Nintendo designed the DS with unique, original games in mind, and Little Red Riding Hood’s Zombie BBQ sure fits the bill.  While it’s only developer EnjoyUp’s second project (after the Europe-only shooter Chronos Twin), the game boasts more style, energy, and charm in its first level than most other DS games ever do.  It’s a goofy, over-the-top game with a wacky premise to draw you in and the gameplay chops to keep you there. 

After saving her grandma from the wolf, you’d think that Little Red “Ready to Rock” Riding Hood would be able to kick back and relax.  There’s no time for that, though, because flesh-eating zombies have taken control of Fairy Tale Land.  Grandma’s mutated into a giant ravenous beast, Gretel’s eaten the witch (and her brother), and Sleeping Beauty woke up just in time to make a snack out of Prince Charming.  So what is a voluptuous young girl to do?  Load up the assault rifle and take down the undead, of course! 

Grandma’s not looking so hot, Red.  It’s time to take care of her once and for all. 

After choosing between Red Riding Hood and her partner, Japanese folk hero Momotaro, the player is dropped into each level with nothing more than an automatic weapon and a few bombs.  The game is a retro-style shooter—we’re talking Galaga-style old-school.  You can move your character left and right (not up and down) between seven squares that line the bottom of the screen.  Shooting is accomplished by tapping the touch screen in the direction you want to fire, and reloading is as simple as lifting the stylus off the screen for a second.  Double-tapping an area fires a bomb there, and you switch between your various weapons—shotgun, flamethrower, and laser—by touching icons on the borders of the action.  The gameplay is as straightforward as it gets, resulting in a game that anybody can pick up and grasp immediately. 

You move your character between those seven areas at the bottom of the screen to dodge enemy attacks. 

Each stage has the player progressing down a set path while zombies emerge from the ground and come after you.  At first the zombies you encounter just walk forward, so getting out of their way is all you have to do to avoid damage.  As the game goes on, though, enemies attack patterns become more complex; you’ll encounter zombies that make a beeline for you, zombies that jump out of the ground and throw skulls at you, and zombies that shoot globs of exploding vomit in your direction.  Boss encounters are pretty devious, too—each boss has a number of different attacks that you’ll have to memorize if you hope to make it through the fight.  Take Pinocchio, for instance: the boy puppet has grown several stories, and uses his giant wooden head to try to crush you.  (His level is also a stand-out creatively—instead of progressing forward down a path, in his stage you ride on a boat as it floats alongside a dock, and the level progresses sideways.) 

The boss fights, like your showdown with Zomb-zilla here, are epic in scope. 

The game’s not perfect, though, and there are a couple of troublesome points that mar the experience.  First up, the controls aren’t the smoothest or most intuitive.  Using the touchscreen to shoot has its advantages (like being able to aim at any angle instantly), but it can also make it a little too hard to aim long-distance shots, especially if you’re aiming at something on the upper screen.  Moving with the touchscreen isn’t great, as you have to stop firing to touch the panel you want to move to, but using the buttons isn’t flawless either, mainly due to the slight lag between when you press the button and when the character actually moves.  Firing a bomb is done by double-tapping the screen, but its way too easy to fire one accidentally, and extra bombs are hard to come by, so even a few misfires could leave you under-equipped for boss fights.  I’m also not thrilled with the fact that there are no mid-level checkpoints; while this is definitely in line with the game’s retro gameplay, it’s still pretty frustrating to die in a boss fight and have to restart the entire stage over. 

Like the game overall, the visuals rely on their style and charm rather than technical perfection.  The 3D environments look pretty good, but there’s plenty of draw-in, so each stage looks fog-filled.  It’s not a huge deal, and actually kind of adds to the creepy factor, but it’s definitely noticeable.  There’s plenty of variation in the zombies, especially since each level adds a few stage-specific zombies (like the gondolier zombies in the Italy stage, complete with striped shirt and traditional mustache).  Shooting a zombie causes its limbs to be blown off individually, and especially powerful blasts can leave nothing but a bloody pair of legs walking toward you, which is a nice touch.  The game’s real stand-out feature, though, is its audio.  There’s not much voice work in the game, but the few bits here and there (like Red shouting “Zombie Barbecue!” at the title screen) are pretty cool.  The music is just flat-out awesome—it reminds me of Zombies Ate My Neighbors, and totally lives up to the soundtrack of that classic shooter.  The tunes manage to be creepy and rockin’ at the same time, and perfectly fit the mood of the game. 

Sure, look close and you’ll notice the draw-in, but usually you’ll be too occupied with the undead to pay it any attention. 

Little Red Riding Hood’s Zombie BBQ isn’t a very polished game, that’s true.  What it lacks in polish, though, it makes up for with its unique premise, a cool aesthetic, and fun, challenging gameplay.  Quirky, little-advertised games released this time of year almost always end up forgotten, and if that happens here then it’ll be a real shame—Zombie BBQ is one of the most original and fun games I’ve played on the DS recently, and anyone with a DS and an appreciation for the bizarre would do themselves a disservice if they missed it.

Gameplay:  8.1
The game puts a twist on the classic shooter formula, by letting you shoot in any direction with the stylus.  While there are a few irritations in terms of controls, the game delivers with tough, exciting shooter action.

Graphics:  7.8
The game’s visuals succeed because of its great aesthetic design.  It might not be the most polished, flawless-looking DS game out there, but the stages are creepy-looking and the zombies look great when you blow them apart—what more could you want?

Sound:  8.8
The music is pretty much perfect—each song is creepy, exciting, and memorable.  Beyond that, expect to hear plenty of moans, gunshots, and Red’s adorable voice announcing what weapon you’ve just equipped.

Difficulty:  Hard
It’s a classic shooter at its core, so a high level of difficulty is pretty much to be expected.  Enemies can drain your health quick if you’re not paying attention, and bosses will take a couple of tries before you can successfully evade their attacks.  Still, if you stay alert and hone your skills, you can make it through.

Concept:  9.4
The whole “zombies invade fairy tales” thing is genius, and puts an awesome creepy spin on the classic stories we all grew up hearing.  There’s just something inherently cool about the idea of Little Red Riding Hood as an automatic weapon-wielding babe, slaughtering the undead.

Overall:  8.4
Little Red Riding Hood’s Zombie BBQ will draw you in with its awesome premise, but it keeps you interested with its excellent shooting action.  It’s a quirky, challenging, fun game that’s the DS’s sleeper hit of the season.