ZombiU definitely has a lot to prove. After Red Steel - Ubisoft’s hardcore offering at the Wii’s launch - failed to win over the masses by making large promises it failed to deliver on, public response to ZombiU has typically been laced with skepticism. Now that the game has been unleashed and is happily infecting shiny new Wii U consoles, fears of a repeat offense can be put to rest, while whole new fears grow in their place.
At first glance, ZombiU could easily be written off as another first-person shooter where the player runs and guns their way through hordes of the undead, using an endless stream of bullets to turn them into disgusting Swiss cheese, but the reality of the game is about as far from that as you can possibly get. ZombiU is unequivocally a survival horror game, and not a “survival horror game by 2012 standards.” ZombiU takes players back to the genesis of the genre by providing a constant fear of the unknown and the tension that comes from being only just prepared enough to handle what’s coming next. It’s a breath of fresh air and quite a pleasant surprise seeing as the old powerhouses of the genre - Resident Evil and Silent Hill - have all but abandoned their traditions of turning your fears into a plaything and have instead morphed into straight action games.
ZombiU takes place in a ruined, post-apocalyptic London, where a mysterious man calling himself the Prepper has set up a safe-house and guides the player through missions to help them survive the horror roaming the streets. It’s standard fare, but it's effective enough to provide adequate player motivation during the tense campaign. Your survivor is given a name and an occupation, but that’s it; they are a silent protagonist through and through. The story is all about the madness going on around them, rather than their emotional reaction to it.
There’s a reason for that, of course; your survivor is going to die. When this inevitable event occurs, you won’t go back to a checkpoint or load an old save file. They’re gone for good, and a brand new survivor wakes up in the Prepper’s safe-house to continue his work. While you won’t have access to that character anymore, they’re not really gone; you’ll need to hunt their newly-zombified form down and kill it to get all of your hard-earned items back. For a game with literally zero character development, you will become surprisingly attached to your survivors. Being forced to confront them in combat serves as a farewell to the avatar you spent so much time with, as well as a painfully tangible reminder of your failure; it's an engaging mechanic, to say the least.
The Prepper hooks you up with some pretty sweet tech that makes great use of the various functions of the GamePad, with the most basic being a map and inventory screen. It also acts as a scanner, which you can move around to get a better look at the in-game environment while scanning for items and things that the Prepper can hack for you. The feature that will probably be used most is the radar; with a quick tap on the GamePad screen, this sends out a ping that will show you any zombies in the immediate area. As the Prepper speaks to you it all comes through the GamePad’s speakers, and when this is combined with all of the essential tools tied to the device, it makes you feel much more reliant on the controller than you would in a typical game. Similar to how someone stuck in such a horrific situation would cherish the tool keeping them alive, players will be very happy to have the GamePad in their hands.
However, in an ironic twist, the GamePad also ends up being the game's single biggest weakness. With the controller handling so much of the interface it's easy to get lost in it, especially in intense moments with a lot coming at you. This is partly intentional and helps raise your pulse, but there are times when you feel like you're fighting against the concept rather than the fear it is intended to generate. Also, you have many "quick use" buttons on the GamePad's touch screen to which you can assign items, and predictably during the heat of battle you'll unfortunately wind up hitting the wrong one quite a few times. These aren't game-breaking errors by any stretch of the imagination and after a while you learn to adapt to such issues, but they nevertheless detract from the overall experience to a certain degree.
Creating a sense of tension and trepidation is really what ZombiU does best; the game makes you truly feel like someone stuck in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. You’re someone barely scraping by with whatever supplies you can find - be it a can of soda for a small health boost or a handful of bullets that you’ll have to think long and hard about using - because what if you need them even more later? Your trusty cricket bat (inspired by the cult British horror comedy Shaun of the Dead, naturally) is the only constant, and as it takes a good three or four whacks to kill most zombies you never feel like melee combat is something you’re completely prepared for. The game is hard, even on Chicken difficulty, because without that challenge most of the atmosphere would be lost.
It’s pretty indisputable that zombies are pretty played out in video games at this point, but ZombiU definitely makes them feel new again (as new as walking bags of rotting flesh can feel, anyway). What makes zombies as a concept so scary is that there’s really no stopping them; they can’t feel pain and never stop pursuing you. They don’t run, but they don’t need to because seeing three or four of them shuffling after you - arms outstretched, putrid mouths wide open with blood-curdling moans escaping their disgusting throats - is enough to literally give you nightmares. ZombiU harnesses this element excellently; possibly better than any other survival horror title before it, in fact.
