I really amazed by the quality and range of functionality this little box of gold packs. I can remember back in my younger days being infatuate by COLECO'S ELECTRONIC QUARTERBACK handheld football game and spending countless hours trying to outscore my friend playing it. For those of you not familiar with the Coleco unit (pictured to the right), it had five buttons: up, down, left/right, display, and kick/pass. You basically would run up and down the field as a slash (-) (i.e. which represented the ball carrier) trying to avoid other slashes (-) that were defenders. Once you were done with you possession (I don't think I ever did not score a touchdown), you would hand the unit over to your opponent to do the same. It is truly amazing how far these games have come in 20 plus years. I didn't re-enter the video game world again to I enter college when I bought my first Nintendo. NINJA GAIDEN ruled!!! From there on, I was hooked on console and never looked at another handheld until I bought my PSP. Most of my gaming, however limited today, is done on the XBOX and soon to be XBOX 360, but I can see my little PSP digging into that timel.  This is not supposed to be a sales pitch, but the SONY PSP kicks ass. 

Now enough of my own personal history of video gaming and on to our review of Planet Moon Studios and Majesco Entertainment‘s INFECTED for PSP. 

It‘s Christmas time in the New York City and a mutant virus has been unleashed on the citizenry turning every day Joes into insane and violent killers who crave human flesh. Chaos is ripping the city apart as zombies begin to feed on the living. In steps, Rookie Police Office Stevens, one of the first victims of this deadly virus, but unlike the others, Stevens’ body seems to be immune to it. The mysterious Dr Schaeffer discovers that Stevens’ blood can be uses to stop these invincible killers and creates a “viral” weapon fuelled by Stevens' own blood. Save the city before it is overrun by the INFECTED.

INFECTED is an engrossing and over-the-top 3rd person shooter where you can become a one-man or woman zombie wrecking team. Feel the power. In single-player mode, you campaign around the city clearing out neighborhoods in the brutal “Kill Em All” or even evacuating what is left of the civilian populous. via “Helicopter Evac” missions.  As you make your way through the 40 plus blood soaked scenes, you collect kick-ass weapons to increase the carnage you now infect on the brain dead INFECTED. Along the way, you can even unlock special features including character avatars, such as the members of the band SlipKnot (pictured below). 

In the multi-player mode, you can INFECT your buddies with its balls–to-the-wall deathmatch, Mad Cow and other special game types. Either in 8 player ad-hoc, or 2 players mode through the Internet, you can spread your custom INFECTION across the globe.

All in all, I found INFECTED to be a very entertaining and infectious game. You can easily pick up it up and hit the ground running without even looking at the manual. If you are into games where you like gathering clues or solving puzzles, than turn away. INFECTED is pure unadulterated zombie killing carnage, where you don't have to think, but just pull the trigger.

Buy INFECTED for PSP at Amazon.com