Brainsss Review
PROS
- Fast-paced, almost RTS-style gameplay.
- Varied mission requirements keeps the gameplay somewhat fresh.
- Waypoint system makes up for the lack of any real AI on the part of the zombies.
CONS
- Too easy for humans to simply walk/run past zombies, removing any sense of tactical play.
- Wild difficulty spikes almost force your hand to IAP; thankfully offset by the ability to earn the in-game currency separately.
VERDICT
Brainsss has some neat ideas when it comes to fast-paced real-time tactical play, but its hard to shake the feeling the 'zombies' are an excuse to make up for underwhelming AI and controls.
- Full Review
- App Store Info
Plenty of games on the iOS - nay, within gaming itself - pit the player against an almost unceasing horde of zombies threatening to take over. A few games flip the perspective, placing you in control of the cranium-crunching creatures, but there's always a risk of it feeling a little too mundane thanks to their rather blunt tactics. Brainsss by Lonely Few attempts to curfew this problem by allowing you to be the actual brains behind the mindless mass, utilizing real-time tactics to corral the humans and convert them efficiently.
For the most-part, your task is one of controlling a small squad of zombies, selecting them with a swipe and tapping to set their destination in order to find and convert the humans on the level. Of course, the humans aren't completely passive in all of this and upon seeing the wave of undead creatures they'll sprint away, so you'll need to cut off their paths of retreat, hoping to catch them when they make a wrong turn.
Unfortunately, a combination of control issues and the lack of any real sort of AI means your undead creatures never really seem up to the hard task put to them. Tapping will set a destination for your zombies, though the path they take can seem arbitrary, making it hard to guarantee the result you're after.
Players can also split their zombies in to two groups (roughly half), allowing them to perform basic maneuvers (such as a pincer), but if any should run past the zombies you'll have to chase them down. This is problematic as there is no way to target specific humans, meaning you'll have to control a separate pack of zombies to catch them. The lack of group controls means it's all-too-easy to have zombies idle on the level, though the ability to double-tap and set multiple waypoints helps, if only slightly as the zombies carry out your orders without consideration to further runaways.
Brainsss makes up for some of these shortfalls by offering multiple mission types beyond simply converting everything in sight. Additional missions are also promised to unlock with each week that passes, so your investment in the game will grow over time.
Sadly more content isn't always the solution when the difficulty curve varies so wildly. Brainss has potential, but it feels incomplete for the iOS platform.
Screenshots
$0.99
