Zombies and dwarves and flamethrowers... Oh boy!
The above would be the premise of Zombie Panic in Wonderland, a WiiWare game developed by a Spain-located group known as Akaoni Studio. Zombie Panic stars an array of well-known fairy tale protagonists, as you take on waves of the undead and clear out various locales of Wonderland from those that wish to go a little more than a mere bump in the night (or day). As a third person gallery-type shooter, Zombie Panic is a simple game in nature, but it still enough flair, personality, and playability to make itself worthwhile.
Zombie Panic in Wonderland's core gameplay is divided into two modes: Story and Arcade. In Story mode, you play as Japanese folktale hero Momotaro, as he finds himself going from a journey to find his friends to right in the middle of a bizarre outbreak of Zombies and a quest that involves oddly scented dwarves. Along the way, Momotaro bumps into Dorothy and Snow White, who also have their own objectives related to the outbreak. The arcade mode simply, on the other hand, allows you to play the levels at your leisure with the character(s) of your choice. The objective of the game is pretty easy to grasp: with machine gun in tow, eradicate enough zombies, skeletons, and anything else in your way before time runs out. Well, 'eradicate' might be a bit too strong of a word for a game of this nature (headshots can make hearts fly, for crying out loud), but rest assured that it's not just foes you'll be clearing out.
Each of Zombie Panic's six levels (plus 3 boss levels and a bouns level) will not only throw wave after wave of enemies after you in order to you to meet the required amount of destruction you'll have to cause, but the levels also feature plenty of Wonderland scenery that you'll have the liberty of getting rid of, as well. Whether it's a bunch of houses and trees on one level or gravestones and gloomy decoratives in another, most of the objects in each level can be blasted to bits. It's actually quite pleasing figuring out exactly what you can bring down in each level, especially since doing so manages to have some worthwhile consequences.
Even though Zombie Panic is a pretty easy game to jump into and enjoy, the game still manages to throw some respectable punches at you from a challenge standpoint. The waves of enemies are for the most part relentless and the variety of foes you'll face will make you aware of what dangers they bring to the table. Those dangers are heightened by the fact that the game follows the Contra-like 'one hit equals one life' setup, and some enemies can make you pay for not respecting them. Furthermore, even the time limit itself can prove to be something that you'll have to take seriously, as failing to beat a level in time results as essentially losing all of your lives.
That being said, you're not exactly helpless in this game, either. Along with you machine gun, which has unlimited ammo, you'll also be able to gain access to a powered-up machine gun, flamethrower, and grenade launcher once you obtain ammo (acquired by destroying stuff and beating certain enemies). While you do have to take care in managing your limited ammo with these weapons, proper use of your additional weapons can prove to be huge when facing certain groups of enemies or when you're trying to do a lot of damage really quickly. Plus, if that's not enough, you can have a friend tag along to help clear out some stubborn foes.
The great thing about Zombie Panic in Wonderland is that its appeal comes almost instantaneously. Simply put, you're just going around shooting stuff up with fairytale characters, and considering that we're talking about the Wii here, that in itself can be enough for some people, as it's just simple fun! Using the Wii Remote/Nunchuk combo, the game isn't really complex to get into, and the game doesn't take itself seriously, so it's more family friendly than most shooters out there (it's still T-rated, but nothing too over the top). At the same time, it's design and challenge level presents a decent punch for players to go back to every now and then, if only for kicks... or to see more of Snow White (she's awesome... and fanservice-y).
Given the above paragraph, it's unfortunate to mention Zombie Panic's biggest shortcoming: it's short, even for a WiiWare game. Once you go through Story Mode, which will likely hover around the hour mark, you've gone through the meat of the game. The incentive to play the game further than that will largely base on how much you like the game, whether or not you wish to unlock the additional characters and costumes (characters don't play too dramatically different, though), and/or play the bonus level, which can be a battle of attrition. If the length doesn't really bother you and you feel like you'll be able to replay the game, this isn't really a major letdown. That said, it's still something of a bummer that the game couldn't throw at least a little more at you. There's also no pause button, but you do have the home button as a handy tool for emergencies. :P
Length aside, there's not much to gripe about with Zombie Panic in Wonderland, and it's a charming enough game to warrant giving a pass to. In fact, it's a game that establishes itself well, and one can only hope that this is just the beginning of the Zombie Panic universe, as it displays potential in its simplistic and stylized ways to warrant a follow-up that builds on the formula. If you're looking for a shooter to add to your Wii collection that is less about the nitty gritty and more about just shooting things for pure fun, especially with others, there's no need to panic this zombie affair in Wonderland!