A great idea for a defense game, but I would enjoy it more if--like other defense games---you were able to actually select your units. You have no control over which units you are allowed to use in an encounter, and when you have thirty seconds to kill 10,000 zombies using only a cement wall, a stick of dynamite, and a mortar that takes a half an hour to reload, the game gets more frustrating than fun in a hurry. Maybe I just don't get it yet, but despite its stellar presentation, every time I play it I just feel like it's repetition is boring and its capricious randomization is frustrating. Glad I got it in Humble Bundle instead of buying. It's interesting and quirky, but I definitely would have been angry had I paid $10 for it.… Expand

Here is a game that takes all the fun out of a zombie apocalypse. The trailers make it seem like the premise is tactically nuking zombies while keeping survivors intact. In reality, most of your time is spent avoiding the absurdly fast pink squares (zombies, just add imagination) and using an easily frightened away helicopter to airlift the defenseless (and largely suicidal) yellow squares. As the game gets harder, you are given troops that can kill the zombies, but then those troops are taken away randomly while the difficulty remains the same. Yay. Finally, the game itself is very user unfriendly. There's no restart button from the pause menu, there's no option to change your loadout as you want it, and the game itself, even when you have the troops you need, is repetitive and dull. It tries to be unique and goofy, but succeeds in being irritating and disappointing. Do not waste your money. Do not waste your time. Play anything but this.… Expand

Atom Zombie Smasher combines a simple premise with huge amounts of options. You have different units that each function differently and creates a fun difficulty curve, making each level an extremely unique and rewarding challenge. The game has loads of worthwhile game mods and alternate modes of play that can drastically change your experience. It has a fantastic aesthetic, creating zany and often completely random mood to what could easily be a grim set up. If you liked the demo then this game is totally worth buying, it's just awesome.… Expand

The graphical style is unique, the story incidental and downright incoherent. There is however, a great arcade style game hidden within this package.

From first appearance it suggests a Flash game taken to the next level of polish so if you're a fan of games like "Infectinator" then this will be right up your alley. This is also a game where you might fail on your first or second run through. For some this is a negative note but if you are one for a challenge and can persevere then you will find great reward in your eventual victory over the horde. If you enjoy the game dynamic then you will find plenty of re-playability from the campaign modifiers available. I for one am a sucker for "world conquest" style games and feel many RTS's could benefit from the meta aspect of this game map.

The only real failing of this title is from the multiplayer. While being offered the only option is multiple controllers on a single screen. LAN or internet options would have significantly pushed the score higher.

Add a score point if you're looking for a game to play while watching TV on another monitor at the same time.… Expand

Very unique game! This is a charming little indie game, so just don't expect DirectX11 graphics, or 20 hour stories. The core idea is simple, you deploy a chopper to rescue civilians from the zombie outbreak, also using other troops to destroy/slow the undead. On the big map you can select which cities to evacuate, while the zombie threats will increase by each round, giving a sense of urgency. The game includes leveling up, research, random situations, and some bizarre writing to go along with the post-apocalyptic world. A very challenging game in itself, different options and mods offer even more replay value. For $5 or less, definitely pick it up. Beware though, some complain its difficulty curve increases really fast, some random situations are virtually unbeatable, and the game always autosaves.… Expand

Very nice game. Addictive gameplay. It concentrates on strategy more than on the story (which is a collection of vaguely connected vignettes) and graphics. But i've definitely had lots of fun playing it! Props to the creator! :)

Amazing idea, really fun gameplay but isn't worth a single dollar. It's the most random and hard game I've ever played. you play half of the campaign looking too good, and suddenly the zombies start spreading like a plague and you are guaranteed to get a random selection of the most useless units that will make the campaign unbeatable... Thankfully I got it for free in the Humble Bundle and didn't pay for it...… Expand

This is a really fun game. I think zombies are getting rather played out, but even if you just view it as an abstract tactics game it's great. It's a good game to play when you have a few minutes to spare. Each round lasts only about 2 minutes, and a full game an hour or so depending on settings. Which btw are fairly extensive. I notice some other user reviews here complaining about that are easy to change in the options menu when you start a campaign. (Although some of them might have to be unlocked, I can't remember) Overall I find it very satisfying. There's a demo so pick it up and give it a shot.… Expand

I didn't like the game at all. It's just not much fun.

Pro: interesting presentation (music, ambience, etc), but I personally don't think it fits very well in a zombie game.
Cons: gameplay sucks. Weapons are very slow to respond, zombies move too fast, frustrating. Didn't feel like playing after 3 maps.

