Teach Pets to Play Dead with New iPhone 'Pet Sematary' Game

I don't own an iPhone because I'm poor, but if I had the scratch I'd most likely buy one just so I could play some of the games available for download. Friends with the phone (and more disposable income than I) assure me that there are some entertaining gaming experiences to be had for a mere $0.99. One of the newest games available is so odd that I couldn't not share it.

Paramount Digital Entertainment has released a game built around Mary Lambert's adaptation of Stephen King's Pet Sematary, which their press release describes as a "top down tap-to-kill arcade game inspired by the classic horror film". I wasn't aware that Pet Sematary had achieved "classic horror film" status, but that may be the least puzzling bit of news about the title.

The game lets players take control of a lone hero who perches on rooftops with a sniper rifle. The game requires that the player then take out a series of fast-moving zombie children, birds, cats, and dogs before they can attack the local citizenry; this is done through the iPhone's (and iPod Touch's) touchscreen interface. Does anyone know where PETA stands on the issue of cruelty to zombie animals?

In the spirit of fairness, the game may actually turn out to be fun--and for $0.99, anyone anticipating a Grand Theft Auto IV-esque gaming experience probably needs to lower their expectations just a wee bit. Still, the idea of making a game based on a movie that is now twenty years old is a bit confounding--particularly when the game in question seems to only be tenuously connected to its inspiration in the first place.

If you've got a spare $0.99 burning a hole in your pocket, you can purchase the game at the Apple App Store now. Jump past the break for screenshots.