The game looks pretty good as well, giving an early indication of the Wii U’s graphical muscle by inviting players into a dark, dank, grimy version of a ruined London created by an incredible art design team. Zombie designs aren't super varied, but the environments all look great and definitely help set up the tense, horrifying atmosphere that the team behind the game has set out to create. And while “pleasing” isn't exactly the right word, the game impresses aurally as well, with great voice acting from the Prepper and some of the best zombie moans and groans we've had the pleasure of hearing in a long time.
In addition to the standard campaign ZombiU also features a Survival mode, which is exactly what it sounds like: one death and it’s all over. No new survivor, no reloading, nothing. At the time of writing the Prepper’s safe-house features graffiti by the development team bragging that no one has beaten Survival yet, which is definitely not a surprise.
With the Wii U GamePad lending itself so well to asymmetrical gameplay, ZombiU of course takes the opportunity to provide another way to play. In the multiplayer mode, one player takes on the role of Boris - the self-titled King of Zombies - on the GamePad while the other plays a Survivor with either the Pro controller or the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. The survivor plays a more action-oriented version of the main game while Boris indulges in what is almost real-time strategy, using a top-down map of the area to spawn various zombies and kill the survivor as quickly as possible. There are two modes, one where the object is to kill as many zombies as possible before the survivor dies, and the much more fun Capture the Flag mode. Not only is it a total hoot to have two people competing with each other while essentially playing very different games, it also gives players who can’t or don’t want to handle the full-scale horror of ZombiU a way to enjoy the game with friends.
Conclusion
ZombiU isn't perfect, but it sets out to do a very specific thing and succeeds with style. It’s atmospheric and horrifying and will provide plenty of sweaty palms and jump scares, proving that dark, mature games can thrive on Nintendo’s newest console. Anyone looking for a challenging and highly immersive experience with some real heft behind it is definitely going to come away pleased, despite some relatively minor niggles relating to that ground-breaking GamePad. There might not be a whole lot of choice on store shelves yet, but even if there was, ZombiU still absolutely deserves a spot in your Wii U library.
Comments 115
i agree completely with this review. havent been able to stop playing it
It's good that i pre-ordered The Wii U ZombiU bundle!
This is one of those games people rate highly because it's a launch game, and then when actual games start coming out, we all realize how much better this could have been.
Ha first ever on any comment section! Nice review and thanks for being more objective and less bashing than other review sites! Might give it a try at a friend's house who's getting the WiiU at EU-launchday!
What @AlexSays said. Though I'm glad I'm getting the ZombiU bundle, it's a great way to start of with WiiU. Mutiplayer looks awesome btw.
It looks fantastic but the use of the gamepad puts me off...
I'm not sure I made the right choice in not getting this on launch day.
Awesome review this game is so under appreciated
@Tsuchiya if you like a challenge and a fan of survival horror its great hopefully they will have a demo soon for people who are uncertain
Wonderful review Joe!! Looks absolutely freaking terrifying, but I'm glad to hear it's fun!
@Malic
It's the fact that this is a genuine survival horror that really interests me. I'm tired of all the Gears of Evil clones. A demo would be great. Fingers crossed
Good review. You seem to be one of the reviewers that "get" this game.
I'm loving this game. There are plenty of times I wish I could use the Wiimote and nunchuck, though, because I suck at aiming with dual analog sticks. And me and my friend have been playing the multiplayer for the past three days. It's insanely fun.
I was getting this no matter what the review score would've been, played a demo of it only about a month ago and it was pretty sweet.The added bonus is I've become more deeply interested in horror movies lately and I recently watched Night of the Living Dead and Boris Karloffs' The Indestructible Man (the main character is more or less a zombie, but the word zombie isn't what I'd exactly describe him as being as).
Can't wait until I pick this game up though, good review by the way Joel!
@Tsuchiya that's why I'm loving it you're either gonna love it or hate it they need a demo for this game for sure and if you're an old school gamer I think you would appreciate it even more
Finally!! a decent review!
This is by far the best review I have read of this game, it was informative and in depth unlike both IGN and Gamespot's just pure negative reviews.
