Game: Infected
Developer: Planet Moon Studios

Wireless Infrastructure: Yes
Wireless Multiplayer: Yes
Requires Memory Stick: Yes

"Thinking about the sheer number of infected you'll face in this mission made me crap my pants"

Infected has gotten a lot of interest since its concept was announced. The game is about killing zombies. Hundreds of zombies. Zombies in New York at Christmas. You are Rookie Officer Stevens, somehow immune to the virus which the infected spread to others and the last hope for New York (and I guess humanity). Dr Schaeffer (some scientist from somewhere) has developed a gun which allows you to kill infected with your blood. Along with the Police Commissioner, Dr Schaeffer will provide you with updates and information on the virus in a one man crusade to wipe out this scourge. First you need to get down the infected defenses with a weapon, then you kill em with your viral gun. Hit infected near each other and watch a chain reaction of infected blow up.

They're good. Nothing amazing mind you but they do the job. Given the sheer volume of blood and guts that will churn out from killing zombies they've done well, with minimal slowdown. The landscapes are dreary as you'd expect a warzone in New York to be look. The splatter from the zombies is great and the looks of fear (or is that stupidity?) on the other survivors comes across well. Get some zombies close enough and you'll get blood on the camera. Hack those zombies up with a chainsaw and watch the guts fly!

I hate nu-metal. It is the scourge of metal. This soundtrack is full of nu-metal, but you know what? It works. It works well. The aggressive sounds of a variety of bands including Slipknot (who are in the game, unfortunately you don't get to kill them), Trivium, Chimaira, and Ill Nino, amongst other provide a great backdrop to the killing fields. The in-game sounds of zombies and the splatter they make when hit with your anti-viral gun is awesome. The screams of terrified New Yorkers is music to my ears…. Err I mean it's effective. The between levels sounds of the doctor and commissioner talking to you via a walkie talkie is great and the newsflashes are downright hilarious.

This was always going to be the tricky part for Infected. So often are games hyped and fall apart due to poor gameplay. Thankfully this isn't the case here. As developers struggle to figure out how to convert the controls of a 1st person shooter to the PSP there's going to be problems. Infected for the most part runs fine. The controls are precise (lucky for target locking) and it'll take a short time before you feel comfortable using the character and getting used to the movement. Once you do you'll enjoy yourself immensely. One problem I have is not being able to turn 90 degrees to your left or right, if an infected comes up next to you, sometimes you'll fiddle around before being able to get him. The mini map sucks. It doesn't change direction and it makes it difficult to get where you want to be in a hurry.

There are 35 blood filled missions to get through and whist killing zombies is your primary task, there are some rescue and protection missions involved which require you to protect a certain number of people, or get a certain umber of people onto evac choppers. You'll be awarded medals for completing the missions, just completing some missions isn't enough, you'll have to do it in a certain time frame.

No matter how quickly you pick up the controls and how good you think you are, I can guarantee you will not complete all missions first go. There's actually some thought needed to rescue people or to evade a horde of berserk Infected. There are 3 difficulty levels so you'll always be able to challenge yourself further, however I'm disappointed that there's only 35 levels. After a weekend of playing infected on easy I got to the last level. This was due in part because I was so addicted I just kept playing over and over until my hands were cramped and hurting, but I'd love to see an expansion pack released.

Infected is so much fun. This has definitely been the most enjoyable PSP game I've played so far. Whether you're trying to go for gold or just wanna blow up zombies Infected is highly addictive and entertaining. I should point out that the US version I have has a 17+ rating on it. There's violence – lots of violence, swearing – everyone swears, and a lot of black humour. If you don't like these things or are politically correct stay away or you'll be offended.

I think that whilst you may complete the game in a week or so, you'll be drawn back in to get combo's and just have fun. I can see myself playing this game way into the future. There's the wifi and multiplayer modes to get into and the unique ability to spread your own individual 'virus' across the globe by defeating others in death matches.

One of the most enjoyable releases on the PSP so far. It has it's flaws but the addictive gameplay and splatfest make up for it. If you enjoy violent humorous, fast paced action then infected is definitely for you.