Samorost and Samorost 2 are two point and click adventure games from Amanita Design. After playing Civilization IV for 30 hours or so, these two games offered brief but enjoyable gameplay. In fact, each game can be finished in a single sitting, which I did. The Samorost adventures are visually striking Adobe Flash games featuring uniquely styled artwork and cute characters. The puzzles are fair and not overly complicated. Like many point and click adventures, however, you are sometimes forced to hunt and peck around the screen for clickable items with which to interact. I enjoyed both games, but the sequel was the longer and somewhat more difficult of the two.

After playing Rome: Total War and Age of Empires III, I took a break before starting another historical strategy game. After I finished Stubbs the Zombie, however, I was ready for Civilization IV. I enjoyed Civilization III and heard even better things about Civilization IV. After playing the tutorial, I started my first real game. I chose to play a standard sized continents map with pretty default settings. I let the computer assign me a random civilization, which was the English. On my continent were the Arabs, Greeks, and Spanish. Later, I discovered a second continent populated by the Indians, Incas, and Aztecs.

For most of the game, I remained on cordial terms with almost every other nation. The one notable exception was the Aztecs, led by Montezuma. Although our nation was at peace, the Greeks constantly warred with the Spanish. Both sides tried to drag me into the conflict but I refused. When the Aztecs sent troops to our continent to attack the Spanish, we decided to act. I declared war on the Aztecs and England drove them back to their own shores. We were at war from 1953 to 1978. Finally, Montezuma asked for peace and we accepted. Unfortunately for the Spanish, the Greeks continued their aggression against them. By 2009, the Spanish civilization had been completely eliminated.

I was in no hurry to achieve victory because I was having so much fun with the game. Our civilization was the greatest in the world in terms of population, culture and military might. As the world approached the 21st century, several nations began a race into space. The Indians were well ahead of every other nation. We were in real jeopardy of losing the game to them. We put the full resources of England behind the production of a space ship. In 2024, we completed our space ship slightly ahead of the Indians. England achieved a Space Race victory!

Well, this was different. The latest computer game I completed was Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse. An action game from 2005, Stubbs was certainly a change of pace. Built on the Halo game engine, Stubbs presented a third-person perspective in a fantasy/horror setting. Set in 1959 in fictional Punchbowl, Pennsylvania, the plot followed zombie and former traveling salesman, Edward “Stubbs” Stubblefield. Instead of the typical array of firearms, Stubbs wielded a unique variety of weapons. At his disposal was zombie strength, gut grenades, unholy flatulence, an enemy-possessing hand, and a sputum head. The hand and head were detachable and regenerating. The hand, in particular, offered an excellent alternative to usual run-and-gun tactics. In addition to these weapons was Stubbs’ bread and butter—eating people’s brains. Devouring brains recharged his other attacks, so a mix of attack strategies was effective.

All in all, I liked Stubbs a lot. It was a nice blend of action, irreverent humor, and very creative weaponry. It also featured a great soundtrack with modern covers of classic songs from the 1950s and 1960s.


Click here for the Stubbs the Zombie trailer.