@anon_mastermind

We tried a bit of the multiplayer last week when I had friends and family over; the concept is definitely intriguing! I haven't tried using the GamePad, but I did play as the Survivor. I didn't like the humongous on-screen aiming reticule though; maybe I can change the way that looks? Other than that, Wii remote + nunchuk is definitely nice.

@TheOldManFromZelda

Were you freakin' out? Did you make it farther than I did? I think I went down when the alarm went off.

@anon_mastermind
We played some at our Chicago NW party, too. Very cool, but I wish it supported more players and where do you get more ammo?!

They kind of just throw you in the deep end. But, yeah, very intriguing concept. A blown-out online version with multiple Zombie Masters and Survivors could be pretty badass.

Well, I finally opened up my Zombi U game on monday night. I picked up my youngest son and was showing him the ins and outs of the Wii U. We played a little bit of NintendoLand, just the single player stuff though and then I put in Zombi U.

I suck at fps games, so I thought it be best if my son be the first one to try out the game. I know it will take me some time to get used to fps controls, I own a few other fps games, but I never wanted to take the time to learn the controls. If this game doesn't make me learn how to control a character in the fps perspective, no game ever will.

Don't worry, I plan on learning then, no matter how long it takes. Then, I will play this game from start to finish. I figure by the time I beat the game, I should be at least fairly decent. Anyways, my first impressions of the game...

Note: Keep in mind, I really have not ever played a fps from beginning to end. The only fps games I've spent any amount of time with was goldeneye for the n64. Then I played a little of perfect dark. I bought the remake of goldeneye for the Wii by Activision. All in all, I probably spent around 5 hours of playtime combining all three of these games. Yes, I've seen videos and other people play fps games on other consoles, like the 360 and ps3, but I've never played any fps games on either console. So, when giving my impressions of Zombi U, I will never be comparing it to another game, esp. on the 360/PS3 and even if I had played fps games on those systems, I still would not compare Zombi U to any other fps games. I believe a game in any genre should be rated on it's own merits and not based on what another fps might offer, ect. Just like when rating Mario I would never compare it to another platformer. Same would go for any other platformer, I would not compare it to a Mario game.

Based on the what I saw, the game overall looked awesome. I thought the graphics looked very nice, and yes, I know there are games on the other systems that look better, but honestly, the way some of these reviews I've read on the net, one would think Zombi U looked like a PS2 game. Hell, even my brother the other day said, "I saw a video and maybe it was an early build, but the game reminded me of a PS2 game." I replied that I had seen every video of Zombi U and probably have watched every one multiple times and there was never one video where the game looked like a PS2 game. Sometimes I think he just says shit like that to piss me off, cause he owns a PS3 and he knows I can't stand Sony's consoles, but anyways, my son even said that his uncle is out of his mind or half blind or just being an A hole. Anyways, overall I honestly am completely happy with the way the game looked. Yes, I noticed upclose where a few textures looked blurry, whereas a little farther away they looked perfect. Like the blanket on the bed in the safehouse, where you rest and save your game. When the camera was not right up on the blanket, the blanket looked like cloth, material, ect. Upon closer inspection, the blanket lost it's clothy look, though I didn't think it looked so horrible that I would knock the game's graphical style. Same with the presentation of the character. I thought he looked fine, though I have seen more realistic, detailed characters in other games. With that said, I am completely happy with the character's presentation.

My son only played to when he was outside and he found the manhole that led back to the safehouse. He then went back outside, he went up a ladder, was on a roof, went back down and then opened a door and a bunch of Zombis came at him, while Zombis were coming from behind as well. And that is where he died. Up to this point, I would rate the game a 9/10 for graphics. Overall, I was very happy with what I had seen thus far and due to some textures being a little blurry up close and Zombis clipping through doors and walls, ect is why I took off the point. Maybe others would feel the game deserves a lower score. Keep in mind, I have not played the game or seen it all the way to the end. So, when I review the game, the score could go down or up.

The gameplay looked really good and my son had little trouble getting into the game. He mentioned that so far the game seemed to control like most other fps games he had played. He had no trouble priming the cricket bat and bashing in the Zombi's heads. Even though I was not playing, I could feel the tension and I can quite imagine how tense the game will be once I start playing it on my own and I am home alone. I really liked the overall atmosphere of the game thus far and again, this comes back to the graphical presentation. I've read others knocking the game for it's 'muddy' look or 'darker look using greys, browns, ect' Honesly, I'm not sure what they thought a game like this should look like, but I don't feel it should come off looking like Far Cry 3(which is a beautiful game), cause if Zombi U looked like that, I just would not feel the same about the game. I think back to RE5 and all the daytime scenes. Maybe its just me, but games that involve Zombis shouldn't look bright and cheery.

From what I saw the framerate looked steady. If there was slowdown I didn't notice any. I really cannot comment much on the gamepad's part, cause honestly I kept my eyes glued to the tv screen, though I would look at the gamepad and at times I would have my son explain what he was doing, like when he first acquired the backpack and he took out some items and placed them in the available slots in the upper left and right hand corners. Like when he acquired the gun, by moving it to one of these slots he could easily touch it, thus trading the cricket bat for the gun. Please excuse me if I am wrong on this detail, as I was trying to take it all in.

