In Surroundead from Handheld Games you take control of a character that is surrounded by stereotypical slow moving zombies. You are stuck in one spot and the only way to survive is to quickly turn in circles and shoot the zombies before they overtake you. At first this game may just look like a normal 3D zombie shooter. However what makes this game stand out is that it utilizes the built in compass feature of the iPhone 3GS as a control type. Holding the iPhone in front of you, you can physically rotate left or right in the real world and the character in the game will follow your movements.

This is a really cool feature and quite fun to play with. Unfortunately the compass feature lags. There is a significant delay between when you move in the real world and when the game catches up. On earlier levels where there are fewer zombies, the delay is tolerable and by all means playable. However on later levels it it very frustrating to have to wait for the screen to catch up before you can shoot a zombie. If the developers can improve upon this aspect this game could really have a winner on their hands.

Surroundead has two other options for the controls, accelerometer based tilting and an on-screen wheel for turning. While the compass feature is great for showing off and adding change of pace to the usual gameplay style it’s not for the serious gamer. If you want to last more than a few stages or even have a half decent game, you’re going to want to use the tilt or wheel controls.

The graphics are okay and while most of the sounds in the game are well done the shotgun sound effect is just week. And while there is not a lot of variety the music does add to the creepy feel of this zombie game.

As of right now Surroundead is basic and it would benefit from some additions. There is only one location and there is only two weapons in the entire game. Having more weapons to choose from and a variety of locations to defend yourself in would make this game a lot better.

All in all, if you have an iPhone 3Gs this is a great show off app. For some, it is worth purchasing just to show your friends and say, “Look what my phone can do”. And while I would love to recommend purchasing the game because of its cheap price and unique use of the compass, until the lag is gone I just can’t. I do recommend keeping your eye on this game though. With a few updates and improvements it will definitely be worth getting