Ubisoft made its presence felt at the Nintendo All-Access Presentation which opened the E3 Expo on Tuesday. Since the big day new details have surfaced regarding one of the stand out titles to be announced from the French games development co. for the new Wii U and it’s one that makes a impressive example of the home console’s innovative HD touchscreen GamePad – the game is called ZombiU.
“How long will you survive?” is the question driving ZombiU – a new adult-based horror title for the Wii U which will take traditional family-friendly Nintendo out of its comfort zone. Will the game itself survive in an adverse market? We sure hope so, because it looks bloody brilliant and new footage coming from the 3-day Los Angeles event has revealed even more about Zombi U’s relationship with the new Wii U controller. Read on – if you dare!
Since you can only be bitten once in this game, survival is essential – and your all you need to survive is contained within the new Wii U GamePad. First of all we have Sonar, which displays an illuminated real-time HUD map on the touchscreen which pulses and senses motion from the undead in the field of play.
Swipe down with a finger on the viewer’s surface and you can bring up other features such as the Inventory screen. This displays a quick to access grid of your arsenal and tools which will see you through the infested cityscape. Drag an item to the top left and you’re armed for combat with shotguns, grenades and an assortment of helpful goodies and since all this is on the smaller second screen, game play on the main TV screen is uninterupted.
A Scanner mode provides us with a handy tool for picking up things we’d usually not see with the naked eye. Physically moving the Wii U GamePad and scanning the surroundings will bring up hidden items or escape routes – this inclusion much resembles something similar we’ve seen in the new Batman: Arkham City – Armoured Edition also for Wii U.
Other mode include Sniper, which allows us to take advantage of high spots and provides precision targeting when firing off aerial shots at zombies below. Aiming and zooming helps get that perfect shot to take off the head of an undead minion in one hit – remember to aim for the brain! And then there’s Security Camera which lets you view four split screen CCTV footage feeds from across the city, on the surface of the pad. Selecting one specific feed will bring it up enlargened on the main TV screen and you can also use this to identify particularly infected and very angry zombies!
The Wii U’s GamePad can also be used to break free from a zombie attack. Should you happen to be caught in the grip of one of the undead you can fight your way out by physically moving the gyroscopic controller in a variety of shake-off moves which will push and tug the fiend off you. Remember – just one bite and its over in ZombiU.
Door Hacking is another function of the pad and you can access new parts of the city and gain entry to secret areas by breaking four digit codes through a numerical panel displayed on the controllers 6.2″ touchscreen. And finally, one of the most entertaining features of ZombiU – Finishing Moves! Select your weapon of choice, for example an axe, then swing the GamePad in a series of specific motions to deliver a lethal combo of blows – ending the undead in style!
ZombiU is another perfect example of how Nintendo’s Wii U GamePad will revolutionize gaming and we can’t wait to try this terrifying title for ourselves when it’s hopefully released alongside the home console and in time to fill our Christmas stocking!
