Gameplay
If real-time, strategic games are right down your alley, Dead Panic is definitely for you. The basic idea of the game is that your soldiers start out in certain positions on the map and stay there throughout the round. In some maps, you decide where to place your soldiers; in others, they are already placed. Zombies then start coming in from all directions, and it’s up to you to face the soldiers strategically to point at the zombies. The soldiers then automatically shoot at any zombie in their range and line of sight, which is visually represented on the screen by a transparent green triangle.

Features
The game has two modes: Campaign and Survival. In Campaign mode, the user plays through sets of maps, winning if all the zombies are killed and losing if all the soldiers are killed. In Survival mode, you earn currency for each enemy you kill, which you can use to buy more soldiers, a health boost, or other bonuses. Dead Panic features on/off options for music and sound effects. The game can be played on two difficulty levels: normal or easy. More user flexibility such as another difficulty level or volume bars for music and sound effects would have Dead Panic rating at a 5 for Features.

Ease of Use
Dead panic opens with a home screen that has a button right to the tutorial. The tutorial takes only a few minutes to complete, and easily guides you through a simple round. It explains what you need to know about how to play without being long and boring, and lets you discover the rest and develop your own strategies while playing.

Graphics and Sound
The graphics are appropriate for this type of game. They aren’t extremely realistic looking, but who cares? It’s a zombie game. The music and sounds effects are enjoyable and keep you in the mood for zombie hunting.

Reliability
Dead Panic almost defines “reliability.” When you get a phone call in the middle of a round—or, as it typically happens, right before the very end of a round—don’t worry. Just open Dead Panic back up after you’re done telling your boss how miserably ill you are (*cough, cough*) and hit the “Continue Game” button. In fact, if you feel like checking the weather on your iPhone during a round of zombie slaying (who doesn’t?) then just close Dead Panic, do what you need to do, open it back up, and continue the game. What about text messages? They pause the game automatically too. These are the type of features every developer should consider integrating into their games. However, there is one minor bug cutting Dead Panic from 5 stars in Reliability. When you exit the game and come back to it, all your soldiers are magically back up to 100% health. While I can’t say I haven’t enjoyed this exploit a few times, it probably should be corrected.

Conclusion
Dead Panic is both challenging and addictive! It’s a must-have for any zombie genre fan, and features original and refreshing gameplay.