New Games |
- Destructoid's Wii U review roundup
- Sup Holmes is horrorified with WayForward's Adam Tierney
- Podtoid Extra: Wii U Launch Day
- Review: Tank! Tank! Tank!
- Review: Rabbids Land
- Review: ZombiU
- Nintendo Download 11/18/12: U Day Edition
- Review: Scribblenauts Unlimited
- Wii U eShop game devs can set their own prices
- How moderated is Miiverse? It's a police state! (Update)
- PSA: Harmony of a Hunter: 101% Run is ready fo' yo ass
- Review: Wii U
- Review: New Super Mario Bros. U
- Review: Nintendo Land
| Destructoid's Wii U review roundup Posted: 18 Nov 2012 11:15 AM PST The Wii U has finally launched across North America, and Destructoid has been on hand with a wide range of in-depth game reviews, as well as assessments of the hardware itself. We're not done yet, either! More reviews, more impressions, and more moreness are all coming, especially now several editors have gotten their hands on the system. As for now, we've got your one-stop shop for Dtoid Wii U reviews right here! Missed an opinion, or just want to reread some of the deranged rambling of a sleep-deprived launch reviewer? It's all here for easy access! Check it out below, and share in the great memories. Stay tuned for more! Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper, Chasing Aurora and more are all coming to Destructoid soon!
Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition
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| Sup Holmes is horrorified with WayForward's Adam Tierney Posted: 18 Nov 2012 06:45 AM PST
[Destructoid's Director of Communications Hamza Aziz asked Jonathan Holmes to make a show called 'Sup, Holmes?' so that Destructoid could later sell a t-shirt that says 'Sup, Holmes?' on it. This is that show. Subscribe to the podcast feed and find more episodes here.] WayForwardVember on Sup, Holmes continues thoday at 1pm PST/4pm EST with Adam Tierney, the director of Lit, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Aliens: Infestation, Silent Hill Book of Memories, and many others. Adam started in development as a pixel artist, and has done his best to bring as many folks from that community (including Paul Robertson and former Sup, Holmes guest Joakim "Konjak" Sandberg) into the fold at WayForward. He started off at the company in 2004 as an animator, and since then has worked his way up the ranks to director and designer. We'll be talking to Adam about how he got into the industry, what it's like to take on beloved franchises like Batman, Aliens, and Silent Hill, the connection between Centipede and Studio Ghibli, his thoughts on the Wii U, and much more. Join us in the chat and become our new best friends. Watch live video from Destructoid.com Live Shows! on www.twitch.tv |
| Podtoid Extra: Wii U Launch Day Posted: 18 Nov 2012 05:45 AM PST On this extra edition of Podtoid, Jim manages to grab Jonathan Holmes while he installs his new Wii U in real-time! Listen to tales direct from the Wii U launch event in New York, listen to New Super Mario Bros. U being played by ACTUAL hands, and even get a rare conversation with Jonathan's wife! We chat about the major reviews of the day, including Scribblenauts Unlimited, ZombiU, and Tank! Tank! Tank! We discuss Nintendo's bold new online content. We liken Mr. Holmes to a secretary in the 80s. What MORE do you NEED!? As ever, you can subscribe to us on iTunes and RSS, buy our Android App or download directly! |
| Posted: 18 Nov 2012 04:30 AM PST There's nothing more upsetting than a game that believes, if it's wacky enough, it can get away with being crap. It's hard not to love a game that seeks refuge in audacity, as evidenced by the cult fanbase of such titles as Deadly Premonition and Earth Defense Force. Tank! Tank! Tank! clearly seeks the same kind of cult success, as evidenced by its delightfully stupid name. It begins its first mission with the briefing, "Giant mechanical spiders are attacking the city," without context or reason, and the game is a non-stop, colorful, sense-addling marathon of tank-on-robot action. It sounds perfect. That, unfortunately, is the tragic lure of the wacky game that exploits its silliness to try and get away with being rubbish. Such an endeavor ends up, like Tank! Tank! Tank!, as nothing more than a waste of deliciously dumb ideas.
Tank! Tank! Tank! (Wii U) Giant mechanical spiders, robotic octopi with colossal artillery on their backs, armies of armor-plated centipedes and laser-spewing dinosaurs -- Tank! Tank! Tank! pulls out a checklist of ridiculous monsters and throws them at the player, offering in return a small legion of playable tanks with which to take them out. In essence, it's a simple concept that is plenty capable of greatness, but lazy design and underwhelming controls undo all the genuine good that Tank! Tank! Tank! could have offered. The core of the game is rock-solid. You're one of many tanks, and you skid around mid-sized arenas, picking up ammo drops and blasting a bizarre array of gigantic robots until you win. Tanks are unlocked with medals earned at the end of each mission, and each one boasts its own set of strengths, weaknesses, and unique weapons. They have an unlimited normal fire mode, though this is ineffective against bigger boss monsters, and two unique alternative weapons which are activated by rolling over ammo pickups -- yellow pickups for weaker, more rapid attacks, and blue for rarer, but highly devastating missile launches.
