History VideoGame / StubbsTheZombie

* StepfordSuburbia: Punchbowl provides an apparently idyllic lifestyle for its inhabitants, built on rampant consumerism and an unchecked, trigger-happy political/scientific elite. The pollution from the citizens' decadence is pumped out for the rest of the world to deal with. The developers compare Punchbowl to the abbey from [[Creator/EdgarAllanPoe "The Masque of the Red Death"]], with Stubbs as the Red Death.

** DarkChick[=/=]SixthRangerTraitor[=/=]TokenGoodTeammate: Even though she seem to be oblivious to the corruption of the other four members of this FiveBadBand, she counts due to her constant presence around the BigBad and because of how she mostly supports the BigBad.

* LukeYouAreMyFather: [[spoiler:Stubbs is actually Andrew Monday's illegitimate father.]]

* OurZombiesAreDifferent: Stubbs himself is a somewhat-intelligent superzombie. The many zombie Mooks you create avert the [[RemovingTheHeadOrDestroyingTheBrain big zombie rule]] by being able to keep fighting even after they've gotten their heads blown off. [[{{Determinator}} Indeed, a headless, legless torso with one arm will still crawl around trying to catch humans]].

* RaygunGothic: In 1959, millionaire-industrialist Andrew Monday founds the city of Punchbowl, Pennsylvania; '''''THE CITY OF TOMORROW!''''' and the setting for the game.

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Otis Monday murdered Stubbs and buried him a shallow grave. Now Stubbs is back to have his revenge on Otis, his grandson Andrew, and his whole damn town.

* SoundtrackDissonance: The music choice during a ZombieApocalypse is ...[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAuNPj-eoyM interesting]]. It ''does'' fit the RaygunGothic setting though.

* ThoseWackyNazis: Dr. Wye was one, apparently, but he defected to the Allies after the end of World War II.

* TheUndead

* TheVirus: Interestingly, it's not always transmitted through a bite. You can simply beat humans to death with your bare hands, and they'll still turn into zombies.

''Stubbs the Zombie in: Rebel Without A Pulse'' is a 2005 ZombieApocalypse third-person action game for {{Xbox}}, PC and Mac with a twist - rather than playing as a human survivor, you are [[PatientZero the first zombie]], and the entire game basically consists of you lurching around eating brains and expanding the extent of the zombie outbreak. Was made by the same development team responsible for ''[[VideoGame/{{HaloCombatEvolved}} Halo: Combat Evolved]]'', and uses the same GameEngine.

* ActionCommands : Used during the [[spoiler:dance-]]battle against the police chief.
* AffectionateParody : Of the ZombieApocalypse genre, obviously.
* [[spoiler: AntagonisticOffspring]]: [[spoiler: Andrew Monday to Stubbs.]]
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking : When describing Stubbs:
-->'''Cop :''' "[[UndeathlyPallor Green skin]]? [[BodyHorror Festering wound in his gut]]? [[RunningGag Ugly tie]]?"

* BlackComedy : Everywhere. From the terrified cries of your human victims, to dismantling your own body for special attacks.
* BloodKnight : A good deal of human enemies come across as this, based on the EnemyChatter.

-->'''Scientist :''' "Oh, to hell with science! [[AttackAttackAttack KILL!! KILL!! KILL!!]]"
* BossInMookClothing : The [[GiantMook huge]], [[ChainsawGood chainsaw-swinging]] rednecks. They can eviscerate your zombie minions easily and never panic, and you have to rip off one of their arms before you can eat their brains. The first one you encounter in Punchbowl Mall is even treated like a boss encounter.
* BottomlessMagazines : Zigzagged. Magazines run out, requiring reload, but weapons never run out of replacement clips.
* BullyingADragon : Ted, the guy who throws a tantrum when Stubbs steals his hot dog as he rises from the grave. Needless to say, he's the first human you get to kill.

