Very few stays constant during game console launches, events fraught with uncertainty and excitement that culminates in a big messaging mishmash, but regardless of who makes the hardware, Ubisoft will be there to try to capitalize on the hype, particularly with Nintendo. Ubisoft has had at least one high-profile launch title for Nintendo’s last home release, the high-concept low-execution Red Steel, and poises to deliver another with ZombiU. The urge to make Red Steel comparisons is tempting—a Nintendo-exclusive launch shooter based on hardware-defining gimmicks, huh?—but Ubisoft’s latest entry in the zombie-shootin’ sweepstakes is actually pretty fun.
ZombiU’s drops players in the middle of London after an unspecified plague morphs everyone into craven, flesh-munching zombies. Players take control one of the plague’s survivors and must find their way to safety through the wreckage of merry old England, killing zombies with whatever weaponry can be fashioned or found. Unlike other zombie shooting games like Left 4 Dead or Contagion, guns are scarce and ammo even more so, and conserving bullets is paramount to staying alive; think Condemned: Criminal Origins but with more undead shuffling. Also unlike other zombie shooters, ZombiU’s characters are quite squishy, only taking a low number of hits or one good bite before keeling over. After death, players take control of another survivor in a different portion of the map, and must track down and kill their previous character in order to regain their supplies.
ZombiU’s other big gameplay hook stems from the Wii U GamePad. ZombiU displays a map of the environment on the GamePad screen, letting players scan for zombies a la radar. Item management is handled on the second screen as well, ranging from backpack item placement to which weapon is equipped, and all of it happens in real time, leaving players potentially caught off-guard for impromptu zombie attacks.
My playthrough started me in an enormous mansion, replete with ornate carpets and fancy wall decorations, reminding me of Buckingham Palace gone to hell. I foraged around the study where I woke up until I found a cricket bat lying under an end table, turning my thoughts to Shaun of the Dead. The Ubisoft representative directed my attention to yet another function of the GamePad: a scanner that reveals potential clues or hidden areas. The scanner lead up to a well-camouflaged maintenance closet and up a ladder, where a totally-not-sketchy air duct stood between me and hidden goodies. My good faith was misplaced, however, as a surprise zombie popped out, screaming and dragging me in helplessly. I beat the sucker down, but not before leaping with surprise.
After climbing down my hiding place, newly stocked with bullets and a shiny new shotgun, I came to an expansive ballroom crawling with zombies dressed as the British guard. They lurched toward me and I grabbed my pistol, not wanting to waste my precious shotgun shells. To my surprise, my undead aggressors than I anticipated, taking multiple headshots before hitting the ground. Not wanting to run out of ammo, I switched to my cricket bat and started swinging like Duke Ellington. A few zombies caught me unprepared, though, and a few stray scratches sent me to the Game Over screen.
I selected to respawn, and I was treated to a short cutscene of a female university student waking up in a different section of the mansion. I adjusted my bearings, found a new cricket bat, and cautiously made my way back to the ballroom where I died. The area was less populated with zombies, but I recognized a zombified version of my previous character sporting my backpack. In what must be one of the most peculiar forms of suicide conceived in a game, I put my dead corpse down and continued on my way, having found my old supplies.
In the next room, I noticed a new breed of zombie creeping in, reminiscent of the Boomer in Left 4 Dead, who wasted no time in sliming me. Not wanting to waste any time finding out what else they could do, I broke out my shotgun and was satisfied with how fast the creature went down. If nothing else, ZombiU does a great job of making the player feel helpless without the proper equipment.
ZombiU still isn’t quite my bag; the controls and shooting feel loose, and I never feel fully satisfied playing zombie shooters (this includes both Left 4 Dead and Call of Duty: Zombies). Still, ZombiU is a fun, survivalist take on gunning down zombies, and I’m still excited to find out more about it, regardless of my own personal biases. ZombiU drops with the launch of the Wii U on November 18, 2012.
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