Based on the title and screenshots like the one above, you might think Burn, Zombie, Burn is just another cartoony action game, similar to the (underrated) Monster Madness games. Maybe you think it's Left 4 Dead 4 Kidz. Or just Smash TV or Robotron with cute zombies.

Well, you're wrong. This is a clever, funny, and fiendishly addictive action/strategy/puzzle game that's every bit as compelling as Geometry Wars. In fact, more so for those of us with a predilection for zombie killing, which gives Burn, Zombie, Burn its own unique smart twist. And I hate to say this to those of you who don't have a Playstation 3, but it's right up there with Flower, Resistance 2 multiplayer, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, and the Blu-Ray drive as one of the best reasons to have a Playstation 3.

Strong words, I know. So read the review of Burn, Zombie, Burn after the jump.

First, let me tell you two quick things about doublesix, the folks who made Burn, Zombie, Burn.

1) Doublesix is one of the development teams that comprises the company known as Kuju Entertainment. Want to know another one of the teams that comprises the company known as Kuju Entertainment? Headstrong Games. And in case that doesn't cause pink hearts of recognition to float over your head like it does mine, Headstrong are the folks who created House of the Dead: Overkill.

2) More relevant to the actual game is the fact that doublesix are the folks responsible for porting Geometry Wars to the Nintendo Wii and DS. Their Geometry Wars: Galaxies had a cool little RPG system in which you leveled up different drones with unique powers while traveling around the galaxy and unlocking solar systems. When it comes to crazy action shooters with a twist, these guys know what they're doing.

Now that the pedigree is out of the way, how about the actual game?

At first glance, it seems to play a bit like Geometry Wars, with zombies instead of triangles and without the fancy multiplier concept and with only a crappy pistol. Whatever. Next ten dollar game! One of the problems with this game is that you really need to read the manual. But since it doesn't have one, you'll have to spend about fifteen minutes playing through the tutorials. Because Burn, Zombie, Burn isn't just a cool name. It's a clue about how the game plays. Anyone can make a good game with a bunch of zombies and a bunch of weapons. In fact, with that comment there - "a bunch of zombies and a bunch of weapon" - I just designed a masterpiece. Be sure to send me a cut of the profits if you actually make such a game from my idea.

But what about an action game with a little bit of funky strategy based on the scientific fact that zombies are extremely flammable? Because that's what you get here.

In your average zombie game, you just shoot zombies until you die, or run out of ammo and then die. But this game has a tricky little scoring gimmick. For every zombie set afire, your multiplier for killing a zombie increases. But since burning zombies run faster (duh!), they're more likely to catch up with you. So the constant tension in Burn, Zombie, Burn is how many dangerous flaming zombies do you keep around to rack up your score? Ten? Not enough. Twenty? Nope. Higher. Thirty? Warmer. (Ha ha). Forty? Not quite, but now we're talking. Fifty? Keep going, if you dare! To really boost your score, to qualify for the silver and gold medals, you're going to want upwards of 80 flaming zombies chasing you at any given time.

Did you get that? 80 flaming zombies chasing you.

Now, yeah, that's pretty cool in and of itself. But doublesix knows gameplay. They know better than to just make a game in which you flee burning zombies. One of the challenges in Burn, Zombie, Burn is that burning zombies drop different loot than non-burning zombies. The normal slow shambling unlit zombies drop health and ammo for your special guns. You'll need those, sure. But burning zombies drop dynamite and - more importantly - dynamite upgrades that make explosions more powerful and more precise. What better way to rack up your score than with a massive explosion that takes out 80 zombies at once while you've got an 80x multiplier going?

So now you're playing a little tactical puzzle. How many zombies can you light up to raise your multiplier? When do you harvest them? If you wait too long, they'll overrun you. If you can't take the heat, thin the burning herd a little, which will drop your multiplier. As the waves get harder, folding in more zombies and introducing more challenging types of zombies, you're constantly faced with the tough decision: To burn or not to burn?

One of the cool dynamics is that zombies are afraid of fire, so whipping out your torch effectively grants you immunity to the zombie hordes. Just run through them and leave behind a trail of burning zombies, who will then bump into non-burning zombies that proceed to catch fire. It's a delight to both firebugs and zombie killers. But once you put down the torch for a gun, the zombies start closing in.

Now keep in mind that when zombies drop an item, you're going to want to pick up that item. But since zombies travel in packs, the item you'll want to pick up will often be surrounded by zombies. How do you get to it? That's one of the challenges. The torch is perfect, unless the zombies are already burning, in which case they're not afraid of fire. Here's one example of doublesix's game design smarts. Among the weapons is a baseball bat. Its basic attack doesn't do a lot of damage, but you can use it to beat your way into a crowd of zombie. "Why on earth would I ever want to do that?" you'll wonder when you first start playing. Eventually, after losing the umpteenth ammo pack, dynamite upgrade, or health powerup in the middle of a zombie pack, a little light bulb will go off over your head. That's why you'd want to beat your way into a crowd of zombies.

Specific weapons spawn at specific times and locations. Each level goes through a progression of waves, which determine the available weapons, the number of zombies, and the types of zombies. At any given time, you can click the analog stick to see a directional indicator to every weapon on the map, making it easy to find what you want. Getting there through the flaming zombies is another matter. These small-ish arena-sized maps are configured as very specific challenges, much like levels in Geometry Wars. The game's six maps might seem like they're just cute settings, but they're built to play certain ways. The first woods map is a no-brainer ring-around-the-rosy. Later maps are built to funnel zombie hordes into killing zones between the tombstones at the graveyard or the parked cars at the drive-in. The final map is a mostly wide-open nightmare.

Furthermore, each map has a button you can activate that will set off some powerful event. I was having the worst time getting even a bronze medal on the military base until I figured out the air strike event. Get three consecutive weapon combo awards and a big red button lights up (this is one of the many things in the game that reminds me of a pinball machine). Press the button and watch the bombs fall along a swathe down the center of the map. Using this trick, I'm now within spitting distance of a silver medal. There are three different ways to play each map, as well as a set of ten maddening puzzle challenges. I'm stymied on the third, but I have a couple of ideas. And, of course, there are leaderboards. I'm hoping to crack the top thousand at some point.

I could go on, but at this point, I think its better that you just cough up the ten bucks to try it for yourself. If you're looking for a mindless cartoony zombie killing game, we'll always have Monster Madness. But this is not that. Instead, if you're looking for something aglow with the light of clever game design and burning zombies, I have three words for you (well, two words, one of which is repeated): Burn, Zombie, Burn.