Review: Zombie Running Apps

So I am an on-again/off-again runner, and a friend suggested that I combine my love for zombies with my love for running. After all, it's a lot easier to run when you have something to run from. Short of hiring actors to chase me up and down the streets of Evanston in zombie makeup (I just don't have the coin for such an undertaking), I thought that there might be some GPS type apps that would simulate such an event. So I checked out some applications on my iPhone, and sure enough...there are some out there.

The goal of these apps is to first locate you on a map. Then the apps simulate zombies on the map that will approach you from a variety of directions and at a variety of speeds. The idea is to keep you running and to make running more of a game and less of a chore. In theory, this sounds like an awesome idea.

In actuality...the reality falls far short of my fantasy. The truth is that the technology isn't really there...yet. At least not on the iPhone 3GS. Below I'll review two different applications and give my thoughts, but I was let down overall. In general these programs were laggy and buggy. They didn't track my location with the necessary accuracy, or they failed to keep up when I started running. Also, the inability to close either application (but still keep it running while I was away), seemed to undermine the beauty of having an iPhone. Still, maybe you'll have more luck than I did, so here are my reviews of two apps.

App #1: RunZombieRun by SeeSaw ($0.99)
This is one of the only paid apps that I've actually ever deleted off of my phone. It's hard to know where to even begin complaining about this app. First, it doesn't allow you to simultaneously stream your own music. Instead, you are forced to listen to some new age, tribal stuff that is impossible to run to. Next, the zombies are kind of cool...at least they look like zombie silhouettes rather than ghosts...but there is not auditory or vibrating warning that they are close to you. And when they "get you"? Nothing happens. Everything just resets. Also, there's this shadow of an airplane constantly flying over the map which makes absolutely no sense. Overall, a total waste of money.

App #2: Zombie Escape--GPS Game by Apps4Life ($0.99 for the zombie version, ghost version is free)
This app was a marked improvement over RunZombieRun. First, it allowed you to play music in the background from either your iTunes or Pandora, the only catch is that you have to get the music started first and you can't exit zombie escape once it's opened (so no skipping a song). The program seems to locate you on GPS with a little more ease than RunZombieRun, and when I ran, it tracked me well...at first. However, when I made the mistake of letting my phone fall asleep, the program never really came back into real time. After the phone fell asleep it seemed to mess up the GPS and the timer, but it might have continued to work just fine if it hadn't fallen asleep. Overall, my favorite part was the ease and simplicity of the app. My least favorite part was the whole lag thing that happened after it fell asleep. Also, if you're going to buy this app, you should just go with the ghost version for free. It's the exact same app except that the dots (zombies) are blue instead of red.

Overall, I guess my conclusion was that it'd be better to just use my imagination. Pretend that the person behind you on the path is a drooling, disease-ridden ghoul. lol. Or, if that doesn't do it for you, you can always join me at the zombie-themed 5k "Run for Your Lives" in 2012!