserves a place in the game comedy hall of fame.

On to the weapons. Yes, you have a plunger, a hockey stick, a sword and an axe along with other random objects like chainsaws, dynamite and the occasional end table. Each character has their own special weapon and it’s best to use that whenever possible. But what if a zombie is just a wee bit out of melee range? Well, fire up one of the unconventional projectile weapons and get ready for some slime. You build ranged weapons by finding various parts like washers, spray paint cans, bolts, etc. in the game and bring them all to Larry Tools, the local arms dealer who, in one of the game’s few flaws, really needs to get some new soundtracks. When you have enough components and some moola earned by killing the bad guys, Larry will offer to assemble for you one of the most oddball set of weapons I’ve ever seen. Nail guns are just the start. Add in a CD shooter, cell phone tazer, glue gun and dozens of other equally odd armaments and you are ready to keep the decrepitly decaying at bay.

The controls took me a little while to get used to but once I did, I found them responsive and tight. The left stick moves and orients your character. The circle is your melee attack button. The right stick, when aimed, automatically switches you to ranged weapon and fires in the aimed direction. No need to pull a trigger, just point and shoot (literally). Again, this takes a little getting used to but once I got the hang of it, ripping monster flesh from rotting carcasses was as easy as falling out of a swan boat (yes, the game has one of those and this swan is pissed off!).

Vehicles appear throughout the game and again, take a few minutes to get used to controlling but are tight and responsive once you do. In multiplayer, different players can drive and shoot the weapons. But even in single player, you can still drive and shoot unlike other games that limit soloists to merely driving when no one is around to help.

Monster Madness Grave Danger also has 25 mini games which add to the fun. While several of these games are similar to each other, they do offer quite a bit of variety and a great change of venue from the main Adventure portion.

Cooperative play has the usual modes – play with friends online or in the comfort of your own home. As I mentioned above, multiplayer at home gives you that classic arcade feel and will definitely make you popular with your gaming friends.

The visuals of the game, while not cutting edge, are perfect for the story and really quite good. The cut scenes are humorous and can thankfully be skipped over with the Start button if you just want to get back to the killing, err, saving of humanity. The overall comic book feel may make some think the graphics are too simple but I have no such complaint. Monster Madness uses the Unreal Engine and does a great job of keeping you in the thick of it without screen tearing or jerkiness.

So what else could make this game incredible? How about being $20 less than other games in the PS3 section, priced at only $39.99 here in the US.

In summary, Monster Madness Grave Danger will not win Academy Awards for deep plot or character dialogue (I heard more “dude’s” than at the local surf shop on veggie burrito day), it does win high scores for ease of play, great controls, wickedly funny weapons and monsters and especially value for the price. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed.

Filed under: M, Main