Many people have said that Ubisoft’s upcoming Wii U exclusive Zombi U reminds them of another launch title Ubisoft released for the Wii. You aren’t the first person to make this connection.

You’ll be relieved to hear that Zombi U looks less and less likely to turn out as disappointing as Red Steel. But that shouldn’t be what gets you hyped up for this refreshing take on the survival horror genre. What should get you excited is the lonely, desperate feeling that grabs you every time you check your corners in Zombi U.

Controls are very basic if you’ve been playing any first person shooter on Xbox 360 or PS3 recently. The four shoulder buttons fire or swing your weapon, let your character sprint, or brings up your sights.

The game feels almost exactly like Dead Island in terms of controls. If you had any worries about the Wii U Game Pad being too unconventional for a first person shooter you don’t need to worry anymore. The controller feels as comfortable in Zombi U as a more “traditional” controller.

Wii U Pro Controller support will be included when the game releases for mulitplayer but it wasn’t made clear to me if it was an option during the story mode.

Graphics aren’t very impressive but they aren’t bad by any means. It does look like an average Xbox 360 game but I didn’t really expect any visual revolutions with early launch games for a brand new console. I’m also sure Ubisoft wants the game to be easy to port down to last generation consoles if Zombi U fails to find a market on the Wii U. I’m not quite sure how they’d replace all the dual screen functionality but they’re creative folks. Don’t fault the Wii U for Zombi U not being impressive visually.

From time to time you will examine your surroundings for items. Ammo, weapons and other items will be scattered around you and on fallen zombies. Oh, and just because you see a zombie lying face down on the ground doesn’t mean it won’t turn out to be a threat. There are lots of surprises as you explore Zombi U.

You’ll use the Game Pad’s screen to look for items and loot often. This pulls the camera into a third person perspective behind your character on the television. Doing this widens your view allowing you to see if a surprise zombie has suddenly caught your scent as they stalk you while you’re vulnerable. You’ll be moving around your room (standing up) focusing on the Wii U Game Pad’s screen so you could have your back turned to the TV the moment a zombie approaches.

This results in a mad dash to quit analyzing your surroundings and get back into first person mode to kill the zombie before taking any damage. When a zombie finally grabs you you’re given a few chances to escape but you should only plan on having two to three up close zombie encounters before dieing.

People have complained about constantly switching between looking at the Game Pad and the TV screen. While I understand these complaints I can tell you I loved this experience. In a horror game about being isolated this eye movement keeps you tense and on your toes. It adds to the setting in a way that isn’t possible on other game systems.

Changing your focus between screens is jarring and it is supposed to be that way. A video game about surviving a zombie outbreak wouldn’t be criticized for allowing players to open desk drawers and search bodies/containers for items without risk. Games today don’t stress the player with protecting themselves at their most vulnerable but seemingly safest moment enough.

Another terrific (or terrifying) trait is how quiet and lonely the game is. The atmosphere is well done and made me feel like I was in over my head. I was actually wondering how I was going to survive my next run-in with a zombie despite having multiple firearms and blunt objects at my disposal. This isn’t Left 4 Dead so don’t expect a zombie cannon firing an endless horde at you.

Ammo is limited and it takes multiple hits with both bullets and swung weapons to take down a single zombie. In my session I saw at most half a dozen zombies at once.

You can call me cheesy for saying this but the dual screens add to the realism but it does for me. Zombi U is a distressing experience to play because when you pick up the controller you feel like the odds are stacked against you. If Ubisoft can maintain this sinking feeling of just barely surviving a hopeless situation throughout a 10 hour campaign than they’ll have a winner on their hands.

And that brings me back to the Red Steel comparison. There aren’t any glaring flaws with Zombi U like there was with Ubisoft’s sword fighting game. Once you played Red Steel you immediately noticed that the Wii controller would only make horizontal or vertical slashes no matter how you swung the controller.

From the very first moment you actually attacked an enemy in Red Steel the initial promise of true 1:1 swordplay was destroyed. Right away you knew it wasn’t going to work out like you hoped. Maybe Zombi U benefits from having lower expectations. It manages to use the Game Pad’s screen in great ways and you never hear people talk about how Red Steel showed the Wii Remote’s true potential.

Red Steel showed us that the Wii Remote was a tricky thing to develop for and made us question whether Nintendo’s motion controller would ever reach it’s potential. Zombi U does the exact opposite and makes you understand why Nintendo made the Wii U Game Pad the way it is. It made me excited to see what other ways Ubisoft uses the Game Pad in this game but what other developers will do with Nintendo’s new controller.