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ZombiU preview

ZombiU is a game to keep an eye on, but don't expect it to go easy on you.

June 6, 2012 11:20 AM

QUICKTAKE: Ubisoft looks to their roots and revives the long-forgotten Zombi for one of their major contributions to the Wii U. ZombiU makes full use of the Wii U GamePad, showing off some impressive ideas. In many ways, ZombiU feels like just another run-of-the-mill FPS zombie game, but the GamePad mechanics add just enough variance to make the game feel interesting. THE DEMO: With ZombiU taking place in a zombie-infested London, it's only natural that the demo would take me to the outskirts of Buckingham Palace. I'm given the objective to find a vial of medicine, contending with zombies (both hidden and out in the open) along the way. After infiltrating the nearby nursery and collecting the medicine, I escaped the crumbling building to safety to fight zombies another day. DETAILS: I've played many zombie games over the years, so I looked for something in ZombiU to set it apart from its many predecessors. In terms of plot, I found nothing. A zombie outbreak has occurred and the idea is to survive while completing objectives and killing off members of the undead. As I ventured forth through London, I had a sense of déjà vu. However, zombies in ZombiU are far deadlier than the average walker. I was surprised to learn that a single bite would infect me and end my game as quickly as it began. It's definitely a change from the norm and I learned I needed to be much more careful to survive. On top of that, supplies are very limited, so I would have to use ammo sparingly and rely more on melee weapons, like a cricket bat I found early on. ZombiU certainly offers the tense atmosphere expected of a zombie game. After gathering the medicine I was asked to retrieve, the nursery began to fall apart. As I walked out, I was knocked down by falling debris, which sent my flashlight on the fritz. As the flashlight flickered, zombies would jump out of nowhere and attack. One of the zombies was a noticeably intelligent undead woman, favoring the darkness so I couldn't see her attack coming.

What do you mean, you don't own a zombie detector?

While this may sound like an average zombie game, I'm genuinely impressed by how much use it got out of the Wii U GamePad--a Swiss army knife's worth of functions. After offing a zombie, I held the GamePad to the screen to scan the corpse for items. While I occasionally got loot, other times I found out the zombie wasn’t fully dead as it suddenly lunged for my neck. When the lights went out, I waved the GamePad around and used it as a flashlight. The crossbow had to be aimed with the GamePad by holding it against the TV screen. Locks needed to be picked with the touch screen. And perhaps most importantly, the GamePad served as my inventory, functioning like a makeshift backpack. ZombiU is a game to keep an eye on, but don't expect it to go easy on you. I died numerous times during the demo, never lasting more than a few minutes. This game is challenging and that challenge increases as your dead characters are soon added to the zombie ranks. Explore the infested London streets when ZombiU hits the Wii U this holiday season.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?

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June 6, 2012 11:20 AM

Ozzie Mejia posted a new article, ZombiU preview.

ZombiU is a game to keep an eye on, but don't expect it to go easy on you.
- Haxim
  
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  June 6, 2012 11:21 AM
  
  Hey great, more zombie stuff. Certainly a dearth of that over the last while, that's for sure.
  - capt tripps
    
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    June 6, 2012 11:41 AM
    
    Think of it as the undearth and the rise of the zombies.
  - HockeyJohnston
    
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    June 6, 2012 12:08 PM
    
    WWII and zombies never stopped being cool, people just have to think of a new thing to be 'over' every few years.
    - Haxim
      
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      June 6, 2012 12:12 PM
      
      Zombies never stopped being cool because they never were cool.
      - one random winner
        
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        June 6, 2012 12:14 PM
        
        They're vampires with a little less brains, so they want some.
- valcan_s
  
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  June 6, 2012 11:49 AM
  
  Ok here is the thing I want to know since you played it and its been on my mind. That bloody tablet controller is it not brutally annoying to look at your TV then look at you tablet controller now look back at the TV and back at the tablet controller(I sound like a old spice commercial).
  
  It just makes no freaking sense to me, fine someone needs the main TV so stream to the tablet that shit is cool and makes sense. I can not see how constantly looking down at one small tablet and re focusing on a small area and then big for the TV would work. It seems very distracting and almost give you motion sickness(puts smart phone in hand and simulates with comp screen). If I am going to have to stop what I am doing I'd rather just pop a menu. Yell in one of those videos it shows the dude stop and look at the tablet and then a zombie starts killing him. Is that part of the fun?
  
  For the life of me I don't see how this will seamlessly work and not be annoying and make you go "I just want a fucking regular menu", to me I would just want to use that pro controller and chuck the tablet or give it to someone that does not have a TV all the time.
  
  Thoughts?
  - one random winner
    
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    June 6, 2012 12:10 PM
    
    You gotta lean back when you play man, almost to the point where you're lying down.
    - valcan_s
      
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      June 6, 2012 12:18 PM
      
      Yeah :) just tried it in my cube but then you get bad DOF effect... man I feel sick now, this is just wrong.
      
      Pass.
  - et72
    
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    June 6, 2012 2:40 PM
    
    Dude, its Kidtendo, they can do no wrong, just pony up the cash and make you sure you tweet your high score with the tablet
- dookiebot
  
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  June 6, 2012 1:19 PM
  
  Need less zombie and more infected. Bring out L4D3 in 3D with 4 chick coop. Driving in a 4x4 monster truck and bathing in the waterfalls. Time for L4D to become mature.