Available on - PS3 for Monster Madness: Grave Danger, however the 360 and PC have a version of the game which is mostly the same just missing a few stages/items etc.
Score between 7 and 10 - 7(Average) While I am giving it a 7 id say its on the verge of an 8(Good)
You may like Monster Madness if you like - Zombies Ate My Neighbors, brawlers or horror movie/games in general.
Game Concept - Monster Madness puts you in the shoes of 4 teenagers who suddenly find their city overrun with zombies, werewolf's, psycho clowns and many other horror movie staples. You will fight your way through the different stages with a mix of melee and ranged weapons as well with a number of different vehicles. The game is highly reminiscent to the SNES classic Zombies Ate My Neighbors, and even references it once!
Pros
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Tons and Tons of ranged weapons and special items - This game has more ranged items then just about any I have ever played and they are a blast to play around with. While you of course get staples like the mini turret, a rocket launcher and a shotgun, you also will see a ton of other unique and fun weapons. These unique weapons like the cd launcher, modified defibrillators(creates an EMP field around you)and glue gun which you can use to stick enemies to the ground are a big part of what makes the game so fun. On top of all the basic weapons there are a lot of secondary item based weapons such as bombs, Molotov's and even a wind up exploding monkey!
Lots of Upgrades -All of your weapons can be upgraded to do some pretty sweet stuff. For instance the cd launcher upgrades to shoot at least 3 bouncing CD's and the glue gun upgrades to shoot toxic glue that damages enemies! Its not just weapons that can be upgraded though, you can also buy tons of upgrades for your characters via the accessories they wear. These upgrades power your character up by letting them run faster, take less damage, leach life from enemies or hit harder/faster. Without the upgrades I think I might have played straight through on easy mode with one character and been done with the game, but with all the upgrades available I found myself replaying stages just to power up my weapons and character.
Tons of stages and monster types - The game features 18 different stages and 70 different monsters! It makes the game feel much more interesting and vibrant that one moment you could be fighting zombies and Sasquatches in the forest then next thing you know your underground fighting zombies, werewolves and vampires!
Great Co Op Game - I played through part of this game by myself, but I also played through part of it with my wife and part of it with my 11 year old brother. The game is so easy to just pick up and play in small spurts and so easy for a new comer to learn. It also makes it easier to jump in since people can play as characters that already have upgraded guns/accessories.
Genuinely funny and charming at times - The game has a very Scooby Doo kind of feel through a lot of the game and many of the jokes can be a bit corny(someone mistaking the goth girl for a zombie for instance). However it does have moments where it can be pretty damn amusing. For example I chuckled when the teeny bopper stereotype Jennifer I was playing as was turned into a Zombie and her giant FF boobs began drooping to her knees. References to horror movies or other things in the culture such as naming the pumpkin head enemies Jack were nice touches as well! As a result while early on I was tempted to skip cut scenes by the end of the game I was glad I had not.
Varied game play - While the early stages had me worried about repetition the combination of all the different enemies, items and weapons kept the game play feeling fresh....and then they started adding in vehicles like the tank and ATV as well as mini missions. The game did a surprisingly good job at keeping the game play from stagnating.
Mini Games - As you play through the base game a number of mini games such as home run derby, a pac man rip off and pizza delivery open up. All in all there are probably around two dozen mini games and challenges! The games themselves are decent but not amazing, but its still a lot of added value(especially if your a kid who cant afford to buy a few games a month like us adults).
4 difficulties to choose from - This adds to the whole jump in factor mentioned above making the game accessible for both hardcore and casual players.
Cons
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4 characters to chose from...but they feel identical - The characters do have some small differences like the way their melee attack functions and their special move that builds up over time....but at the end of the day they still feel very very similar.
Certain levels were just dull/tedious -While some levels introduced an interesting section such as not being able to use weapons or letting you use a giant tank, others were just pains in the ass! At one point you have to find "golden zombies" for a leprechaun and in another body parts for a dead janitor. Both have you running around trying to find what their looking for without really getting to fight or do anything. The janitor in particular was annoying to the point that we almost quit the game.
No split screen option - While a minor nit pick I really would have loved a split screen option. When playing with my wife I vastly prefer the full screen co op game play, however when playing with my 11 year old brother I would have killed to be able to have split screen. The split screen also would have been amazingly useful in the above mentioned missions where you had to hunt down items or bring zombies to the leprechaun!
The game needed more interactive items - As you run around the various levels you will find some items you can pick up and toss at your enemies. The problem is that these items in later levels are too few and far between and that really outside the lawn mower I do not recall ever finding an item you could do anything with other then chuck or swing it at the enemies in a generic fashion. Another minor nit pick, I know but still an annoyance! The game should have either cut interactive items from the game or made them more common with more uses.
The game can be glitchy - I experienced screen ripping and other graphical glitches semi frequently in the early game(not bad in the later half). The glitches could be a little annoying but nothing to bring the game down that badly(after all its just visual not game play effecting)....however in one level the game did completely freeze causing me to reboot my PS3. While it only happened once that's still one time too many!
Closing Comments - Most of what I review for this site will be stuff that even if it not well known is well respected. The other games are games that largely received between an 8 and a 10 by anyone that actually played the game. Monster Madness is a little different, its the first game that iv reviewed that I can say was not just overlooked...but also underrated. A number of gamers that have played it are giving it the review it deserves, but I think far too many reviewers are probably judging this game based on an hour or two of play! Would I put Monster Madness next to games like Secret of Mana or Gears of War? No definitely not! However, regardless of if I was gluing a Frankenstein monster to the ground, watching my brother take 3 vampires at once with a rubber band grenade launcher or grinding my character into a god I had a lot of fun with Monster Madness! And at the end of the day is this not why we play games? To have fun? So, if you enjoyed Zombies Ate my Neighbors or are looking for a good co op game to play with friends or family on the PS3(or I guess Xbox/PC)then Monster Madness is a great game to pick up and blast some enemies in!
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