Thank you Nintendo Life
Oh and @AlexSays apart from destructoid and NLife no one is rating this game high
Going to get the game, even though i don't have a Wiiu.
Still on the fence with this game. It looks promising, but I think I will wait for a sequel.
Agree with this review way more than IGN's, damn how they have gone downhill. I am glad you guys do what you do.
@AlexSays Um what ? Go look at the reviews man .... GameSpot gave this a freaking 4.5 not to many high scores out there for this and no doubt this game could have been better its a new IP
@PinkSpider I have a feeling that most review sites either 1.) Didn't spend a whole heap of time, got really stuck and have played a ton of "better" FPS zombie games or 2.) They just hate real Survival Horror games and just suck hard at them.
Well either way, horror themed games are usually very niche and I'm not surprised that "hardcore" gamer review sites rated it lower than Nintendo Life, for one thing, ZombiU is on a Nintendo platform, if it had been on the 360 or PS3 it would've got higher reviews perhaps. But like any shooter on the 360 or PS3, once people have played it, it usually sits on their shelves gathering dust, while gamers look forward to a better shooter.
ONM in the UK gave it 92% and several other reviews I've read have been positive too, though I do agree that this seems to be the best and most balanced review.
I was lucky enough to play ZombiU at Braehead in Glasgow and it was great. I had already pre-ordered the ZombiU bundle and now I cannot wait to pick it up!
Awesome review Joe!
As a fan of Day Z, this looks like a whole lot of fun.
I did initially cancel my preorder until I read Edge's review which got me interested again. This review has only further cemented my belief that I've made the right decision, roll on next Friday...
TBH im really glad its not another Left for Dead type game or the Zombie Mode in COD. It is it's own unique fresh take on the Zombie Genre which to be honest is a good thing as alot of current Zombie games i feel have got stale.
It's refreshing and I can't wait to play it
Great review for a very good launch game.
@AhabSpampurse I agree I just read Edge's review who are usually well critical so if they like it, it must be good
I've been put off 'Survivor Horror' games for the very reasons mentioned above... they've become far more action-based now than they ever had been before! This is why I must buy this. Link Belmot... I love your name!
pass. it'll be in the bargain bin in a few months, like most ubisoft titles.
"Fear me, for I am Boris, King of the Zombies! Rarrrgh!"
...
I think I just scared myself. o_O
ZombiU seems to be getting harsh reviews in the US but quite positive reviews in Europe. EDGE said good things about it and Eurogamer gave it 9 out of 10.
A cultural thing, perhaps? Anyway, amazing review Joe!
The thing that puts me off with this game is how claustrophobic the environments are. Progression seems to be very linear, and zombies don't spawn randomly each playthrough, which doesn't do much for replay value.
I don't like games that force particular actions. So if I have no way of approaching the zombies other than head-on because i'm always in a confined space, then I'm going to get bored pretty quickly.
A game like this needs large, open environments as well as some tight, claustrophobic ones. Bigger, non-linear environments give you more options for approaching a situation, but this just seems to force the action upon you, which sort of contradicts the permadeath/roguelike inspiration..
Also, the combat itself doesn't look much fun.
@AlexSays fwiw, I'm also an avid xbox and ps3 gamer and would have no problems with playing this game on either console right now, even this far into their life span. It's a great game.
The only way I'd look back on this game and thought it could have been better is if they come out with a ZombieU2 (that name is intriguing on a few levels) that did the same thing that left 4 dead 2 did to l4d1 (made it feel like a demo). Even then, I would have to put on my rose-colored glasses.
Great review, Joe.
All of these other review sites say this game is bad, but in the end nintendo life is the only review site i trust when it comes to games on nintendo's platforms
This is a fair review but i must say that at first it felt weird using te gamepad an had my initial reservations about using it but after playing the game i came to realize the genius of ZombiU. The fact that the game is in real time and having so many uses of the gamepad added to the tension and immersion to the reality of being in a zombie apocalypse! Most people that have given this game a bad review tend to forget its an actual SURVIVAL HORROR and to be quite honest would probably be zombie food and die anyway if there was an actual zombie apocalypse…no offense intended but i would put u out of ur misery without any hesitation. But back to the gameplay aside from shrieking like a little girl every now and then( or most of the time) the more i die the more i learn from my experiences and it forces me to think survival or simply die. This is a great game to add to ur Wii U library and am curious to see how they will grow and expand this concept in the next ZombiU
@WanderingPB I agree I hope they do make a sequel to this it can only get better
I think the game is okay overall, but there's plenty of room for improvement. Even so, it's a decent start for an IP on a Nintendo console. Hopefully they'll make a bigger and better game next time around if a sequel is in the cards.