* ChekhovsGunman : [[spoiler: The Pumpbot returns just in time [[TakingTheBullet to catch Dr. Wye's final attack]].]]
* ConspiracyTheorist : Otis Monday is clearly a parody of this mindset.
* DirtyCommunists : Otis' perceived cause of the ZombieApocalypse.
* TheDragon : Mr. Skegness, the head of the Mayor's personal bodyguards.
* EliteMooks : Andrew Monday's bodyguards are tougher than military troops, wield powered up rayguns and [[{{BFG}} ray-bazookas]], and occasionally show up with [[AirborneMook jetpacks]]. [[BunnyEarsLawyer They're also dressed up as barbershop quartet singers and even act the part, apparently for the purpose of appearing 'inconspicuous']].

* {{Fartillery}} : Stubbs' first special attack, which lets him stun surrounding enemies and eat their brains while they're doubled over and vomiting.

** BigBad : Andrew Monday.
** TheDragon : Mr. Skegness.
** EvilGenius / [[TokenEvilTeammate Token Eviler Teammate]]: Dr. Hermann Wye.
** TheBrute : Police Chief Masters.
** DarkChick / SixthRangerTraitor / TokenGoodTeammate: Even though she seem to be oblivious to the corruption of the other four members of this FiveBadBand, she counts due to her constant presence around the BigBad and because of how she mostly supports the BigBad.
* FromNobodyToNightmare : Stubbs. In life, he was a down-on-his-luck travelling salesman who ended up being killed and buried in an unmarked grave. Now he's a brain-eating monster out to bring civilization to its knees.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar : There are quite a few innuendos in the game, one of the most glaring (and earliest) being the way a pump-bot, ahem... ''Refuels'' a police car and asks if it can look "[[DoubleEntendre under the hood]]".
* [[spoiler: GodzillaThreshold]] / [[spoiler: NuclearOption]] : [[spoiler: In the finale, when it becomes clear that Punchbowl is beyond saving, the U.S military drops an atomic bomb on the city to prevent the ZombieApocalypse from spreading further.]]

* GrievousHarmWithABody : The majority of Stubb's special attacks involve ripping off parts of his own body. Luckily, he seems to be capable of regenerating the missing pieces instantly.
** He can also [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential tear off an enemy's arm and use it as a club.]]
* [[spoiler: LukeYouAreMyFather]] : [[spoiler: Stubbs is actually Andrew Monday's illegitimate father.]]
* MadScientist : Dr. Hermann Wye. He and his army of scientists developed the RaygunGothic technology that makes Punchbowl function. [[spoiler: He also created the Agro-Gro fertilizer, which brought Stubbs back to life in the first place.]]

* MythologyGag : [[Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968 A zombie outbreak in Pennsylvania.]]
* NightOfTheLivingMooks : Your zombie minions.
* OhCrap : Many enemies will jump in fright upon seeing you round the corner, and will sometimes even panic during combat - running around in small circles and flailing their arms over their heads madly.
** Otis Monday, [[spoiler: when he figures out who Stubbs really is.]]

* OurZombiesAreDifferent : Stubbs himself is a somewhat-intelligent superzombie. The many zombie Mooks you create avert the [[RemovingTheHeadOrDestroyingTheBrain big zombie rule]] by being able to keep fighting even after they've gotten their heads blown off.
** [[{{Determinator}} Indeed, a headless, legless torso with one arm will still crawl around trying to catch humans]].
* PatientZero : Stubbs.
* PatrioticFervor : Otis Monday, [[ConspiracyTheorist fitting with his communist-conspiracy worldview]].

-->'''Soldier :''' "Taste my hot Yankee lead!!"
* RaygunGothic : In 1959, millionaire-industrialist Andrew Monday founds the city of Punchbowl, Pennsylvania; '''''THE CITY OF TOMORROW!''''' and the setting for the game.
* RegeneratingHealth : The most basic way of regaining life, complete with a [[{{Squick}} thick, gurgling sound effect]] as your health-meter slowly fills back up. If you're busy fighting, however, munching on a brain will give you a quick boost.
* RemovingTheHeadOrDestroyingTheBrain : Averted. Zombies will keep fighting after losing their heads (though they obviously lose the ability to eat brains), and Stubbs can even remove his ''own'' head to use as an explosive bowling-ball, regenerating it immediately afterwords.

