Review: Shaq Down for iOS misses the mark for 90s nostalgia

Shaquille O’Neal was the most dominant center in the NBA during his tenure. And there was a period in the 90s when he was one of the most famous celebrities in the world, with a rap album, his own sneaker, and movie roles.

He even had a video game: Shaq Fu was a mediocre fighting game about Shaq stumbling into another dimension and fighting his way to save a young boy. It’s remembered for its kitsch factor, and since we’re in the middle of a wave of 1990s nostalgia, it shouldn’t be surprising that Shaq is returning to the video game medium.

In ShaqDown, a $1 universal iOS app, a zombie outbreak has apparently destroyed most of the world’s population. Instead of dying out, the zombies evolved to be sentient mutants…which makes them both zombies and mutants, I guess. So there’s that.

The point is, Shaq, the “Justice Bringer”, is the only one that can stop these villains. The game has nothing to do with the previous Shaq-centered game, but that’s ok—Shaq Down is plenty strange as it is.

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