I bought this game as part of a Humble Bundle and installed it out of curiosity more than anything. It turned out to be my favorite game of 2011.

LOL at the people who gave 0 because it was too difficult for them and mistaking stylised graphics for being poor.

Good for wasting a few hours, but Atom Zombie Smasher becomes very boring after the first or second game. Presentation is classy, Gameplay is smooth, there's just not much to see

I didn't expect much from this game, having paid $3, for it on a Steam sale, but I liked it quite a bit. The game has no "graphics" to speak of, people and zombies are tiny dots on a city map. Your job, airlift the yellow ones (non-infected people) out to safety and kill off the pink ones (zombies). You are given tools to do this: a helicopter, some infantry, snipers, mines, barricades, artillery, bombs ... you get the idea, but in each round, you are only given some of your tools (random in the standard game, but selectable if that option is chosen at game start). Each mission is a territory on a larger map and as after battle is fought, your score and the score of the zombies are added to an overall score counter which will determine victory when a pre-determined number is reached. I have played this game twice through to the bitter end. In game one, I was crushed. In game two, I won by a decent margin. For $3 this was a steal. For more than $5... I'd probably wait.… Expand

I've read a lot of good things about this game and I've read a lot of bad things about this game so I tried to keep an open mind going in. I personally think the game fundamentals are solid, but you have to look past the cheesy graphics. The overall impression I get is Risk meets Choplifter with minimal tower defense and real time strategy elements. There is technically no way to win--there are only degrees of losing. The goal is to rescue as many non-infected as you can or destroy the zombie hordes before nightfall. You are given a basic assortment of mercenaries for offensive purposes which level up as they gain experience, and it's only after they start leveling that the game's fun factor is uncovered; just watch out for the friendly fire! Achievements are always a plus. The price tag is a bit on the heavy side for my expectations, but it would be wise to download the demo and judge for yourself. Overall, I found it to be a refreshing distraction.… Expand

It's really a fun indie game. It sort of is a "tower defense" genre but... not really. I know I'm contradicting myself now but there is no other genre I could compare it to. The main purpose here is to save people from zombies. Overall the developers had a really nice idea and I'm sure a person can have few hours of fun playing this game, but then it just gets boring. There is really not much more I can write. Pros: -Original idea for a game. Cons: -Not a kind of a game you'll stick around for too long.… Expand

A fun little game, well worth the 10 $ spent. There's a variety of mods giving you more/faster leveling mercs, bigger cities, etc. All of this kept me playing over and over for quite some time. I found the default campaign difficulty to be rather easy, but the mods add up extra challenge like A LOT MORE ZOMBIES!!! :)

First off, this game is really fun. You will have a blast of a time playing for the first campaign or 2. Shortly after, you will begin to bore of the campaign play. It is a fresh and interesting idea, and well worth the money I paid for it. But now i have uninstalled it from my PC, simply because I cannot play it for more than 15 minutes anymore. Buy it, have fun. Just don't expect to be playing it for years to come.… Expand

Part tower defense, part RISK style strategy, all mixed into a great retro 40's / 50's style package set during the zombie apocalypse.

Graphics are minimalistic but well presented and effective. The feeling is more of a 50's sci-fi monster movie with a WW2 style backdrop. Wherever you classify it, it works very well and has a pleasing aesthetic. Gameplay is polished and smooth. You spend most of your time playing, and not wading through extra bs. Cutscenes are done as a kind of moving comic vignette, which you can watch as it progresses or skip through at your own pace. There are lots of options for how you play the game as well. You can choose just how hard the game is with lots of items rather than the traditional "easy, medium, uberdeathhard" choices. You can turn on and off upgrades, or speed of zombies, or environmental factors like daylight length that affect gameplay. Let's you really customize your game experience, which really lets you have fun. Another thing that adds to this is that you aren't needlessly punished for a slip up. Levels are each pretty bite sized, so if you fail a mission you know quickly. Not only does it let you keep playing if you want (but flashes a restart button for convenience), but when you restart, you can have it maintain your placement of resources so you don't have to do it again or choose to redo it. No loading screens, no extra information if you don't want... just right back into the action. The way this is done is, I would say, nearly perfect.

