Stubbs may have rotted in a grave for almost three decades, but he’s surprisingly powerful for an undead guy. In fact, he’s strong enough to smash through doors, windows and other barriers that are marked as passable. He can even rip off arms and use them like clubs to beat opponents into submission.

Once someone is subdued, Stubbs can finish them off or chomp their brains — either method makes them rise from the dead as zombies and join his army, but the latter fills the energy meters for his special abilities. Note that civilians hardly put up a fight when attacked and usually cower in fear as Stubbs approaches, but the police, militiamen and others will shoot him on sight.

Stubbs can also commandeer many of the vehicles in the game, which not only helps him get to his destinations faster than shambling, but also lets him run over opponents for quick kills. Some vehicles, such as the Pershing tank and the Sod-O-Mobile, also come equipped with weapons that can take out multiple people with one shot.

When Stubbs needs to get his zombie army moving, he can push them in the direction he wants them to go or he can stand out in front of the group and whistle. Neither method is 100% effective, but remember that you’re dealing with brainless undead. However, your fellow zombies will attack your enemies, turning them into new members of your undead legion.

“When possible,” says Soell, “I prefer to build up a small force of zombies and send them ahead of me. They soak up most of the bullets intended for Stubbs, allowing him to close in on his enemies and gobble those all-important brains. I like to stay stocked up on the fuel that powers Stubbs’ various bodily abilities.”

The first bodily ability Stubbs attains is unholy flatulence, which creates a toxic cloud that incapacitates his victims for several seconds, enabling him to walk right up and chomp on their skulls. It also damages anyone who unfortunately found themselves too close to him.

Stubbs next gains the power to pull out his internal organs, which regenerate automatically, and throw them. They stick to anything they touch and explode after several seconds, or when you decide they should detonate. These gut grenades are powerful enough to send opponents flying.

Our hero then figures out how to pull off his left hand and send it off on its own. While controlling the hand, you can scout nearby locations or even grab an enemy’s head and take possession of him. When you employ the latter, you can make that person do things for you, including use his weapon against his own allies.

The hand is fragile, so use caution when sneaking around with it. However, if it’s destroyed, Stubbs simply grows a new one. You also have no control over Stubbs when maneuvering his hand, so make sure he’s in a safe spot before you start exploring, or an enemy may find him and attack.

Just when he needs to, Stubbs also discovers that he can yank off his own head and roll it at his opponents. You control the zombie noggin along its path, knocking down enemies and spitting toxic sputum, which infects them and creates new allies. The head explodes after a certain period of time, or you can detonate it before then. Either way, its blast is more powerful than a gut grenade. And, of course, Stubbs then grows a new head.

Love at First Flatulence. Stubbs falls hard for Maggie Monday.

City of the Future. Flying cars are common in Punchbowl.

Simon Says. Mimic your opponent’s dance moves during one level.

No! Not the Arm! Stubbs whacks a victim with another one’s severed arm.

Andrew Monday: An old farmer and his daughter found Andrew Monday abandoned on the side of the road in a picnic basket. His tremendous intelligence put him at the forefront of the technology revolution when he became an adult, turning him into billionaire and giving him the idea to create Punchbowl. His wife, Maggie, is also in attendance at the opening festivities.

Mr. Monday has a private security team that he doesn’t want following him around, so they are in disguise on opening day. They could be anyone in the crowd.

The Mondays’ son, Otis, leads a militia group called The Quaker Street Irregulars. They refuse to acknowledge Hawaii and Alaska as U.S. states and dress in a combination of farm clothes and Army/Navy surplus gear. The skinniest militiamen don’t pose much of a threat to Stubbs, but the bigger ones do. And then there’s talk of huge militiamen living on Otis’ farm. They’re the kind of guys who might even make a zombie pause in mid-shamble.

Dr. Wye: A recent German immigrant, Dr. Wye brought much of the technology of Punchbowl to life. He gets around the city with a personal jetpack. Some of his scientists can cause trouble for Stubbs.

Police Chief T.S. Masters: The chief is a well-known crime fighter hired by Monday to ensure Punchbowl’s security. On opening day, he has all his beat cops walking the streets or patrolling in their squad cars. All of them are armed with revolvers and although some also sport a wrist communicator invented by Dr. Wye — it comes with a taser that makes quite a shocking impression on unruly types.

All the higher-ranking officers are manning their desks on opening day, ready to book any troublemakers brought in. They also have their revolvers handy, just to be safe. Riot police are also standing by, in case real trouble breaks out. While Chief Masters doesn’t expect to need them, he also doesn’t know who lies buried below the city.

In fact, before the day is over, Chief Masters may even need to call in the U.S. Army.