* RunningGag : Stubbs' ugly necktie is repeatedly referred to whenever someone needs to describe his appearance. [[spoiler: It's also how Maggie recognizes him as the father of her son.]]
* ShieldBearingMook : S.W.A.T. officers carry riot shields and wear helmets that protect against possession.
* ShoutOut : At one point, Stubbs stands in front of a large American flag giving a rousing speech to his zombie minions in a manner reminiscent of any number of war movies, but especially the famous scene from Film/{{Patton}}. (Incidentally, the entire speech consists of him saying "braaainss..."; albeit in a ''very'' inspiring way.)

* SoundtrackDissonance : The music choice during a ZombieApocalypse is ...[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAuNPj-eoyM interesting]]. It ''does'' fit the RaygunGothic setting though.

* StrappedToAnOperatingTable : Briefly, when Stubbs is captured by the police department. The tutorial for the [[GrandTheftMe Hand]] involves rescuing him.
* StuffBlowingUp : Stubbs' head and internal organs are somehow capable of detonating with the force of a grenade. In the story, we have the destruction of the P.P.D. Headquarters, Otis Monday's house and the Punchbowl Dam.

* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy : When controlling an NPC with the Hand, your host will be walking around with a severed zombie forearm latched onto his cranium, rigid in the air like a flagpole. No-one will bat an eyelash until you actually ready a weapon or do anything more complicated than walking.
-->'''Cop :''' "What's that awful smell?"
* ThoseWackyNazis : Dr. Wye was one, apparently, but he defected to the Allies after the end of World War II.
* [[spoiler: UnexpectedGameplayChange]] : You fight the Chief of Police [[spoiler:in a [[VideoGame/{{DanceDanceRevolution}} DDR-lite]] minigame. And no, it isn't a case of 'using rhythm mechanics to control combat'; ''Stubbs and the Chief actually have a dancing competition'', complete with lights, music and a crowd of zombies and policemen cheering them on.]]
-->[[spoiler: '''Chief Masters :''' "I said I would dance on your grave, and I meant it!"]]

* UnusableEnemyEquipment : Subverted. While Stubbs lacks the dexterity to use conventional weapons himself, he can use the Hand to possess enemies and use whatever weapons they happen to be holding at the time. However, you still can't pick up new weapons.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight : Played with. While the humans quickly sound the alarm once the ZombieApocalypse starts, the robots aren't concerned at all, and apparently can't tell the difference between the living and the undead - only becoming hostile if directly attacked.

--->'''Guidebot :''' "Wasn't that your pancreas? Oh well, suit yourself."
* VideogameCrueltyPotential : You're a zombie. You eat brains. Before you chow down on someone's head, they will ''hilariously'' beg for their life. Not like that will stop you from eating their brains anyway.

* VillainProtagonist : Stubbs. Granted, Andrew Monday is heavily implied to be not much better.
* TheVirus : Interestingly, it's not always transmitted through a bite. You can simply beat humans to death with your bare hands, and they'll still turn into zombies.
* ZombieApocalypse : And guess who gets to cause it all?

* EvilVsEvil: Downplayed. The BigBad Andrew Monday's not exactly a villain per say, but he is heavily implied to be incredibly greedy, only seems to care about his city in the sense that being the mayor means he's the richest man in the city, treats the city like it's his play-place, and cares more about property damage than the death-toll Stubbs is causing, leaving him as a NominalHero at best. TheDragon Mr. Skegness only seems to care about getting it on with Maggie Monday, which lands him on the NominalHero category as well. EvilGenius Dr. Wye does not care that he accidentally started the zombie outbreak, and sees everyone else except for himself and his fellow scientists as expendable in the name of science, leaving him as an AntiVillain at worst. Last but not least, TheBrute Chief Masters seems to only care about protecting the citizens to keep Andrew Monday happy, and seems to be almost blindly loyal to Andrew, which qualifies him for NominalHero too. And poor Maggie Monday (the closest thing this band gets to a DarkChick) is apparently oblivious of the corruption of her five allies, aside from Skegness' perviness, which she somehow tolerates to an extent. And Stubbs himself, the enemy of this FiveBadBand, is arguable a Vengeful AntiVillain who wants revenge in the town for being shot to death in life.

