by Mark Reeves
Platform:
Nintendo Wii U
Release
date: November 18, 2012
Developer:
Ubisoft Montpellier
Publisher:
Ubisoft
27 years ago a newly formed company called
Ubisoft released a simple arcade game, the name of this game was Zombi.
Released for the Commodore 64 and the IBM PC, Zombi dropped players in a mall
where they had to survive the zombie apocalypse.
26 years later Ubisoft
finally delivers a successor to its first published title. As one of the Wii
U’s premiere launch titles, ZombiU has a lot to live up to. With the survival
horror genre struggling in recent years with more action oriented entries by Resident Evil and Silent Hill, many gamers
questioned if Ubisoft, who is not well known in the survival horror genre,
could actually deliver where these established franchises could not. Well I am
happy to report that Ubisoft Montpellier has delivered an experience that feels
as if they have been doing this for years.
ZombiU starts off in a post-apocalyptic
London, think 28 Days Later. In the beginning
cinematic your character is simply running around London, attempting to
survive. Then a voice comes over a loud speaker telling you to run into the
subway system. Just before your about to be ripped apart limb from limb by
zombies, you rush into the subway. From here the cinematic is over, and you
have to run for your life! After you enter the safe room you will become acquainted with the voice that saved your life. He calls himself “The Prepper”
and he has prepared for this disaster well ahead of time. Your job then is to
go into the streets of London and find a way to stop the zombie plague.
The first weapon your character starts out
with is a cricket bat. For the first few hours of the game this will be your
primary weapon. While it would have been nice to get a few extra melee weapons,
you will soon learn that the only thing between you and a quick death is how
effectively you use your cricket bat. The cricket bat is a very slow and weak
weapon. Zombie’s usually go down after 3-4 hits plus a finishing move. This
might not sound so bad, but if there is more than one zombie, you have to be
aware of what the other zombie is doing before you decide to take a swing.
Other reviewers might see this slow combat as a burden to the overall game, but
I feel Ubisoft has managed to take the melee combat, something that would
usually be an afterthought, and make it a strategic and tense part of the game.
Another
integral part of the game is of course,
the Wii U gamepad. When wondering around London you will find various items
like medpacks, ammo, and guns. These will all need to be stored in your
backpack, which you can access only from the gamepad. The gamepad makes it easy
to quickly manage your inventory and equip items. Other uses for the gamepad
include the ability to scan rooms for clues and items, and it can also be used
to scope your sniper rifle.
When
it comes to atmosphere, which every good zombie game needs, ZombiU excels on
many levels. The graphics, while not the greatest in the world, do this game
justice by providing very little light. This may not seem like a big deal, but
when you are in a dark building with zombies and your flashlight goes out, you
will see nothing but darkness and the red on the screen as your eaten alive. On
top of the great lighting effects, zombies look very grotesque up close, and
the city of London is very detailed. The
sound of ZombiU also adds to the suspense. Unknown shrieks and growls from the
next room or floor are truly terrifying, and will have to on edge the whole
game.
Of course I cannot end this review without
talking about the difficulty of ZombiU. If you are familiar with games like Demon Souls and Dark Souls you will be fine. However if you are not familiar with
these titles, you will die, a lot. Your character is very weak, only a few hits,
or one zombie bite will kill him or her. After you die you will respawn in the
main safehouse as a new character. What is unique about ZombiU is, after you
die you can go out, find your zombified corpse and hopefully retrieve your
items that you had previously acquired.
ZombiU is no doubt a breath of fresh
air for the survival horror genre. With its challenging gameplay and perfect
atmosphere, it could be argued that it has done a better job with survival
horror then the latest installments of Resident
Evil and Silent Hill. If you own a Wii U this game is a must buy.
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