Don't Just Say Yeah, Say HELL YEAH

David Brown

As a zombie fan, I get excited whenever I see a game title with the words "dead" or "undead" in it.  So when I saw this offering from Developer Arkedo Studio and published by Sega, I have to say that I was intrigued. The name alone gives the sense of a high energy game from the start.  For those of you who missed the preview posted a week ago, here is the synopsis for HELL YEAH!:

You are a devil rabbit named Ash, who also happens to be the prince of Hell and feared by all. But one individual has forgotten that. Your archenemy, Fat Rabbit, has posted your secret sex pictures all over the Hellternet and that makes you seriously angry. This sucks! You want him to burn in Hell, and with your hot temper you can make revenge oh so sweet. It's you and your trusty driller (plus some other weapons and customization!) against everyone else. Drill your way to vengeance and explore the huge and varied world of Hell Yeah! Delving into the darkest depths of the underworld, you can ride the driller as a slaughter machine and exterminate those rude and ugly monsters by blasting and tearing them apart on your mission to get Fat Rabbit. Don't feel bad; they all deserve to die! It's you against Hell, after all. It's Hell Yeah!

In my mind, while the protagonist Ash refrains from eating flesh of the living, he is still a zombie because he is undead. So with that out of the way, lets actually get to the game and see how it holds up to this odd back-story.

The first thing that you will notice about HELL YEAH! is that it is a very bright and colorful game. The graphics are crisp and with all the time I have put into it I have yet to find a graphical blemish or any collision detection issues.  Every level from the underwater mazes to the cartoon world where you kill with rainbows has a unique look and feel to it.

The sound in this game is top notch.  I noticed that the music changes depending on the location you are at and honestly I am glad it is. There have been too many games that leave you with one set soundtrack. 

As far as the controls in this game go, I can safely say that I haven't had a game control this tightly in a long time.  You move with the left stick, you can hold the A button to hover and you aim your weapons with the right stick.  The right shoulder button is dual use here as the button to control your drill and fire your weapons.  Even when you are surrounded by enemies you will be able to keep calm with easy weapon changes and unlimited ammo.

Now the big question, is it fun? I think I can safely answer this with a HELL YEAH! The game moves at such a brisk pace that you never grow bored. I also found it very hard to get lost in a level due to the radar at the bottom of the screen.  There are a lot of enemies to kill in very differing ways.  When you do enough damage you get to play a short mini-game to defeat the boss for good. In one instance I was pumping iron and the next I was trying to steal honey from a bee-hive.  There is a lot of oddity in this game, but it makes for a very fun experience.

This game is rated T but I must caution that it does earn it's rating.  There is quite a bit of suggestive humor throughout the game and some language here and there. Overall though this is just one minor complaint with an overall amazing game.  If you like your action fast and your undead rabbits faster, ,then go out and pick up this game today on XBOX Live or Playstation Network.