Here are a few interesting details about ZombiU. I cut out some bits so if you want to learn more head over to [url=http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/40417/features/5-zombiu-facts-we-learned-today/?page=1]http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/40417/features/5-zombiu-facts-we-learned-today/?page=1[/url]

ZombiU has been inspired by Skyrim:

"You'd expect Ubisoft to name Resident Evil as an influence, especially Resi 2 and 3 as they were set in a city. You also won't be surprised to learn that it has been influenced a 28 Days Later, Danny Boyle's horror film which is set in London.

However, Bethesda's RPG Skyrim has also been named as an influence as has Namco Bandai's Dark Souls."

Leave secret messages for your friends:

"The capture the flag multiplayer mode we played at E3 was great. The player with the Wii U GamePad placed zombies near the flag while the other - using the Wii U Pro Controller - tried to survive. What Ubisoft didn't tell us at the time is that you can also help your friends in the main story mode by leaving messages.

This new community feature - called Blacklight - allows players to scan environments and reveal messages left by your friends (other survivors). This means you'll be able to help each other out during the adventure and there is even a secret code that you'll discover in the story which gives you the ability to leave secret messages.

This seems like exactly the sort of thing that Nintendo President Satoru Iwata was talking about when he unveiled Miiverse."

Hunt your zombified friends:

"NG: Nintendo used ZombiU as an example of how its Miiverse system will work in the game. How in-depth do you plan to integrate Miiverse or other social elements into the game?

UBI: We have developed online features for the community. Players will be able to kill their zombified friends and recover the stuff in their inventory."

Your character will improve the longer you survive:

"Dying is one of the best things about ZombiU. With the one-bite-and-you're-dead rule, it could have been unfair but when you hit the ground, it isn't game over. After dying in Buckingham Palace, we respawned in Shadwell station before returning to the Mall to shoot down zombies, including your old character. Brilliant.

You'll want to experience this but you should try and survive as long as possible as your character will improve the longer you stay alive.

As Ubisoft explain, "Each character you play gets progressively better at handling weapons. For instance, the more your current survivor plays with a hand gun, the faster he or she will be able to draw, shoot and reload, accuracy will improve and kickback decrease. If this survivor dies, the next survivor you play will have to learn these skills for him or herself all over again. Now there's a good reason to care about losing an experienced survivor! On the bright side, it's a meaningful challenge, and it gives you the opportunity to try out a new weapon and different survival tactics to see if you can do better!"

So if you do manage to survive for a long time, we imagine it will get get even more tense as you won't want to lose your skills."

EDIT:

More Details from Gamescom:

[url=http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=184060]http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=184060[/url]
[url=http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=184101]http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=184101[/url]
[url=http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=184107]http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=184107[/url]

- game was originally going to be 7-8 hours
- campaign now takes 15-20 hours, depending on your skill level
- 17 levels which "are bigger" than what we've seen demoed
- 5 "specials" zombies (more skilled) without counting the bosses
- The messages/notifications we can see in the game come from the comunity/other players
- There are 4 npc characters in the campaign who'll be the story drivers

- Inside Buckingham, you're looking for the "Royal Doctor"
- he is researching a cure to the Zombie virus - this location is after 7-8 missions
- messages left by other players will include content from both friends and players in general
- the community can rate the message to let players know if it's worthwhile or not
- total staff includes 90 in Montpellier, plus a team of 30 in Romania doing the multiplayer maps
- when some key codes are scanned, they are added to the mini-map so you don't have to remember
- three slots on the GamePad are for quick item access
- use these slots for your most-used backpack items
- Zombies are attracted to sound and light

- One of the NPCs, the "prepper" who was the guiding voice in the E3 demo, has a wife "Sondra", from whom he is separated
- Prepper's approach is to barricade survivors within the safehouse, whereas his wife belongs to an organization that looks to have survivors flee the city
- 2/3 NPCs which will influence how the game scenario evolves
- crossbow is more efficient for outside levels and long distance shots
- when you die, the character you take on next is randomly generated
- there will be 4 or 5 types of special zombies

- on-screen messaging system lets you know what your friends or your friend's zombie are doing
- you can also learn what your zombi (former player) is doing to others
- there will be some form of leaderboards to keep track of these interactions

EDIT 2:

[url=http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=183585]http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=183585[/url]

Ubisoft details ZombiU's brutal difficulty, survival mode:

"We really want to target and challenge the gamers with ZombiU because this game is very hard. So for example when you finish the game you will unlock a new mode called Survival Mode. You will have to finish the game with only one life and only one character. We know there are a lot of gamers expecting a lot with the Wii U, so that's why we want to deliver this experience and dedicate it to the gamers." - Ubisoft Monpellier's international product manager Nicolai Bouchai

And here are the two newest trailers for ZombiU:

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7G_fPuX5p4](Youtube) Developer Diary - Episode 1[/url]
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAz48VvPAmM](Youtube) Gamescom Trailer[/url]

It sounds pretty interesting, I hope it turns out well even though I won't be getting it.

[QUOTE="meetroid8"]In what way?[/QUOTE]

He doesn't go into specifics for either one, but I think it's easy to see how it was inspired by Dark Souls. I'd take a guess that Skyrim influenced the melee combat.

I've added more details to the OP. (Thanks GameboyTroy!)

[QUOTE="superbuuman"]

Is there an ending to it?...don't wanna be playing it like you know forever with no ending in sight. :P

[/QUOTE]According to the new details the campaign is 15 to 20 hours long, depending on your skill level.

The info below has been added to the OP.

[url=http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=183585]http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=183585[/url]

Ubisoft details ZombiU's brutal difficulty, survival mode:

"We really want to target and challenge the gamers with ZombiU because this game is very hard. So for example when you finish the game you will unlock a new mode called Survival Mode. You will have to finish the game with only one life and only one character. We know there are a lot of gamers expecting a lot with the Wii U, so that's why we want to deliver this experience and dedicate it to the gamers." - Ubisoft Monpellier's international product manager Nicolai Bouchai

[QUOTE="homegirl2180"]Geez, you are going all out. I admire the devotion and effort.[/QUOTE]Thanks. I feel like people should know about a game like this, even though I'm not personally interested. It seems like this development team is putting a lot of effort into the game, so it would be a shame if it got ignored.

[QUOTE="GunSmith1_basic"]that is almost certainly not the case. From what I've seen it will be a snaking corridor, crafted experience in the vein of Left for Dead or Demons Souls. If there is an element taken from Skyrim it's probably the way individual skills and abilities improve the more you use them.

[/QUOTE]Ubisoft have said that there are 17 levels which "are bigger" than what we've seen demoed. But like you said- based on everything we know, it's not likely that we'll see much (if any) free roaming environments.