18 cert, Housemarque, PSN ***

The story is familiar: one hero must face down an army of the undead in a crumbling post- apocalyptic world. The object of the game is as simple as the premise, and consists of mowing down as many zombies as possible while trying not to let them get their claws into you. Viewed from above in a third-person perspective, you control the character’s walking with one analogue stick and the direction of your gunfire with the other, making the gameplay reminiscent of Smash TV. You’re outnumbered by the zombies, so you have to outsmart them, and there are helpful extra items for those with sharp eyes. There’s also a decent variety of combustible objects, from fuel tanks to parked cars. Dead Nation shuffles into a market that’s already crowded with zombie shooters, but this relatively lo-fi game is simple and unpretentious, if a tad repetitive.