@Tsuchiya
Here's your demo: http://mynintendonews.com/2012/11/23/zombiu-demo-hitting-nintendo-eshop-on-wii-u-before-december-15th/
Reading the ZombiU Miiverse community, it seems like people really like this game. It makes me want it more than any review.
All the bad reviews I read seem like the reviewer was expecting a Left 4 Dead game or similar and hold it against the game for not being that. Thank you for reviewing the game on it's own merits and not based on another game.
It says something about my trust in Nintendolife and it's reviews that I am putting Zombie U back on my shopping list!
@mwellert
That's great news. Thanks for the link
I'll defiantly give it a go.
I'll be sure to try this out at some point.
I-I'll demo it...
Maybe... I'm t-terrified of horror games....
Stop l-laughing...
Great review. Good to see that there are plenty of reviewers that actually appreciate the game. When I get a WiiU I'll definitely be picking this up.
8/10 come on Nintendo Life make it a 9
@CosmicMii
Yeah Nintendo Life, why play the game for hours and write a well written review when you can just stick a fat number on it and call it day?
@AlexSays I rate the game between a 7 and an 8. I do so because I enjoy it. I enjoy it more than Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, Super Mario U and Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. All of which I have stopped playing to play more of this game. I'm not measuring it as a launch game, I'm measuring it against games I am currently playing. I don't see how much more authentic a measuring stick you can get. I hope that you play it yourself and avoid the rhetoric about "launch games".
@CactusJackson kinda like what every other review did with skyrim
@CosmicMii and a 9 maybe pushing it a little lol
Best review I've read, it's quite sad that by the time i somehow get the console to Uganda... people might have moved on, but from this review this game seems worth the wait.
Mmmm Im still interested in the game but I wasnt getting it right away unless it blew the critics away. I think Ill wait for a price drop, or a sequel if it is announced first.
@Malic
I've never played Skyrim but I know what you're getting at, lol.
@Malic After gamespot's skyward sword review, I don't trust them anymore.
Anyway I think I might wait a little bit until this gets a price drop.
@triforcepower73 yeah wasn't even using the controller right lol and skyrim should have been a PC exclusive great PC game ps3 game not so much I know I'm off topic but it still gets on my nerves
I used to be an adventurer like you, but then I took an...
No, I shouldn't
@Tsuchiya lol
Great review! Much better then the others I've read so far. I have to agree with most of the comments! This game is great, but still leaves room for improvement; I do hope they come out with a second game!
Great review, im glad i pre_ordered the bundle with "N"-land
So cool to see the first wiiu review here, i would almost say HuraY!
Looking forward to this, just a little disappointed there's no online play.
Nice review in which the reviewer actually talks about the game, instead of attempting to sound clever. Thanks.
ordered zombie premium pack,just waiting for friday now!
Sounds exactly like the survival horror game we've been starved for since the RE days on the PS1. About damn time too.
Definetly picking this up.
I finally had a chance to play this game. Had to beat Mario first and, you know, make a living and stuff. It's a great game and a return to the roots of the genre.
reminds me of house of the dead. i'll pick this up but i'll wait until the price drops next year.
This game does deserve an 8. Good call. I paused ZombiU to post this
@Tsuchiya Oh god, please don't start that!
Nice review! I get sick of all the larger gaming sites bashing all things nintendo and desiring, so fervently, to remain in the current gaming "rut", that all games and console should remain traditional. I've been playing video games for just about 30 years now and am loving the innovation that Nintendo is allowing developers to bring to the gaming table. Not to say every idea on their consoles is great or deserves a good score, but, I really feel as though this game got the short end if the stick when it comes to reviews. I like the game, I like the tension it creates and the frustration when I get my survivor killed, I enjoy new experiences. This is the first game since eternal darkness that has actually made me jump and for that this game deserves at least an 8! Have fun with games and don't base purchases of new games and ideas off of reviews, base them off of your likes an dislikes. That way you can intelligently argue why a game is, or is not fun to you or perhaps someone you may know.
@Malic
Gamespot is idiotic, therefore all their reviews are invalid. Even the good ones.
