One Word for you.... Survive! Thats pretty much what you'll be doing in this title from start to finish (at least trying anyway). ZombiU, the title that was the most hyped for Wii U's third party games, does it live up to gamers expectations? Lets find out....
The game takes place in London. Its a Zombie Apocalypse and you play number of survivors (a survivor if your good enough) that when one dies another new character takes his/her place (meaning your survivor dies say goodbye permanently). You start off running for your life and make to an underground (in the subway) base (Pretty much your safehouse). You progress in the story by different means. As you progress you'll see more new areas and plenty of revisting never being safe at all. You can take shortcuts to different locations via sewer systems after you reach its destination once, Avoiding zombies or simply smashing their skulls out.
Gameplay, lets see... You have the gamepad which works in different favors. EX: When you look in your backpack, it'll be on the gamepad and the game wont stop (while you decide what you need!) which puts you in a "only look when I know Im 100% safe!" It also has a feat (and later gets upgraded) that when you touch the gamepad (the button) it'll send out a sonar that picks up lifeforms thats very useful when surviving, but bewarn, it picks up every lifeform (rats,crows,etc) so dont panick when you see 10 red dots on your screen! The controls are a little awkward when shooting and takes a little getting used too which kinda sucks since you really use your standard weapon (the paddle, stick, whatever you call it) most of the time. Speaking of most zombies you fight take two or three hits to go down while others can take as much as eight to ten! Because of this when a group of zombies come at you, it can be difficult to avoid. Especially since a zombie can jump on you and take you out with one hit!
The surroundings of the game are pretty good, Pick up food, Dark horror atmosphere, realistic events. The graphics are suppose to be dark and gloomy which is a great job, but very bland and sometimes all things/people look the same which is a bore unfortunately!
Difficulty is well done especially when you want to survive with one survivor. If you die all items you had are gone but not permanently since you can kill your old zombie and get it back (note if you die before reaching that zombie it will then disapear permanently). With different zombies and sometimes a cluster of an environment its pretty hard to not die 5-10times before completing the game!
This Title also comes with multiplayer. One gamer will play with the gamepad while the other a wii mote and nunchuk/pro controller (highly recommended) in a series of VS modes! One player goes and survives and/or fulfill certain objectives and the other player (with the gamepad) has zombies at his/her control and can spawn them anywhere they see fit (this includes different kind of zombies). While the multiplayer is fun, its not what stands out in the game or why someone would purchase it. Its the story (single player) that matters. Even though its multiplayer is non the less fun!
Overall (and anything i missed) this game is what some call true horror and i'll say yes to that. While it can be hard to shoot (because of controls), bland graphics, and sometimes feel like a drag this game simply does what it needs to, and thats keep you on your toes at all times! There is also another mode which is the story mode but you only play one survivor and if you die your game is finished (think about your last life in an arcade game)!
The Verdict
Story===== 7/10 (good run but annoying spokesman and no interaction, also not so straight forward IMO, but good atmosphere)
Difficulty=== 7.5/10 (can be difficult at times especially when you get one shotted!)
Graphics=== 6/10 (no excuse, this is not the Wii, this is the Wii U damn it)
Length==== 8/10 (you could rush through this but being careful and watching your surroundings can take its toll)
Multiplayer=== 7.5/10 (good and fun but you wont be calling your friends over every week for this)
Survival Horror== 9.5/10 (being a survivor gets every point, just need to bring up its other downfalls)
Gameplay/Controls= 7.5/10 (its fun with the gamepad and what ubisoft did but come on and be more precise with shooting, so unbalanced!)
Overall 7.6/10
It has some weaknesses but overall its good. For the titles on Wii U now pick this one up as its a good single player that utilizes the gamepad pretty well... Good luck Surviving!!!!!!!
