One of the biggest features about ZombiU is the use of randomly generated survivors. Players will assume control of vastly different randomly-generated survivors. These characters all have different ethnicities, ages, and occupations, and appearances. Their personal role in the zombie outbreak is limited, but their survival certainly isn't. ZombiU utilizes a permanent death feature. If the player character is killed in any manner, they will not return. Instead, the player will spawn as a brand new survivor at their last visited safe house. Be careful, when a survivor dies they drop their backpack full of all collected items. To get it back, the player must venture to the place of last death, and dispatch the zombified version of their last character to regain the possessions.
2. GamePad Features
ZombiU is perhaps the strongest Wii U Launch title with various unique GamePad features. There are over 15 different ways to use the GamePad screen and controller. For instance, the GamePad screen shows all available items equipped and within the player's backpack. Whenever the player needs to move or loot items, the GamePad screen displays all available items. The character will kneel down and the camera will zoom in close. This prevents the player from being truly aware of their surroundings. The GamePad screen can be used for zooming in on the Sniper Rifle, as well as scanning CCTV cameras to full in your map.
3. The Story
400 years before the start of the game, Astronomer John Dee creates an apocalyptic prophecy known as The Black Prophecy which would be fulfilled in 2012. The Prepper, an ex-army no-nonsense military type, takes the threat seriously and prepares. A secret society known as the Ravens of Dee research the predictions to prevent the prophecy from coming tue. In November of 2012, a zombie outbreak occurs in London, United Kingdom. Survivors hide in the Prepper's bunker, and gains support from Raven leader Sandra. The player attempts to escape the ruined city now invested with undead.
4. Multiplayer
ZombiU contains an asynchronous multiplayer system, combining first-person shooter gameplay alongside real time strategy elements. Two players use different controllers. One player uses the Wii U Pro Controller and the other uses the GamePad and its screen. The GamePad player is given a suite of zombies which are used to attack the FPS player. The zombies are dropped into the game via touch screen. Different zombies can be spawned and each of them have their different specific uses. As the FPS player, they need to run around a particular arena, capturing flags, shooting zombies, and surviving to score points. The system bears similarity to Left 4 Dead's multiplayer system, except with a human AI director as opposed to a computer system.
5. Reception
ZombiU received a lot of hype surrounding it's release and was viewed as perhaps the killer app for the Wii U's launch, but reviews for the game have been very divided. Some publications like Eurogamer and Edge, gave the game good remarks. Others, such as IGN and Game Informer, gave the game under 7s and cited multiple problems with the core gameplay. The game seems to have a fairly divided opinion across the spectrum, and those interested should get their hands on a test run of the game before they commit to buying. The game is a bit too much of a risk to buy an entire console for, so do some research to see whether ZombiU is a game you might enjoy.
