Brainsss

No one ever considers the planning that goes into a zombie attack, perhaps because you're too busy screaming and having your entrails pulled out of your eye sockets.

Brainsss sets out to correct the various misapprehensions about the undead's strategy, by putting you in control of a handful of flesh-munchers and setting you the task of carefully shepherding the living to their inevitable doom.

The game - which is equal parts hide and seek - throws you into a section of town populated by a few straggly survivors, then tells you what you need to do to make it to the next level. Usually, this involves converting all of the humans to the 'noble' zombie cause.

In the first few levels, the humans are nothing more than docile cattle, easily picked off by your ravenous flesh-eaters. You select the zombies you want to move by scrubbing over them with a finger, then tap on the screen to tell them where to go.

A handy button in the bottom right of the screen lets you split your selected ghouls into two units - this allows you to execute quick and easy pincer movements on your unsuspecting prey.

Pretty soon, though, you'll be up against smarter foes, including soldiers and policemen who can cut down your fledgling horde before it's even had a chance to finish its starter.

You'll need to watch the patterns of these more cerebral foes carefully, grabbing a quick bite while their backs are turned, and swamping them with bodies when you've built up your zombie army.

Brainsss is an interesting take on the zombie game, and often plays closer to a stealth title that an all-out gore-fest. Careful planning is the order of the day, especially when even the most fearsome of undead hosts can be cut down in seconds by a couple of well-armed soldiers.

Elements of the map design could do with some work, and you'll occasionally find yourself hunting down a single human with a giant horde for a little too long.

Ultimately, though, Brainsss is a novel, satisfying strategy title, and while it might have a few rough edges, it offers up sufficient fun to distract you from these issues.

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