Review by: Tom Chick

Let me get this out of the way first. Space Pirates and Zombies is about ten times as good as it has any business being. Maybe even twenty or thirty times. More on that later.

But first, let me tell you something I've always wanted in a videogame: an unexpected twist. A really big unexpected twist. A world-changing shift that I didn't already know from previews, trailers, or forum discussions. What I'd particularly like is an unforeseen zombie apocalypse. For instance, imagine playing Grand Theft Auto VIII and half way through the game, while you're resolving some sort of gangster quest, a radio bulletin warns you that the dead are walking the earth.

Because, really, that's what an apocalypse is all about. Apocalypse is a Greek word that means removing the cover from something. It references, quite literally, a revelation. So if you already know about it, how much of an apocalypse can it be? The point is that something is revealed, or uncovered, turning the natural order upside down. Your frame of reference is entirely shifted. The normal trappings of the world are gone, often replaced with something terrible. Maybe something dead, horrible, and hungry. Most videogames drop you into an apocalypse after the fact. So much for the whole uncovering bit. You missed the actual revelation and now you're just here for the aftermath.

Space Pirates and Zombies doesn't fast forward beyond the apocalypse. You get front row seats when it happens. What begins as a sort of Star Control clone turns into a zombie game, which I wouldn't tell you if the word "zombie" wasn't already in the title. Besides, you can see the shift coming as you work your way towards that seemingly innocuous waypoint in the center of the galaxy. But it's no less dramatic for being telegraphed this way, because Space Pirates and Zombies isn't afraid to become a different kind of game once the dead walk the earth. Or, in this case, drift the stars. The game you're playing in the first 20 hours isn't the game you're playing in the second 20 hours, which also isn't the game you're playing the third 20 hours.

In terms of moment-to-moment gameplay, Space Pirates and Zombies sticks to a simple set of core values: cool ships drifting around, waging glorious 2D battles that would make Star Control jealous for all their personality, flexibility, and even strategy. This isn't one of those formless "cram this hull with whatever you want!" spaceship games. Instead, it features specific ships with meaningful differences. You'll learn to appreciate the difference between a Grinder, a Right Hook, a Sunspot, a Helix, and a Turtle Head.

But this doesn't rob the game of that sense of customization that any good RPG needs. As you level up, you choose which technologies to emphasize. Are you into missiles, fighters, mines, bombs, cannons, or beams? And how much will you focus on firepower over the fundamentals like armor, shields, crew, and engines? There are no wrong answers. You're building your ships as surely as you'd build your character in Deus Ex or Dragon Age.