ZombiU Might Make Me Buy a WiiU

If there is one game that has me contemplating an investment in Nintendo’s new console, it’s ZombiU. From the setting, to the plot, to the story, to some of the promising gameplay features, I think this game could prove to be the launch title everyone will be talking about.

The game takes place in London, and the idea of battling zombies throughout Buckingham Palace and along the banks of the River Thames already makes it more exciting than most run of the mill zombie games. London is a character in and of itself, and the story of ZombiU involves one of the more colorful characters in British history, John Dee. Dee was an advisor to Queen Elizabeth I, an astrologer, and a spy who is one of the main inspirations for James Bond, as he used to sign his letters to the Queen with the numbers “007.”

In ZombiU, John Dee is associated with two apocalyptic predictions, the Great Plague of 1665, and a second plague that is supposed to hit London in 2012. Hence the zombie outbreak. Here’s a great dev diary about the game’s story, featuring our buddy Antony Johnston, who is the co-writer on the game:

As far as the gameplay, I like what I’ve seen so far in terms of the GamePad implementation. Using the GamePad as a scanner, sniper scope and inventory management tool all seem logical to me, and seem to compliment the core gameplay rather than get in the way of it. The thing I’m most excited about however, is the note system, which feels very much like the system in Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls. You can leave messages in the world for other players to find when they scan areas with the GamePad. It may not sound like much, but if you’ve played any of the Souls games, you know how much atmosphere that adds to the experience.

The more I hear and see about ZombiU, the more I’m considering picking up a WiiU. Stay tuned in the coming weeks, as I’ll be speaking with Antony Johnston at New York Comic Con about the game, in an interview that will air on Secret Identity.