Bloody Harry: Zombie Shooting 3.0.9

The poor, overused zombies need a rest. From AAA movies and video games, to indie games and even board games, the zombie theme is always there, being reinterpreted once in a while, but still holding strong for decades now. Maybe that's the reason why I seldom pay attention to anything that even pertains zombies. Well, there is one exception, and that is Plants Vs. Zombies. That title was different enough as to not be mired in the same old cliché.

On the other hand Bloody Harry, besides referencing some gruesome royalty facts from history, also mixes plants and zombies. So much so, that it features plant-zombies. I don't know how that managed to happen. In any case, the world has been completely overrun by limping anthropomorphic potato heads and crab claw spitting tomato 'persons' (among other things). These things have nothing better to do than roam the streets and 'populate' whatever building is left from the human civilization. Harry, a former cook, has an unquenchable appetite for legumes, and so he goes out every night to hunt these creatures and gather coins (of course).

Harry is an adept at wielding a crowbar (like someone else we know) but crowbars are not so effective on plant fibers, so he also carries a gun. Levels are reminiscent of old single player fighting games where the character(s) would move rightwards on a band, killing enemies forward up and down. Harry would pop potato heads (literally) and collect coins and ammo in the process. The crowbar can be used to destroy props like trash bins, chairs and whatnot, in order to make room and score some more coins.

In between the runs, you will get to upgrade Harry's arsenal, buy improving his gun, getting new weapons (including a nice looking meat cleaver) and spending cash on some temporary bonuses. These might not be worth it usually. However, there are 'boss' levels that require your utmost preparedness in order to beat them.

Bloody Harry is a fairly difficult game, and this becomes obvious during boss fights. These guys are packed with enormous 'health' (if you can call it that) and are also accompanied by their less dangerous veggie friends. Boss battles aside however, Harry can get some help in form of bonuses that are found during a level, the most effective of which is the skateboard. With it you can quickly run through the level, ignoring some of the opposition and raising your chances of finishing it before your life runs out. There are also allies that can accompany you (such as the cucumber dog) and weird bonuses such as being shot from a canon or wielding a war-hammer for a limited time.

Overall, Bloody Harry is not that bloody. Of course, you will delight in scoring headshots on potato heads, and it also looks pretty fun. But albeit that, the gameplay is not very graphic. It is actually fairly comical as you can't get grossed by a silly faced vegetable running towards you gleefully with with a gaping mouth. There's one thing dislike. The controls are not customizable, and I often find my left thumb drifting from the touch area, as the stick is placed to close to the edge of the screen. This might be contributing to the difficulty, but who am I to complain.