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Angry zombie slaying heads onto DS

It's Dead 'n' Furious. Well, wouldn't you be?

Angry zombie slaying heads onto DS
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DS
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Call us natural sceptics, but we remain to be convinced that companies other than Nintendo can coax a smooth first-person shooter out of the DS.

And French gamemaker Dream On isn't going to provide the proof. It's hard at work finishing off, Dead 'n' Furious, which on the surface looks like a first-person shooter. But it's not.

Taking more than dollop of gore from the Resident Evil morgue, you join the action in the skin of main character, Rob Steiner, who finds himself in a maximum security prison overrun with the living dead. (Don't worry folks, he may have been doing the time, but he didn't do the crime – it was a stitch up.)

To keep Steiner in the land of living, you'll be wielding your stylus in the manner of lightgun-game-turned DS shooter, Point Blank DS. A selection of weaponry from pistols to shotgun and assault rifles will help you on your way, through what developer Dream On describes as "five levels of terror, suspense and action behind each corner".

More important is its use of the old skool 'on-rail' movement technique, where the game automatically moves the player though the level.

There will be several routes for you to select from, and extra marks will be given for the accuracy of your shooting. A tally is kept of the head, body and limb shots you dish out. You'll be able to find bonuses by shooting breakable objects in the environment too.

Multiple endings, uncommonly nasty bosses and a cooperative multiplayer mode will also feature.

Currently being reanimated in some deep, dark development dungeon, Dead 'n' Furious is due for release sometime before the end of 2006. Hit the 'Track It!' button for advanced warning of more movement on the zombie front.

Jon Jordan
Jon Jordan
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon can turn his hand to anything except hand turning. He is editor-at-large at PG.biz which means he can arrive anywhere in the world, acting like a slightly confused uncle looking for the way out. He likes letters, cameras, imaginary numbers and legumes.