Ash vs Evil Dead: Deploy and Destroy – the Girl Lamer review
Deploy and Destroy featuring Ash vs Evil Dead characters was released yesterday on the App Store and Google Play. So, of course, I downloaded the game for free, grabbed my boomstick and began killing Deadites, sort of…
“If you’re lucky a little later I’ll let you play with my boomstick.” – Bruce Campbell in My Name Is Bruce
This Is My Boomstick
First of all, I have played games on my phone before and not Candy Crush. I had fun with Family Guy-The Quest for Stuff, Star Trek, The X-Files: Deep State and Forge of Empires. My problem is I get bored. I usually have a variety of things to do requiring me to interact with something other than my device.
However, by no means am I a hardcore gamer. There is a great deal of terminology in that world and abbreviations that after a while I would probably just cease to speak in full sentences. While Girl Lamer is a bit of a harsh moniker, I will take it because Conan O’Brien is already using “Clueless Gamer.”
When I found out that Lionsgate Games came out with an Ash vs Evil Dead addition to Deploy and Destroy, I had to get my hands on the app. It was easy to download (it’s free) and before you know it, I was set to explore the Evil Dead universe.
If you aren’t into AVED, you can choose the world of Divergent, just saying, if you are a fan of the Y.A. movies. The minute I entered the game, I could choose my character. There are six but two are locked. Those would be Deadite Kelly and Deadite Ash.
Feeling kind of Ash
So, you can choose to be Ash, Kelly, Pablo or Necronomicon face Pablo. Apps Ministry did a very fine job of creating the faces of these characters. If you look closely, they do resemble Bruce Campbell, Dana DeLorenzo and Ray Santiago.
This was amazing to me because so many games really don’t get the actors correct. In Deploy and Destroy, they nailed it! The only criticism I have is that Ash doesn’t have his standard blue shirt and khaki pants.
More from Bruce Campbell
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- Bruce Campbell: Impact Wrestling wedding pays homage to Evil Dead 2
- Bruce Campbell: What is his connection to Impractical Jokers on Tru TV?
- Bruce Campbell: Last Fan Standing returns to Wizard World
- 31 Days of Halloween: Revisiting American Gothic with Bruce Campbell
He is wearing a tank top and jeans so that he looks more like “Branson” Ash. However, you get the boomstick and chainsaw, so it makes up for it. Once your character is set, the game will “dump” you into a setting.
This is an FPS (First Person Shooter) game. I chose to do the deathmatch rather than the team mode. The first place I went to? Guess. The cabin of course! Ash’s evil mistress in the woods.
What is refreshing about this game is that you don’t go from 0 to 60 immediately. They give you time while “searching for your opponents.” However, once that period ends, get ready.
Walking through the dark forest, I felt like Ash. Jesus of Anaheim, those shooters come out of nowhere, so you need to have cat-like reflexes. While handling the boomstick is fun (yes, I realize what that sounds like), the chainsaw is even more so!
One of my favorite moves is waiting until one of my opponents is on top of me and running the saw. When you see BUTCHERED in red letters across the screen, you have a tiny Kelly Maxwell moment.
You almost feel like you are in a scene in the show and you are battling Deadites.
Ash vs Evil Dead – Cabin – Deploy and Destroy – Courtesy of Lionsgate Games and Apps Ministry
Other Locations
I found that each time I entered the game, I would get a different location which was interesting. There was what I call the Dystopian Ash vs Evil Dead Season 4 look:
Ash vs Evil Dead – Dystopian AVED 4 – Courtesy of Lionsgate Games and Apps Ministry
Then there is an underground bunker of sorts which reminded me of the militia camp in the Season 2-episode, Fire in the Hole. After maneuvering around there in dark stairwells and corridors, I began to understand how Bruce Campbell succumbed to what he called “Poopy Diaper Syndrome.”
Ash vs Evil Dead – Bunker – Courtesy of Lionsgate Games and Apps Ministry
It’s hard to see and in one place I was literally in the dark. I found the characters somewhat hard to manipulate but probably experienced gamers will walk through it.
I ended up screaming at Ash because I had him walking into walls at one point. This caused my friend to laugh hysterically. Believe it or not, I am not playing too poorly because I have had several killing sprees where my points lit up like a Christmas tree.
The locations are well done. You get the feeling that you are in the woods or in the middle of a burnt-out city so kudos to the designers for realism.
Levels, Dough and the Verdict
As with any game like this there are levels and certain items to acquire. Medkits are very important. You also have a grenade option as well. For $9.99, you can receive three custom boomstick and chainsaw skins. I received an upgrade to my chainsaw so that was exciting.
With any app, there will be some issues. I understand that ads are necessary but they can be intrusive because in my case, they popped up right as I was getting ready to play. On the whole, this is an enjoyable game.
It’s fun, if you are a fan of Ash vs Evil Dead, you are going to love playing your favorite character. The soundtrack is pretty decent. It amps up just as bullets start to fly and the chainsaw starts to rev. Deploy and Destroy could fill that need to see the Ghostbeaters until the next incarnation comes around.
Have you played the game yet? Feel free to share your opinions in the comment section below. We want to hear from you.
Next: Deploy and Destroy mobile game adds Evil Dead’s Ash Williams
Susan Leighton can be found on Twitter and Facebook @SusanontheLedge as well as Instagram @convirgin. She is also featured on Friday Night Tights, the ultimate pop culture wrap up show at Nerdrotic Podcast every Friday night at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT. You can catch her weekly coverage on IFC’s Brockmire at TV Series Hub.