POSTED 15/12/12


ZOMBIU

Ubisoft

I first felt a fist, and then a kick, I could now smell their breath – and I'm down in the tube station at midnight...

It’s a really shitty place to be, too. See, London’s gone zombified, but you haven’t. As one of seemingly few survivors you muster wits to keep from being chomped upon. Luckily, some geezer called ‘The Prepper’ provides guidance, at least vocally, as you trundle about underground and overground like some sort of terrified Womble, pulling off resistance tasks while trying to avoid infected types’ chompiness.

Yep, this ain’t no brainless first-person zombie blaster – and if it were then they wouldn’t be interested in you... This is survival horror, with both words emphasised. Seriously, this puppy can be terrifying, building suspense in a way that we’re sure Alfred Hitchcock would dig were he a: alive and b: if you popped a blonde wig on the protagonist.

Mind you, at times you’ll be a blonde protagonist. You start as one person, but succumb to a zombified crunch and you’re dead. Assuming you weren’t completely up yourself and opted for the continue-after-your-first-death game, you’ll inhabit another survivor. You’ll lose your collected swag, but find your old corpse then successfully eliminate it and you’ll get it back. Neat!

Initially you’ve a pistol and a cricket bat (A tip? Wild flailing’s bad). Yep, ZombiU’s kinda like a gamey Shaun of the Dead, but without the funny and the Queen songs – save for the odd mention on a double-decker.

The GamePad actually functions as more than a copycat screen, with a map happening between bouts of inventory handling, scanning and more if you progress.

Local multiplayer pales compared to solo, and visuals are sometimes a little bit shit, but if dwelling on the latter then you’re probably about to get bitten.

Have an away day, a cheap holiday - do it today!

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