** DarkChick / SixthRangerTraitor / TokenGoodTeammate: Even though she seem to be oblivious to the corruption of the other four members of this FiveBadBand, she counts due to her constant presence around the BigBad.

* VillainProtagonist : Stubbs.

* EvilVsEvil: Downplayed. The BigBad Andrew Monday's not exactly a villain per say, but he is heavily implied to be incredibly greedy, only seems to care about his city in the sense that being the mayor means he's the richest man in the city, treats the city like it's his play-place, and cares more about property damage than the death-toll Stubbs is causing, leaving him as a NominalHero at best. TheDragon Mr. Skegness only seems to care about getting it on with Maggie Monday, which lands him on the NominalHero category as well. EvilGenius Dr. Wye does not care that he accidentally started the zombie outbreak, and sees everyone else except for himself and his fellow scientists as expendable in the name of science, leaving him as an Anti-Villain at worst. Last but not least, TheBrute Chief Masters seems to only care about protecting the citizens to keep Andrew Monday happy, and seems to be almost blindly loyal to Andrew, which qualifies him for NominalHero too.

* [[FiveBadBand Four Bad Band]] :

** EvilGenius / DarkChick : Dr. Hermann Wye.

* TheBadGuyWins: The "bad guy" here being [[VillainProtagonist Stubbs]], a brain-hungry superzombie who [[spoiler: ends up causing the complete annihilation of the world's most advanced city while he happily sails off with his zombified girlfriend]].

* ZombiePukeAttack: Zombie Sputum and Gut Grenades, although the latter is [[StickyBomb an adhesive capsule of the former.]]

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Stubbs_the_Zombie_PC.jpg
[[caption-width:365:Be safe! Have fun! Eat brains!]]

Edward 'Stubbs' Stubberfield was BornUnlucky: Barely eeking out a living as a travelling salesman during TheGreatDepression, he met his end when he was shot in the stomach by a prospective customer and buried in an unmarked grave somewhere in rural Pennsylvania.

** Some police officers wear a gauntlet on their left forearm, which is a very obvious nod to VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'s iconic Pip-Boy.

* MythologyGag : [[NightOfTheLivingDead A zombie outbreak in Pennsylvania.]]

* TheVirus : Interestingly, it's not transmitted through a bite. You can simply beat humans to death with your bare hands, and they'll still turn into zombies.

Fifty years later, Stubbs' lonely grave is now the site of a [[RaygunGothic retro-futuristic]] [[ShiningCity utopian city]] called Punchbowl, founded by millionare-industrialist Andrew Monday. The city is clean, high-tech, and safe... until Stubbs suddenly rises from the earth with a burning desire to eat human brains.

* TheDragon : Mr. Sunday, the head of the Mayor's personal bodyguards.

* [[spoiler: AnticlimaxBoss]] : [[spoiler: Mr. Sunday, when we finally fight him, is no tougher than the EliteMooks you've been butchering to get here.]]

** TheDragon : Mr. Sunday.

* FromNobodyToNightmare : Stubbs himself. In life, he was a down-on-his-luck travelling salesman who ended up being killed and buried in an unmarked grave. Now he's a brain-eating monster out to bring civilization to its knees.

* StuffBlowingUp : Stubbs' head and internal organs are somehow capable of detonating with the force of a grenade. [[spoiler: In the story, we have the destruction of Otis Monday's house and the Punchbowl Dam]].

* TheVirus

* FromNobodyToNightmare : Stubbs himself. In life, he was a down-on-his-luck travelling salesman who ended up being killed and buried in an unmarked grave.

* RegeneratingHealth : The most basic way of regaining life, complete with a [[Squick thick, gurgling sound effect]] as your health-meter slowly fills back up. If you're busy fighting, however, munching on a brain will give you a quick boost.

