The concept of a zombie apocalypse has resulted in a number of rather enjoyable video games, particularly in more recent times. Zombies create a certain sense of urgency, due largely to the sheer numbers they maintain, but survival is usually only a conveniently placed shotgun away. It’s safe to say that it’s a formula that’s perfect for games.

The Last Guy takes a different approach to the zombie apocalypse scenario. You are placed in the role of one of the members of the rescue squad; you know, the sort that show up at the end of the film when there’s usually two or three cast members left, and one inevitably gets bitten on the way to the chopper, selflessly sacrificing himself along the way, or selfishly hiding his wounds to set up a sequel.

A mysterious purple beam hits the Earth in the near future, turning anybody outdoors at the time into vicious zombies or other bizarre creatures, and leaving anybody indoors stranded. You, apparently, are a specialist with these sorts of situations, so the United Rescue Force charges you with the task of finding these stranded people and taking them to the escape zone, where they will be picked up by a URF dropship.


The action takes place on a composite satellite photo of one of 15 different cities across the world, including Washington D.C., Stockholm and Sydney (which is already full of zombies anyway – zing). Each city will give you a set number of people to rescue, which is usually around a thousand, to rescue in a specific amount of time. People will be barricaded in buildings, holed up in their car or boat, or out in the open lined up to spell “Help” in their native language. Various different types of zombies roam the streets, from your basic (but aggressive) zombie grunt to the rather annoying scorpion zombies.

In the early levels, The Last Guy is very straightforward; you run past the various structures and people will pour out and join your group. The group will parade behind you; the more people in the group, the longer this parade tail will be. As more people join the group, you gain extra stamina which can be used to sprint in order to reach places faster, or regroup the citizens, shrinking the length of the line, and hopefully getting them out of the way of some of the nasties. In a way, it’s almost like a more visually complex version of Snake. If a zombie comes into contact with the tail, the group will dissipate, spreading into the nearby buildings, and you’ll need to double back and get them to rejoin the parade. However, should your character run into a zombie, it’s curtains for you.

There are a number of ways one can approach a level in The Last Guy. You could just rush in, get the required number of citizens into the escape zone as quickly as possible, and go on about your day. To gain higher scores on a given level, you need to carefully manage the number of people trailing you at any time. Several areas of the city can be blocked off, and you’ll need a specific number of people in the trail to eliminate these blockades. In these restricted areas, you’ll either find one of the game’s power ups (stamina refills, invisibility, etc.) or one of the VIP hostages. There are four VIP hostages on each level – finding them will help to increase your score at the end of a given level. Negotiating your way through the maze-like environments of the city can be particularly annoying – areas that look like you should be able to cross or enter are actually sealed off, and you need to fiddle with the X-Ray vision to see them. It always seems like there should be a little more to the game – I can appreciate simplicity, but sometimes it seems like The Last Guy should be doing more than it is.


Roughly halfway through the game, The Last Guy starts to bear its fangs, significantly increasing the level of challenge, and requiring much more forethought on your strategies for a given level. Some of the more advanced techniques, like moving in circles to get the tail to catch up, will seem very odd at first, but quickly become second nature. Learning the zombie patterns becomes crucial to survival, but there will be instances where it is not possible to get the entire parade through without having your tail chopped short by a speedy zombie - sacrifice a few to save many. Then, just when you’re getting the hang of the tougher levels, the game throws a spanner in the works by introducing giant worms. Even with an added layer of challenge, The Last Guy never approaches a satisfying level of complexity.

The Last Guy is an extremely simplistic, short-lived game. It can be fun to play at moments, particularly when the game gets more hectic, but it never shakes the feeling that there should be more to it.