I personally like this game a lot, I'd give it an 8.5/10. Idk what's up with sites like ign, guess they were expecting L4D wiiu? This is a true survival horror not cod with zombies.
Appreciate the reviews and comments people!!
It's unfortunate but it seems Ign and gamespot are becoming like Fox news and CNN here in america...very one sided...
Anyway looking forward to the demo...
I love this game. They funny thing is when watching the negative reviews a lot of the negative points were pluses for me. Too hard.... great. You actually have to time your attacks.... even better. Even with skills you never become so strong that taking on a zombie hoard is easy..... HELL YES!
Good review. Always looked like a generic survival-horror game to me with not much to set it apart from the crowd, but good to see it performed better than I was anticipating.
Pretty good start for the Wii U then, onwards and upwards!
The game is addictingly fun.
I knew I could leave it to NL to have the best review for this game! Props!
How much time did it take to finish the campaign?
Nice review and nice score! Nice to hear that this isn't a failure like Red steel was!
By the way: Does the Prepper give really important information? If so, It's really important that we keep our Gamepads dust free. Because: The speaker of my Wiimote is full of dust, I hear almost nothing anymore!
@Damo Well, all I know. Despite the supposed "culture differences", you all know what a good game is. I might go read the lower score reviews just to see what they were expecting.
Looks great. I don't usually read the review, but I do look at the stars at the bottom. I trust you guys enough to just go based off that... I'll leave knowing what to expect from the game when I go buy it on Tuesday from the Wii U eShop.
Game of the Year, for me. First game of 2012 that has me thinking about playing it when I get home from work, whilst I'm sat at my desk at 11am on a wet Monday.
I would completely agree with this whole review Zombi U is just an amazing game and it really did mess with your head. Great review!
I tired the demo,and I was s**t sacred.
I need to find and get this game sometime!
I tried the demo... I'm twenty years old, and I wasn't able to complete the demo, because I was FREAKING SCARED!
Thanks to a friend who works at GameStop and the magic of multiple display copies and her ability to check one out overnight, I finally got a chance to play this. I really didn't think ZombiU would be my cup of tea - I hate horror movies and think zombies are very played out at this point. However, I seriously got into it and I think we both had a good time (it was her first chance to see a WiiU up close). I always said I'd have to try it before I committed to buying it and - I am so hooked!
I actually didn't find it that intense at first, thankfully, because I suck at games and freak out easily. We laughed at how easily I killed my first few zombies! I was basically stone cold WHATEVER DUDES. The graphic didn't impress me but the atmosphere did, and so did the sound. The Prepper was quite good and hearing moans, but not being sure exactly where they were coming from - instant classic.
I can't wait until I can buy a copy of my own. It really does deserve the 8/10 score given here. This is a game that will still be up there with the must haves for WiiU even at the end of its life cycle - and beyond. (That said, I hope it sells enough to get a few sequels, so they can fix the few issues it does have, and make an even better game.)
I just want to add I got my WiiU on launch day, so I have been waiting since then to pass judgement and have played a nice selection of games by now. Well, from what we have up to offer, anyway. And even outside the launch window, with other things to consider, ZombiU is still gold.
I love it and still playing it,just wish it had an online coop mode,I always play with headphones.
After a year of "buying into the hype" I finally rented this game & I must admit I was wrong! Zombie U is a unique experience in survival that uses the Wii U gamepad in many intelligent ways. Unfortunately this title got a series of "Raw Deal Reviews" over a year ago: Especially from IGN!. Its debut price was $50 to $60, which is a bit much. Now you can pick this up for $17 used & $20 new, which makes this game a steal!!
I WILL BE PICKING UP A FRESH COPY THIS WEEK!!
@Lobster I Agree! I was wrong to "believe the hype" on this title. All the negative reviews that flooded the internet on Zombie U. I don't believe how good this game really is. I guess I'll be picking up a fresh copy on this weeks payday!
Played with the demo, and so just bought the full game (disc version) now. Such a great experience, looking forward to it!
ign had a bad review on the game but its actually awesome
Hope it sells well in the sale on teh 26th dec this christams so Ubisoft will re-think about making a sequel!
€9.99, cant go wrong with that price!!! Buy it!
I hope Ubisoft makes a second and this is the only review thatactually made me get Zombiu.I should had bought this at launch i didn't cause of game informers review last time i'm going to listen to them.
