Punchbowl is a city of the future set in the 50's. It has all the pastel and pink decor of the emerging rock and roll era, with the inclusion of robots and flying cars. The citizens are apple pie sweet and middle class American, and frankly they deserve to be eaten. On rising from the grave you are immediately struck by the graphics of the game. They have a very washed and grainy feel, conjuring up the look and feel of early film and television. This is a theme which carries over into the game's cut scenes and voice-overs. The game itself runs on the Halo Engine, however this being said, with both the washed out graphics and lack of detail in some areas, graphically the game does feel lacklustre.

As you you rub your eyes (not too hard, those babie blues are only hanging on by a thread) and awaken from your deathly slumber, you are greeted by an overpowering urge to eat brains. Initially, a perky guide bot plays the role of welcome wagon, introducing you to some of Punchbowl's points of interest. You can bash the living to knock them senseless, or go for the overkill and mash them good. The dead ones rise up and form your Army of the Dead, Muahahahaa! Feeling peckish? Need a health boost? Well by grabbing the dazed ones - or with more finesse sneaking up behind and unsuspecting victim, you can tear into their skull and have a tasty treat. Marvel at their whimsical comments and the artistic spray of blood as their life drains from their body. Moments later you have another recruit for your army.

Your loyal minions lurch about, moaning and crying out for brains. Being zombies and missing most of their grey matter, they are mindless (groan) and stagger about seeking out targets in the immediate vicinity. Stubbs can whistle at them to follow him if he requires backup, and there is also a useful "shove" command where you can push them out of the way - or into the line of fire, whatever your need may be.

You are however not limited to just brain eating and bashing. Stubbs has learned to use his body as a weapon - not in the ancient oriental sense but in a more literal one. As you progress through the game you can learn such special moves as unholy flatulance, the gut grenade and the terrifying sputum head. The latter being the ability to tear off your head and use it as a bowling ball. It spews forth sputum to infect people, bowls them over and finishes off with a satisfying explosion.

If you're unsatisfied with just missile weapons and gas attacks you can also go into stealth mode by ripping your own arm off and having it sneak about into places you would not normally be able to go. Lacking mouth parts, it can't eat brains, but it can possess people. Drop from the ceiling onto your hapless victim's head and take control of them!

Stubbs also likes to dine out and with that in mind he can also take control of some of the city's vehicles. These include police cars, agricultural vehicles, tanks and jeeps. The farm tractor with the spikes on the front is naturally called the "Impaler". Vehicle control is the same as found in Halo and once mastered is pretty easy to use. There are both enemies and innocents in the game (although they are all a potential food and recruit resource), and some will attempt to run away while others will choose to fight with guns and the like. They have very basic AI and the standard tactic is to close with them as quickly as possible and let the dining commence. Health can be charged back up by eating the living or by just standing still for a while.

The sounds and vocals in the game are excellent, with screams and moans and jokes aplenty. The robot gas attendant who inserts his groinal attachment into the petrol tank of the car, the blood and gore, and some adult one liners means that the title has attracted a R16 rating. The music has been especially produced for the title and includes some great songs such as, Lollipop, My Boyfriend's Back, Strangers in the Night, Tears on My Pillow and Mr. Sandman to name just a few.