Time for the second installment in my Chrome game’s series. This week I bring you a game called Zombie Pandemic. I know what most of you are already thinking “ Oh sweet flaming mother Mary in a side car, not another zombie game!”. Trust me at first I was thinking the exact same thing. Then I actually played the game and I think it’s worth your time. Even with zombie issue.

Now the game bills itself as a MMORPG. While it sure has the MMO part right, it’s not exactly WOW either. It feels more like a point and click adventure with elements of a D&D RPG. I know this much, I never felt overwhelmed in any way shape or form by the tasks given to me. There was also no level fifty dick troll, trying to stomp me in the ground five minutes after I started. One of the big things that kept me playing it, in spite of farmville like barriers was the pen and paper feel to the game.

The basic mechanics are simple and easy to learn. To move around you click on the various arrows scattered around the game screen. At the top of the screen is all your important data like health, stamina points and how much crap your carrying. Above that is your character and map screens etc. The biggest limiting factor is the stamina points. Once you run out of those your done until they replenish. Basically it gives you roughly two hours of game play or so per day. There are items found through out the world that will your stamina points. Past that your going to need to either spend real money or just wait. I recommend waiting personally.

Acquiring missions and tasks is a fairly basic affair. Your map indicates mission locations with a big blue M. Past that its just a few clicks and your done. Now this is where the D&D part comes into play. At certain points you will have to roll to see if you can accomplish parts of a mission. I have never had to roll more than twice to complete whatever task was at hand. Finding the path to complete missions is also easy as can be. The same arrows you use to navigate normally will be lit up yellow in whatever direction you need to head. It is impossible to get lost.

Each time you move to a new screen there is the possibility of looting. Everything you need in the game from food to weapons can be found doing this. If you have to much loot or just want to get rid of junk there are places to sell it. You interact with the merchants the same way you do with mission givers. Once your extra loot is sold you can buy more things to pack around. This is another area where you can exchange real money for in game items. This will allow you to get more powerful weapons quicker.

Finally lets talk about the combat. Can anyone guess how that works at this point? If you guessed point and click, you would be right! Simple and efficient, plus it gives you the option to flee like a little bitch. That comes in handy when your low level and jumped by five or six zombies. I generally stick with guns, but there is plenty of melee weapons. For those of you who prefer up close and personal combat. The nice thing about the game is you don’t really have to fight much. On each screen it tells you if there are enemies and you have to engage them to fight. There are also random encounters where enemies jump you. May not satisfy the hardcore zombie hater, but it works well in a casual setting.

Zombie Pandemic is an interesting take on both MMORPG’s and browser titles. In fact its one of the few Chrome games I have run through that still holds my attention daily. Yes it has elements of silly Facebook games and that can be annoying. However those aspects do not manifest themselves in as heavy handed a manner. Plus it takes about ten seconds to install and then uninstall. In other words, you really have nothing to lose trying it out.