This review is so completely wrong that I really don't know where to start. Zombi U is a confused, frustrating and ugly mess of a game, with poor controls that are disguised as "unique gameplay", environments that are dull, AI that often refuses to give you a fighting chance, and finally, a poorly coded game with hidden glitches that force you to lose your progress. I played this game for about a month's time, even restarting and getting used to the controls so I could say I mastered the game. I WANTED To like Zombi U! But after finding my shortcuts gone after dying during the final sequence, then on my second play through getting trapped by a glitch in a safe room in Buckingham palace where the only thing I could do at all was quit the game, I unflinchingly decree Zombi U is one of the worst games ever made.
I defend my abilities as well, for these factors have nothing to do with my ability to master a game, and everything to do with a substandard experience that has been said was rushed to launch, but I think it was intentionally "dumbed-down" for the very purpose of getting it out there. As in the old 8 -bit days, tough controls and the need to backtrack environments were used to compensate for lack of content, but to find that in a game today is a slap in the face to those of us who put faith into the game companies who provide these entertainments at the prices they do, to give us the most bang for our buck. In the end, Zombie U could have been done much cheaper in 2D on a mobile device and called "Bash the Zombies", because that's all it is.
But getting onto the subject of expectations, I think at this stage in the technology of gaming we have a right to expect a game experience to be fluid, varied, logical with a lot of content, and bug free. But Zombi U is NONE of those things, and I personally resent anyone saying my expectations are out of line for this game or that I just can't handle it. I played by Zombi U's rules, I gave it as much time anyone could, and it was still disappointing.
For those who defend this game, save it. I've been there, I know what's wrong with it, I know it could have been better, it could have been bug-free, it could have been fun. But just like the story of the Emperor's New Clothes, there are always people who defend crap, because they don't want to admit they are eating crap, and try to convince the rest of us it isn't crap. BUT ZOMBI U IS CRAP!
@FireHorsePrime
If you'll read the comments above you, you'll find that your experience is the exception, not the norm. I didn't find anything dumbed down about the game, nor have I ran into any game breaking bugs. The statement "Zombie U could have been done much cheaper in 2D on a mobile device and called "Bash the Zombies", because that's all it is," is probably the most glaring piece of hyperbole; I have trouble taking the rest of your post seriously after that.
Finally got a copy yesterday. Yeah, April 2014. I've wanted to play it since E3 2012, and it really exceeds my expectations. Fantastic and unique.
Ubisoft says this game wasn't profitable, so it's not getting a sequel. How is 3.5~4 million copies not profitable? This game definitely deserves a sequel, and it's probably one of the best M rated exclusives on Wii U.
@phaserborn I thought that game sold less than 1 million copies physical.
I wish this game wasn't a first-person game, I think I would actually want it if it was third-person. Also, I played the demo and I didn't like the controls, was not to fond of the no off-tv play, and was a bit disappointed that it looks worse than AC3. Is the full game any better?
@phaserborn
I know your post is old, but I have to comment. Zombi U never even hit 1 million copies, so I'm not sure where you're getting 3.5-4 million. 3.5-4 million would put it on par with Mario Kart 8 (at present time of writing), there's just no way it will ever hit that.
@eaglebob345
A friend let me borrow it, and honestly, I wasn't overly impressed. Sure it's nice to play a mature game on Wii U, but this one? No thanks. It does have some nice ideas and you can tell it's purely experimental. I personally liked the real-time going into your bag idea, and the fact that every time you die, you start as a new person. It becomes direly important that you get your bag back.
But as you said, third person would have been better and the visuals weren't anything to write home about, as a lot of textures are muddy and pixelated. Running is also an issue because you have to press the joystick down and forward. There were many times I died because I was fumbling around with it's stupid placement. A shoulder button would have easily solved this. But my biggest issue? The zombies themselves. Most of the time, they're like the Hulk, they just don't go down. I shouldn't have to wail on a single zombie 5-6 times. I even shot one in the head twice and it was still coming at me. It's just more of a chore than a game to me.
@MoonKnight7 Yeah, the zombies in the demo didn't want to stay down either. I would still consider playing it if it had off-tv play but, since it doesn't, I am going to pass on it. Third person is the way to go for shooters and survival horror games, in my opinion. I just don't think first person is suitable for any game beyong point and click search games. I don't know why Ubisoft thinks busting a zombie's decaying head open with a bat should be so hard or why zombie brains are bullet sponges, but the demo steered me away from it.
