Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse? More like: Stubbs the Zombie in a Game Without a Pulse.
I’m sure that joke has been made a thousand times already.
Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse has been on my watch list for a long time. I got it in my head that because the game on the original Xbox was rare and valuable and that they remastered it recently then it must be a worthwhile game. I was wrong.
The game starts off relatively simple and you get your kicks from chomping down on civilians and police’s brains. There is a joy in freely running around attacking people but soon enough it starts becoming a bit mundane and boring. The game does get better towards the second half when the gameplay starts to vary but not by much. The game also doesn’t offer that much guidance. No map or objectives just attack people until you find or exit or see green arrows pointing towards an exit.
As well as turning innocent civilians into zombies themselves and having them help you attack the police, you can also use your arm to possess enemies with guns allowing you to run around shooting at people. Other abilities are available too such as farting to stun enemies, rolling your head and throwing your guts like grenades. These are powered up by eating the brains of other humans.There are vehicles available to you in some levels which can be driven around causing more havoc.
The game has a 1950’s retrofuturism look which I was excited by but it is not really used to full effect, you don’t see that many elements in the game that fit the style. I did enjoy the barbershop quartet as enemies though.
Despite the remaster the game still looks very much like it did back on the original Xbox. To 2024’s standards it looks like an alpha version of a game still in production. The graphics are very basic and the levels are very vast. This means it takes longer for you to traverse a map, and with no sprint button this only prolongs the game time and causes a bit of frustration.
The game has a lot of sexual innuendos targeting a teenage and mature audience but honestly they should have removed these sexual innuendos and just targested the game towards a younger audience. As the innuendos aren’t clever or funny.
The concept of the game is fantastic, being a zombie attacking humans to spread the virus is great in theory it just needs to be better executed. A new game or sequel built from the ground up improving on the level design and bad humour would go down a storm.
Despite the game changing this up in the second half it still felt lifeless and boring. The plot was silly and the very little guidance throughout the gameplay doesn’t help with player engagement. Thankfully the game is not that long and can be completed in an afternoon. Unless you are someone with nostalgia for this game I'd suggest you give it a miss.
I’m sure that joke has been made a thousand times already.
Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse has been on my watch list for a long time. I got it in my head that because the game on the original Xbox was rare and valuable and that they remastered it recently then it must be a worthwhile game. I was wrong.
The game starts off relatively simple and you get your kicks from chomping down on civilians and police’s brains. There is a joy in freely running around attacking people but soon enough it starts becoming a bit mundane and boring. The game does get better towards the second half when the gameplay starts to vary but not by much. The game also doesn’t offer that much guidance. No map or objectives just attack people until you find or exit or see green arrows pointing towards an exit.
As well as turning innocent civilians into zombies themselves and having them help you attack the police, you can also use your arm to possess enemies with guns allowing you to run around shooting at people. Other abilities are available too such as farting to stun enemies, rolling your head and throwing your guts like grenades. These are powered up by eating the brains of other humans.There are vehicles available to you in some levels which can be driven around causing more havoc.
The game has a 1950’s retrofuturism look which I was excited by but it is not really used to full effect, you don’t see that many elements in the game that fit the style. I did enjoy the barbershop quartet as enemies though.
Despite the remaster the game still looks very much like it did back on the original Xbox. To 2024’s standards it looks like an alpha version of a game still in production. The graphics are very basic and the levels are very vast. This means it takes longer for you to traverse a map, and with no sprint button this only prolongs the game time and causes a bit of frustration.
The game has a lot of sexual innuendos targeting a teenage and mature audience but honestly they should have removed these sexual innuendos and just targested the game towards a younger audience. As the innuendos aren’t clever or funny.
The concept of the game is fantastic, being a zombie attacking humans to spread the virus is great in theory it just needs to be better executed. A new game or sequel built from the ground up improving on the level design and bad humour would go down a storm.
Despite the game changing this up in the second half it still felt lifeless and boring. The plot was silly and the very little guidance throughout the gameplay doesn’t help with player engagement. Thankfully the game is not that long and can be completed in an afternoon. Unless you are someone with nostalgia for this game I'd suggest you give it a miss.