If a zombie apocalypse ever does break out, video gamers should be better equipped than most to fend off the undead masses. The past year has seen a plethora of games starring the infamous z-men, and most gamers should have spent some time in undead shooting galleries such as the Willamette Parkview Mall in Dead Rising, the retro-futuristic city from Stubbs the Zombie, or even the underground catacombs of Oblivion. One more game to join the list is Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia, which brings an arcade action slant to the increasingly populated genre. The game is gaining popularity thanks to a recent demo released on Xbox Live Marketplace, and we've gotten our hands on fresh new code for an updated hands-on preview.

　　Take to the high seas to kill the zombie pirates in just one of the game's vehicular sections.

　　Monster Madness is the sort of game you'd get if arcade classic Gauntlet were updated using Unreal Engine 3.0. It's viewed from a top-down perspective, something of a rarity for Xbox 360 games, and it hearkens back to the golden age of arcade gaming. Up to four players can play through the story mode on one console, while the online arenas support up to 16 combatants. The game has an interesting approach to the subject of weapons, letting you combine various objects you find in the forging of implements of death. The control system is also unique--the left stick is used to move your characters, while the right stick spins them around in a full circle for aiming at enemies.

　　A demo of the first level has been available on Xbox Live Marketplace for a while, but our preview build let us see all 18 levels from the game's five different environments. Many gamers have questioned Monster Madness' full-price status, suggesting that its retro styling would be better suited to the Xbox Live Arcade. It's something that the young team of developers feels strongly about, especially as they've now spent around two years on the game. The result of their hard work is a game that weighs in at around 1.5GB, which is far above Microsoft's XBLA download limit, anyway.

　　While Monster Madness has definitely been designed for four-player cooperative play, it still caters to gamers craving a solo experience. In fact, solo players have the option to change the top-down camera to an over-the-shoulder perspective if they wish. The five locations in the game--suburban, shopping mall, school, cemetery, and evil castle--not only mix up the environments but also allow for a variety of different themes for the enemies and vehicles. The school ground features alien enemies that will approach you faster than the simple zombie foot soldiers in the first two stages, and, predictably, the enemies get bigger as you progress. One of the best bosses that we went up against was a deranged granny whose principal weapon was a tornado of cats, but we took her down in the end with our homemade nailgun.

　　As you'd expect from a game with its tongue firmly in its cheek, many of the weapons are comedy alternatives to the usual firearms and explosives. You can turn your mobile phone into an electric Taser device; the ghetto blaster will cause the enemies to dance and become vulnerable; while the soda hat will regenerate your health for a short period of invincibility. Those with a taste for the traditional will be glad to hear that there are still some high-powered weapons, such as a railgun that has a devastating long-range impact, in addition to explosive bombs and Molotov cocktails. All these weapons can be bought and pieced together thanks to the local arms dealer, Larry. He'll swap the items that you find in-game for weapon components, which you can then piece together with the sticky tape you collect around the levels.

　　Up to four players can tackle the main story, while 16 can join the online multiplayer games.

　　There are more than 70 enemies in Monster Madness, which is one of the reasons the developer uses to justify the two-year development time. Each variety of monster that you kill is added to the "bestiary" in the extras section on the main menu, which is where you'll also find movies, unlockable costumes, and the downloadable content that will be made available after the game's release. At the end of each level, you're awarded with a report card that analyses your skills in key areas, with an overall score letting you know whether you're an A-grade monster hunter or an E-grade wuss. The movies that bookend each chapter are a worthy reward for working your way through the game, and while the story isn't particularly original, the comic book-style animation suits the game perfectly. The preview code also included a list of the achievements that will be on offer, and there seems to be a good mix of multiplayer and single-player points up for grabs.

　　The multiplayer modes in Monster Madness support four players locally and up to 16 players over Xbox Live. There are six different arenas on offer and three different game modes--with deathmatch, capture the flag, and team deathmatch no doubt familiar to action game fans. Thankfully, some cool variations can be made to mix things up, including a basketball weapon set that turns multiplayer games into a giant dodgeball tournament. The only disappointment is that you can't play the main story mode over the Internet.

　　Monster Madness will definitely appeal to gamers craving a shot of arcade nostalgia, but its retro gameplay style might not do it for everyone. While there are some nice graphical effects and an attractive comic book style to the game, we found it became a bit repetitive when playing for more than an hour. Nevertheless, played in short bursts with a bunch of friends, Monster Madness does offer old-school thrills that have been missing from the Xbox 360's main software library. The game is set for release on the Xbox 360 and PC in June, so keep an eye on the site for more updates soon.