Well, thats enough for now, its getting late and I'm falling asleep here. Overall, I'm very happy with what I saw and even though I didn't directly play the game, I was sitting right next to the person who was and once I actually start playing and once I become good at controlling the game, I will give some updated impressions.

I had a dream about this game last night. I don't remember too much about it other than it was one of the usual "kind of playing a game but also actually in the game fighting for my life" type zombie dreams that I often have about Resident Evil games. The only reason that I even know this was specifically a ZombiU dream is that I recall near the end of the dream thinking something like "so this is what they mean by saying it is one of the first true survival horror games in a long time..."

BTW, this is one of those rare games that went from being fairly low on Gamerankings after 10 reviews or so (mid 60s) and actually rose with time (usually it happens the other way around) to the 76% that it is now. I wonder if it is a game that people appreciate more with time? And "late" reviewers got to sit with it more and dig into it a bit deeper? I dunno.

I may pick this up eventually, depending on how much time I actually have for all of these games.

@Zero

The early reviewers played it like a shooter, and rated it like a shitty shooter. Heh.

I was just listening to the Connectivity podcast about the game and they go in a fair bit of detail, and explain why they like the game so much. Recommended!

Sorry for being a NWR shill today. It's a coincidence, really!

I played this while drunk yesterday and ended up ruining my survivor streak. Darn it. Had a blast though...lights out, sound up... was scary as shit!

@Guillaume
Fucking morons. They all must have slept through every single bit of info that was released for this game, including its reveal. No one ever said it was a fucking shooter. It's been labeled as a slow paced survival horror game since day one.

I call bullshit on any review of Zombi U that isn't at least a 7, at LEAST.

Finally will be opening my copy tomorrow. FINALLY.

This is my most played game on the console right now... 15 hours and I still don't think I'm too close to the end. Maybe it's because I play like a sissy and spend way too much time managing my items.

I seriously encourage everybody who likes survival horror to pick it up at some point, even if you are waiting for a pricedrop.

I'm hoping that it sells well and they can create a sequel, because there is still a lot of unrealized potential.

@Zero

Things like that make me think that we need to take reviews even LESS seriously. Its like 10 people phoned it in, and then everyone else gets it, and they're like "wait a minute.." Maybe what @Guillaume said is right; people were playing it in the wrong mindset? I really don't know. I have the same opinion of the game now that I had when I first played it, and when I was planning on getting it: scary as heck, fight for your life.

@anon_mastermind

Survivor Streak? Had you not died?? I was telling Anand that I had back to back (different days) 30 minute runs to start the game, and then when I went down after the Market,..and then I got a black dude. 3 minutes. Anand said I was actually better of with him than "promiscuous girl in red shirt." I suppose thats true. (If this just sounds racist, or something, and/or you don't understand, black folks don't typically have the best track record in horror movies.)

@Hinph

You're not playing like a sissy, you're SURVIVING!

My last character was my personal best... she finally died, and then I underestimated the zombie horde around her corpse and lost a lot of good stuff.

I don't think I could ever make it through this game on survival mode. haha.

I'm really hoping for a post holiday price drop for this one... maybe for Boxing Day. Though I was still tempted to pick it up at full price. It does sound like something I'd enjoy playing.

@Hinph

I didn't realize there were any health items until my second characters.

Also: how do you run? I always get confused / can't figure it out when I NEED TO RUN.

One thing I'm a bit confused about... is there progression in this game, like opening up new areas and yada yada? Or do you basically start from square one each time you die?

@Zero

Stop fishing for spoilers, mister!

EDIT- Yes, you progress, obviously. Its not like you have to redo the entire game when you go down.

I'd like clarification too on some things. I have never died yet, but I also haven't played that much due to Mario/NintendoLand being much more relaxing after work and me being busy. I'm on my way to parliament or whatever the hell it asked me to do but I'm super nervous about dying. How big is the downside to dying? I know you lose stuff but if I focus on upgrading my handgun primarily, do I keep those upgrades each time?

@Zero

So far in my experience, there are some warp points of sorts via 'sewers' and so you go into new areas and are able to quickly go back home if needed and once you unlock a warp sewer, then that stays as such. So if you die, then you just end up using that again and getting back into what you were doing quickly enough.

@Mr_Mustache

You hold down the left joystick I believe. I don't know if there's a limit to how long you can run.... Is there anyone?

The downside of dying is much more harsh than most modern games, but it's not game ruining. You can get all of your stuff back as long as you are able to successfully find and kill your previous survivor. If you don't, you lose everything that the character had on them. Guns can, however, be found again if you look at the computer screens in the safe house, and they keep their upgraded status. You can also scrounge up more ammo and supplies in a similar way... you get to a point where the normal zombies cease to be too scary and are easily disposed of with the cricket bat, so this is doable.

@Hinph
I don't think you keep your upgrades. I think that's meant to be one of the trade offs of dying and not just running to get your stuff back. I believe weapon stats (the actual gun levels, not the customizations you make) reset on death. I believe my pistol was level 2 (speaking of, what do weapon levels do anyway?) when my first (and currently only) death came around. Then it reset when I woke up as someone else.

My word against yours, basically. Curious which of us is right, unless we were both referring to the same thing.

Naaa, you are probably right. I only first lost my guns last night. When I got my pump action shotgun back, it still had the upgrades but it probably reverted back to level 1.