The only drawback, I would say, is that the game can be slightly repetitive. You are basically always on an overhead map... and maps are fairly similar. The great pacing makes up for this though. This game is about having fun. The developers obviously had that in mind when they made the game... push the fun and everything else will follow. I might have overlooked this if not for the humblebundle, which included it, which would have been a shame. This is definitely a niche style game; you have to be a fan of tower defense or RTS style games, and this is definitely a casual experience. I consider that a plus here though. The game is easily picked up without any prior instruction and is fun in bite sized pieces. Great way to pass the time while waiting for your pizza to arrive or the rest of your carpool to show up. Lots of short levels with saved campaign progress means you can start and stop playing whenever you feel like it.

Low system requirements and price mixed with high aesthetic and fun factor make this a hidden gem that is worth the price ( $9.99 USD at time of review).… Expand

This game was extremely fun.
Even though not graphically proficient, the game offered a large amount of fun and rarely even some humor.
I had much fun in this game. Those who like defend games, strategy games, you'll love this one.

A game that is worth the money you spend. Sure, you may lose interest in time but the charm and cuteness of the game, along with the many different modifications to make the campaign easier/harder/more chaotic make this game worth the $10. Lots of effort was put into this game and it shows.

Atom Zombie smasher is the type of game you play to waste a lot of time. Long story short, if you're a fan of strategy games, I recommend you give this one a try. The moddability is really great too; it is EXTREMELY easy to make, publish and download mods. These mods can really change the experience of the game. My only real complaint is the difficulty, but other than that, this game is great.

Its a nice little game with a very interesting style of presentation. though technically the graphics in game are very minimalistic, it does make sense why they have it as such. if only they had more of a real storyline, it would have been something of a good game, the game overall feels like it was left half finished to me. overall, pretty fun, but then it gets old pretty quickly.

Met the developer at PAX. Incredible game. After an initial judgement of, "well just look at it, it can't be fun", I gave it a shot, and found 2 hours of my day happily spent. Thanks.

Are you really kidding me? After gaming for nearly 30 years, this has got to be the most worthless pile of oozing dung of a so called game I've ever seen! I will leave it at that. This game surely SUX to a pure 10++++ Go on...spend your money then..

I was pleasantly surprised by this game when i got it in the humble bundle. I have since spent over 20 hours on it getting all of the achievements. It's quite unique for a defense game and has plenty of customizable options which can make the game easier or more difficult. You can customize your army, increase the amount of enemies, etc. It also has a very easy to use mod creation system which allows you to mess with almost any part of the game. I had a lot of fun creating my own mods and playing a game with them. Overall, it's a good game that is worth a look… Expand

I love the concept and I love the execution. The humor is quirky and unique and right up my alley. My only complaint is that without modifiers you can't choose which mercenaries go on missions with you (so sometimes you can get really screwed). Past that, the graphics are wonderfully "retro" but fighting pink squares might not do it for some. I had to use my imagination some there. But graphics aside it is a fun game and can be pretty challenging.… Expand

8.5/10 for me. Fun little indie game that had me playing for 2 hours straight without even noticing. It plays like a tower defense, with its on perks like you sort of commanding squads and weapons to try and eliminate purple dots and the occasional purple rectangular prism. Sick game .

Boring, repetitive and ugly. Do not waste your money. The graphics look like something from the 80's and the gameplay just sucks. Every mission is essentially the same. I had enough after three maps but forced myself to keep playing to see if it got better. It didn't.

Such a great game. You know what the gameplay is like so I won't explain but it is so worth your time. I love how long the matches last and the entire concept of the game is so fresh. The game runs great and is a ton of fun.

Amazing zombies game, save the city from the invasion, use the special weapons this game give you, save the country and build special weapons, this is a game you must have !

The 30 minutes the game worked it seemed pretty cool.

That said, the game crashes to the Blue Screen of Death with ATI video cards. No known fix, no patch planned from what I could tell when searching through the publishers site.

Gameplay revolves around protecting an overworld map from zombie infestations. You pick out regions to evacuate and send in troops/artillery/explosives to fight off the zombies while your chopper air-lifts civilians and scientists (for researching upgrades). It gets repetitive because each zone is randomly generated, even if you restart the current mission. However there is no way to preview what the map will look like when you choose to evac it; besides a general difficulty number, there's no sure way to prepare your loadout. This leads to occasionally forfeiting a zone and losing a turn, potentially costing you the whole campaign. Some replay value is provided by mutators which affect everything from possible loadouts to super weapon strengths. I got this in the humble indie bundle 3 and find it very entertaining in small doses. Worth checking out if you're looking for a twist on tower defense games.… Expand