5 Reasons You Should Be Excited About Stubbs The Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse Remake
It’s a game that flies well and truly does so under the radar. Upon its initial release, Stubbs The Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse came out and seemed to get overlooked for the most part. In fact, in a lot of ways, the game was sabotaged by certain groups who found it offensive, despite the fact the game is an incredibly cheesy comedy.
So I’ve decided to write a list in an attempt to convince you that you’ll not only be getting your money’s worth when you purchase this classic, but that you’ll be getting more than you could have bargained for. Here are my top 5 reasons you should be excited about Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse remake releasing on the 16th of March this year!
5 – It Uses The Original Halo Engine in a Unique Way
The first couple of Halo games were brilliant and defining releases for the original Xbox console. The gameplay was absolutely unique and influential for the time, to the point where it seemed like there was potential to take the engine to all kinds of interesting places.
As far as I know, very few games even attempted to make use of this game engine. There was one major exception to this rule. Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse was built on the Halo engine, as a third person game where you play as a zombie trying to eat brains and find your girlfriend.
As a result, you get a familiar experience that is also unique and a lot of fun. The controls are at a minimum, as smooth as the first Halo game, and the third-person aspect makes it feel immediately different enough to be interesting. You get to control a zombie instead of Master Chief, and instead of guns you get access to some disgusting zombie special abilities such as bowling your head at a line of enemies or throwing various explosive organs to take out larger groups. There’s hours of fantastic gameplay to get out of this one!
4 – Couch Co-op As It Used To Be
Couch multiplayer is generally a lost art these days. Occasionally, an indie game will give you an experience that is a lot of fun, but back in the day local co-op was as good as it has ever been, or probably ever will again.
Stubbs is the perfect example of how well done this local co-op system was at the time. The entire game can be played with a friend, and that friend will have to be sitting beside you (unless online co-op is implemented in the upcoming release – though Aspyr Games’ ports are known to be perfectly faithful to the original releases), which brings back the concept of a long night with your best mate.
Get some beers, get some pizza, and get Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse, and I guarantee you’ll be having an absolute blast from the past. From a dance party to having smash up derbys in a hovercraft, this is an experience you won’t wanna miss.
3 – It’s Like Destroy All Humans But With Zombies
Retro-futurism is brilliant. The concept of an old-school world looking forward is fascinating, whether it be from content from the past or a modern interpretation. Stubbs the Zombie gets this aesthetic right in every way, shape, and form.
The game is set in a 1950’s city, built by a billionaire, using futuristic technology. Punchbowl is the future of the planet, and you get to destroy it and set humanity back by centuries by eating the brains of everyone in the town. It’s like a classic sci-fi movie for gamers, and it’s perfect.
In the same way that Destroy All Humans let’s you take control of the traditional bad guy, Stubbs does the same thing. Instead of being the otherworldly threat, you are the threat from beyond the grave. Let’s be honest, sometimes it’s more fun to be against humanity than to be fighting for it, am I right?
2 – The Port is By Aspyr Games
Aspyr Games are brilliant. The ports that they do work, and boy do they work well. Nintendo Link’s editor in chief, Jason Capp, recently reviewed their Nintendo Switch port of Star Wars Episode 1 Pod Racer and concluded that the port was fantastic.
They’ve ported dozens of games over the years, including Civilization VI, Mafia III, Borderlands, and Planet Coaster. In almost every example, Aspyr have nailed it, and they’ve gotten better and better as they’ve gone on.
For anyone who hasn’t played Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse and would rather play it in it’s original glory instead of a remake, Aspyr will have done the job to perfection. You’ll get to experience a classic game that hasn’t had to compromise on anything.
1 – The Soundtrack is Among the Greatest of All Time
Whoever was in charge of the soundtrack for Stubbs the Zombie knew what they were doing when they arranged this one. They managed to get a bunch of indie rock and emo bands to do a lot of covers of some classic 1950’s songs.
Hearing Ben Kweller cover “Lollipop” or Cake covering “Strangers in the Night” while playing a video game is not something you’d ever have thought to ask for, but we never knew we needed it to be honest. And if you missed it, boy did you miss out!
Until now, that is. You might have been in a position to miss out forever, but now you can catch up or relive the brilliance of the Stubbs the Zombie soundtrack for a fraction of the original release price.
So there you have it. Five reasons to try Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse in its upcoming remake release, and if these reasons aren’t enough, how about this one:
It’s only $20.00!
Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse releases on March 16th, but you can pre-order it right now. You can even pre-order a spectacular Collector’s Edition, too. Do yourself a favour and check this one out. Trust me, you wont regret it!
Pre-order on the eShop here: $19.99, £14.89, 16.50€
Thank you for stopping by Nintendo Link for all of your Stubbs the Zombie lists and reasons to buy! Have you ever played the original before? Are you planning on picking up the remake? Let us know in the comments below!