[[caption-width:365:[[NiceHat Nice]] [[ComicallyMissingThePoint hat.]]]]

''Stubbs the Zombie'' is a 2005 ZombieApocalypse third-person action game for {{Xbox}}, PC and Mac with a twist - rather than playing as a human survivor, you are the first zombie, and the entire game basically consists of you lurching around eating brains and expanding the extent of the zombie outbreak. Was made by the same development team responsible for ''VideoGame/{{Halo|CombatEvolved}}'', using the same GameEngine.

'''This series provides examples of:'''

* ActionCommands: Used during the [[spoiler:dance-]]battle against the police chief.
* [[spoiler:AntagonisticOffspring: Andrew Monday to Stubbs.]]
* AffectionateParody
* ArtificialStupidity: You can't expect much from zombies, but they recognize your whistling and react accordingly (HUH?). Also, humans are [[AvertedTrope smart enough]] to [[GenreSavvy run from the slow zombies]].
* BigBad: Andrew Monday.
* BlackComedy
* ChekhovsGunman: Does the lamb count?
* ConspiracyTheorist: Otis Monday
* DirtyCommunists: [[CrazySurvivalist Otis']] perceived cause of the ZombieApocalypse.
* TheDragon: Dr. Hermann Wye.
* GrievousHarmWithABody: Stubbs is good at... Improvising. See LimitBreak below.
** He can also [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential tear off his opponent's arms and beat people to death with them.]]
* LimitBreak: Stubbs, has the following:
** Fartillery: stuns enemies around Stubbs
** Exploding organ-grenades
** GrandTheftMe: using his severed hand as a mind control device
** Exploding bowling ball head
* LukeYouAreMyFather: [[spoiler:Stubbs is actually Andrew Monday's father.]]
* MythologyGag: [[NightOfTheLivingDead A zombie outbreak in Pennsylvania.]]
* NightOfTheLivingMooks: Every one of your or or your minions' victims, bar the [[GrandTheftMe possessed]] humans.
* OurZombiesAreDifferent: Stubbs himself is essentially a somewhat-intelligent superzombie. The many zombie Mooks you create subvert the big zombie rule by being able to keep fighting even after they've gotten their heads blown off.
** Indeed, a disembodied torso with one arm will still crawl around trying to catch humans.
* PreAssKickingOneLiner: Delivered, unsurprisingly, by the enemies. "I'll show you HARD SCIENCE!"
* RaygunGothic: In 1959, billionaire philanthropist Andrew Monday founds the town of Punchbowl, Pennsylvania; '''''THE CITY OF TOMORROW!''''' and the setting for the game.
** You fight the police chief [[spoiler:in a cheap DDR-lite contest. And no, it isn't a case of "using DDR mechanics to control combat," oh no, you actually have a DANCE duel.]]
* ShoutOut: At one point, Stubbs stands in front of a large American flag giving a rousing speech to his zombie minions in a manner reminiscent of any number of war movies, but especially the famous scene from Film/{{Patton}}. (Incidentally, the entire speech consists of him saying "braaainss..." albeit in a ''very'' inspiring way.)

* SoundtrackDissonance: The music choice during a ZombieApocalypse is ...[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAuNPj-eoyM interesting]]. It ''does'' fit the RaygunGothic setting though.

* StrappedToAnOperatingTable
* StuffBlowingUp: Stubbs' head, inner organs, a dynamite mound, etc.
* TheUndead: Unexpected, I know.
* VideogameCrueltyPotential: You're a zombie. You eat brains. Before you chow down on someone's head, they will ''hilariously'' beg for their life. Not like that will stop you from eating their brains anyway.
* VillainProtagonist: The dev team describe Stubbs as a modern version of the titular phantom from ''The Masque of the Red Death'' - an avenging monster who punishes the insular revellers (the vapid, consumerism-obsessed inhabitants of the bubble city) for their hubris.
* ZombieApocalypse: And guess who gets to cause it all?
----

* HotMom: Maggie Monday. Even Stubbs falls in love with her. [[spoiler:A little something from when he was living. He was a Traveling Salesmen, after all.]]