@phaserborn Yep, at time of writing, it sits at about 700,000, accordimg to VG Chartz. I'd say around 800,000 to 1,000,000 adding in digital sales (assuming people bougt it digitally). For a launch game that was a new IP that Ubisoft buried under Assassin's Creed 3 and Far Cry 3 and lacked the production value as well as marketing of AC3 and FC3, I think it did pretty well, just not as good as they hoped it would. If we ever see a sequel, it will most likely be exclusively NOT on the Wii U like every other retail Ubisoft game this year.
@eaglebob345
"I don't know why Ubisoft thinks busting a zombie's decaying head open with a bat should be so hard or why zombie brains are bullet sponges..."
Yes exactly! I dunno, every other zombie game I've played headshots have been a way to get out of sticky situations. This game seems to totally ignore that, which is fine, but there should be something you can use / do to easily defeat them. If I have only the cricket bat and 3 zombies are coming, I know I'm done. I guess that sense of dread was the point of the game, but It just took the fun out of it for me. I'm with ya on this one, I'm certainly glad I didn't spend money on it.
@MoonKnight7 Really? I've gotten plenty of head shots and killed them in one shot. I've also got up higher on stairs and one shot the Zombies with a melee hit.
I just recently picked up the game and love every minute of it. The sense of dread is amazing to me. Makes me feel so tense in whatever I do. I think UBISoft nailed this one!
@Spoony_Tech
Hmm. Perhaps I just needed some sort of high powered weapon? I was a couple missions in when I got the head shots, but yeah they just kept coming at me. Their brains were basically falling out but they were still chomping away.
If they fixed some things, I certainly wouldn't mind if they did a sequel for this. As you said the sense of dread was very present, since anything you do is dangerous. I loved how they used the game pad, but running was an issue. Pressing down and forward on the thumb-stick was a horrible idea. I died a couple of times because I kept false starting. If I am to run away from a situation, the last thing I want is to fumble around with controls. A shoulder button would have been better and easier to use.
As far as the zombies go, it was just the fact that they were so "hulk" like. If higher ground is not an option, I don't think it should be required of me to whack a decaying creature 5 or 6 times before it finally goes down. It just kind of breaks the illusion for me.
Glad you like it though. As for me, I'm glad I tried it, but I'm going to have to pass on this one. I'll cross my fingers for you to get a sequel, even if it goes multi-platform.
@MoonKnight7 Did you only play the demo? I've got head shots right off the bat. I'm wondering if the patch I got before even starting fix a few issues that you're referring to? If you only played the demo I encourage you to pick it up on the cheap, after all I just paid 7.99 for mine new so not only do I think I got value I also would've gladly paid full price as I think it's that good.
@Spoony_Tech
It wasn't the demo, a friend let me borrow it, so it should have been up to date when it installed. I dunno, maybe my head shots weren't as perfect as I'm imagining, but I definitely hit them in the head/face. Perhaps there's a sweet spot on the head. That aside, running was too much of an issue for me to play it again, but I'm happy to hear you enjoy it.
@MoonKnight7 Shows you what I know, I didn't even know you could run till you just said it and I'm still enjoying it! O.o
@Spoony_Tech
Haha! Well I'm glad I could help. Just keep the dang thumb-stick pressed down while you run, that's what I was having problems with. Good luck!
I played this through for the first time. Liked it so much I immediately did another run to get the good ending. Really great game, I hope there's a sequel in the works!
@dronesplitter yo help me out. I don't know what the four letter code to open the door is. I haven't played in a while due to school and work but I am planning on picking it back up sometime during Easter Break.
@polivar4 didn't see this until just now but there's a lot of code doors in this game and I don't know if they ever have the same code, most seem randomly generated and you will need an upgrade to your prepper pad to get the right code. I think the final door you need the code for in the palace is always 6407, but I'm guessing you're stuck on a much earlier door so that won't help much, sorry.
This game has a wonderful concept in general but throw in the creative and useful integration of the gamepad and you have an instant classic. Ubisoft impressively captures a sense of danger that prevails throughout the game. The presentation works great to that end. They succeed in making you feel really vulnerable.
Fun game. Making my way through it again. Seems that I had forgotten a lot of the details. Still scary!
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