The brain devouring undead have shambled their way onto the iOS platform in Gamenauts’ endless genre-based racer, Nuclear Outrun. A nuke is descending on the city to destroy the fleshing eating menace, and your only escape from the blast is a modified pickup truck.
As you flee from the city, hordes of zombies wearing clown outfits, bunny ears and typical, everyday clothing ‘drop’ into the environment. While the game starts you with a firearm, your chances of surviving the first 200+ miles before the undead maul your vehicle are slim. The game’s premise is to kill as many on-screen zombies as possible, rescue survivors trapped in glass ‘chambers’, and collect gold coins that can be used to purchase items to increase your travel distance and survivability.
The game mechanics are relatively simple – your truck travels on a linear path while you rapidly tap your finger on the iPhone’s screen to shoot zombies and collect power ups. Defeating the undead and driving a great distance isn’t easy, as your vehicle will quickly sustain damage from any zombies you happen to miss.
The gold coins collected during the course of the game can be used to purchase additional ammo, weapons and eventually better trucks.. These upgrades, among others, are available through the ‘Vault Headquarters’ screen. You can also buy ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ that include a giant, robotic T-Rex named George. Additionally, Nuclear Outrun includes eight ‘special’ survives to find and boss battles that are just as challenging as the main levels themselves.
Nuclear Outrun is designed to accommodate six levels, but only Metro City was available at the time of this review. Developer Gamenauts is currently developing future levels and will hopefully release them soon. Updates for the game are frequent and the most recent one included fifteen new survivors to save and increased damage for some weapons.
Gamers looking for a challenge will not be disappointed by Nuclear Outrun; what it lacks in depth it makes up for in replay value. Besides, name one game from recent memory where you can use a giant T-REX named George to trample the undead?
Mike Pittaro
Platform: iOS (iPhone/iPad)
• Updated: Aug 04, 2013
• Version: 1.1
• Size: 31.1 MB
• Language: English
• Seller: Gamenauts
• Gamenauts, Inc.
Rated 9+ for the following:
• Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.3 or later. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.
Developer: Gamenauts
Publisher: Gamenauts
ESRB: N/A
Price: Currently Free
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |   |
| Colorful 2D graphics that look sharp on the iPhone. | |
| Sound | |
| A great sound track enhances the experience. | |
| Gameplay | |
| While it's a basic shooter on rails, the additional content adds to the replay value. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Incredibly fun and addictive, Nuclear Outrun is a worthy addition to any iPhone gamer's library of apps. | |
