ZombiU Message Board older than one year ago

#culture A society leaves behind a pretty decent map of its psychology in the culture it creates. For example, the 1950s brought us a number of science fiction films that remain cultural touchstones to this day. And as any undergraduate student taking a Film Studies 101 course can tell you, a huge number of those movies existed more as a manifestation of that decade's cultural paranoia than as films unto themselves. More »

#stabbystabby E3 2012 wasn't just a banner year for bows and helicopters, it was also quite the year for throat-trauma. From Splinter Cell to Resident Evil to Far Cry 3, game after game featured resplendent, flinch-inducing throat violence. More »

I have to say this: give zombies a rest. They're the new Nazis (you know, the fad from like five years or so ago that is still sort of fading), and have really lingered about beyond their freshness date. Ubisoft somehow went from a game with mutants/alients and had a totally interesting vibe, to the most cliche game this side of Duke Nukem. And the name change? Guess they just had to stick a Z somewhere in there. Z's sell, you know. Just be ready in case "Azzazzin's Creed 3" makes its appearance.

Anyway, I am not a first-person gamer. Even most third-person shooting games leave me yawning with disinterest. That said, I got to play both sides of a ZombiU flag-capturing multiplayer match with RMC today, and had an annoying, miserable time with one, and a slightly more palatable time with the other...relatively speaking.

Yes, the human side (first person) was dark, visually uninspired, and pretty much exemplified everything I hate about the genre, replete with clunky, overcomplicated controls that couldn't be adequately (clearly and simply) explained for a demo, and things attacking from behind with zero warning or way to detect it. But can I fault a game basically for its genre? Only if my ability to have fun with it is part of the equation I guess. I don't like first person, and didn't like this.

The "Zombie God" mode (as I call it) at least gives you a chance to do something completely different, though still not quite intriguing enough to keep me overly entertained. Using the Wii Gamepad, you see a partial overhead view of the map, and are able to choose from a small arsenal of zombies--each with their own attributes and benefits--and then drop them strategically into the scene and try to be as much of a nuisance to your competitor as possible. It was interesting trying to set up traps, but the zombies and interface for placing them into the scene were just too slow to be of any real threat to a decent player like RMC; lots of downtime for me as I waited for things to happen. I guess this mode is for people who get thrills out of being as a-holey as possible to other players in games--which is probably the only reason I did like this marginally better than the human side.

So my scorecard for this game: Zombies over the alien theme? No thanks. Some actual color use and a city that felt a bit alive versus a dingy, wore down dump of a place that has zero character? Again, I'll pass. Zombie God mode? Good idea, but aside from tapping the Gamepad screen every once in awhile, there's just not much to do. I'd rather spend my time being a jerk to friends in other games. Your mileage may vary.

Cortjezter and I lucked out during our Nintendo booth tour. We wanted to check out ZombiU, but we actually got a chance to try out the multiplayer version of the demo. That demo included use of the Wii U GamePad as well as the Wii U Pro controller. We each played both sides of the demo, and I'm still left trying to figure out which aspect of the game I liked more!

The multiplayer game was basically a version of capture the flag, but with a few modifications. There were four flag points on the map that needed to be captured. Instead of grabbing flags, you had to stand at a flag spot for a certain amount of time. Eventually this would allow you to claim the flag point for yourself, much like King of the Hill modes in other games. Sounds pretty standard until you realize how multiplayer works.

If you're playing as the survivor side of things, it's going to be you up against a never-ending army of zombies. You'll have to defend your flag points that you've captured from invading zombies, but you also need to keep them off your back as you capture flag points. Again, this all sounds like pretty standard FPS multiplayer. That's because the survivor aspect of multiplayer is. The infected side of things is much different.

Playing as the infected gives you a bird's eye view via the Wii U GamePad screen. You're looking down on the entire level, including where the flag points are. This map is also running in real time, meaning you can see where the survivor is and where they're running to. It's your job to stop them from grabbing flag points, and you do that by dropping down zombies into the level.

The GamePad player can only place zombies in areas of the map that aren't colored red. Red zones show you where you can't start a zombie off. Any other part of the map is fair game. All you do is tap a spot and that spawns a zombie in the level. You can then take a look up at the TV and watch your zombie hunt down the survivor and hopefully take them out!

Even more interesting is the fact that you have 4 different zombie types to choose from. One zombie type is super fast by easy to take down. The other types involve different power and speed levels, and using the right zombies in the right places can lead to you taking out the survivor in the middle of their plan. The perfect combination can allow you to block off the survivor from all directions and swarm all at once.

Furthermore, the zombies can actually capture flag points as well! That means you can take out the survivor to win or try to capture all four flag points as zombies. It's completely up to your own interest in strategies. I found myself really getting into the plotting of what zombie went where and then watched the TV to see how my plans played out.

I honestly was very impressed with ZombieU. The game was still rough around the edges, but that's to be expected with it being currently under development. My interest in ZombiU was on the fence until I played today. The game's multiplayer mode absolutely sold me on the title, as I found it to be truly unique and engaging, all while it put a twist on the familiar FPS multiplayer modes we all know.

Survive as long as you can with the ultimate survival kit in ZombiU.

#zombiu At yesterday's Nintendo press conference, president of Nintendo America Reggie Fils-Aime revealed himself to be a rotting, stinking monstrosity. More »

We check out the tablet integration, online features, and story elements for ZombiU.

We witness the rebirth of a survivor in a game where one bite means instant death.

We take our shots on the E3 floor at the undead on Wii U's Zombi U.

We take our shots on the E3 floor at the undead on Wii U's Zombi U.

All Access Live gives us a closer look at ZombiU on the Wii U! Get up close and personal with the gameplay of this survival horror title from our live coverage of E3 2012!

Survive the zombie infested streets of London in this Wii U survival horror title announced at E3 2012!