Missions either charge players with defeating a large number of small enemies, or a small number of huge ones, within a matter of minutes at the very most. Creatures themselves are generally easy to fight, and even those that manage to kill you rarely do so before your lives run out. Most mission failures will result from the time limit concluding before the requisite opponents are defeated, and that can often depend on your having picked the wrong tank for the job (some of them are just plain unusable, with lackluster range and a worthless rate-of-fire). A support tank aids the player in each challenge, which can either be controlled by the CPU or a human ally using a Pro Controller/Wii Remote. When a real-life partner is in attendance, the main player is relegated to viewing the action on the GamePad, thus avoiding any split-screens. Actual GamePad features are minor, outside of screen use and a few tappable menus -- you can steer with the gyroscope, but I'd advise against it, as motion controls aren't so good for open-arena driving.
The essence of the concept is beautiful in its no-nonsense, all-action approach, but it's a real shame that the tanks themselves control awfully. Although you can move each vehicle's gun turret independent of its chassis, any attempt to move will bring gun and body back into line with each other, meaning you can't strafe and fire, which is a real pain in the backside when you're racing to ammo drops while attempting to defeat enemies within each mission's incredibly strict time limit. Even the more agile tanks are slow and unable to avoid most enemy attacks, and weapons tend to fire at sluggish, stuttering intervals that fail to satisfy. The less said about the auto-aim system -- and its tendency to just have a seizure as you drive -- the better. Tank! Tank! Tank! is not without its charm, even with such an inept control scheme. Like Dynasty Warriors or EDF, it's still fun to race around and mindlessly blast stuff, while the rough presentation and overenthusiastic voice commentary add a sense of dorky charm. However, even if you can get used to the controls and enjoy the minimalist action, Tank! Tank! Tank! pulls something unquestionably vile from its bag of cheap tricks -- it forces you to replay levels dozens upon dozens of times in order to desperately pad itself out.
As already mentioned, you get a combat medal every time you clear a mission with a particular tank. If you replay a mission with another tank, you get another medal. Sounds fair enough, until you learn that the system has been exploited to force players to go through the exact same levels many times over in order to beat the game. After clearing a set number of missions, subsequent levels will become gated behind an increasingly egregious pay wall of medals. The only way to get more medals and progress through the campaign is to -- you guessed it -- pick new tanks and play old levels. A lot. I reached a point where I had 36 medals, and was informed that I couldn't unlock the next mission until I had 50. Bear in mind, this is after I'd already cleared two previous medal requirements, meaning I'd been retreading old ground more times than I care to remember before this. Missions don't change, and while the tanks all perform differently and can level up to boost their stats, nothing is compelling or deep enough to be worth all that repetition. This is made even more insulting when, further into the game, missions start repeating themselves anyway, putting you up against recolored enemies you already fought with maybe a few new attack patterns. In a budget game of half the price, this would be annoying, but Tank! Tank! Tank! barely qualifies as budget, and the laziness on display is appalling. It runs counter to what this game even sets out to do -- it's very hard to be mesmerized by something's inherent silliness when you're forcefully exposed to the same routine until you get sick of it.
Outside of the shockingly slapdash campaign, there are four multiplayer modes to choose from -- local only. There's a free-for-all deathmatch, which isn't very fun, two-on-two team deathmatch, which is bland, a competitive four-player co-op mode, which is slightly fun, and a My Kong mode which, in all fairness, is pretty damn enjoyable. My Kong allows one player, using the GamePad, to take control of a gigantic robotic ape while other players control tanks and attempt to take it down. For added amusement, the ape can be given its player's face thanks to the GamePad's camera. Getting to be one of the monsters and smack other players around the map is certainly gratifying, and while it's not quite clever or polished enough to be worth more than a few tries, it at least gives this game something of a highlight.
Tank! Tank! Tank! may be more fun in its original arcade form, but this Wii U release is clumsy, visually sub-par, and disrespectful of the player's time. While it revels in its own stupidity and hopes you'll do the same, it's one of those sad games that believes a ridiculous concept is enough to make for a worthwhile game, and in Tank! Tank! Tank!'s case, that's just not true. Indeed, there's nothing more upsetting than a game that believes, if it's wacky enough, it can get away with being crap. This game does just that, and it's no less sad than it always is. |
| Posted: 18 Nov 2012 03:30 AM PST It's hard not to like the Rabbids. Cute in an ugly way, stupid in an admirable way, the bug-eyed creatures bear an innate charm, and it's hardly surprising they swiftly stepped out of Rayman's shadow to star in their own franchise. It saddens me that the franchise in question has built itself on a foundation of forgettable mini-game compilations. Rabbids Land is no exception. Billed as the "Perfect Party Game," it exists as Ubisoft's foot in the door of the Wii U's potential family market, offering a selection of uncomplicated distractions with a glossy paint of cuteness. It's ... as engaging as it sounds.
Rabbids Land (Wii U) Rabbids Land revolves around a four-player board game. The board is made up of three rings, one of which is the central starting area and two of which contain a variety of squares with special properties. The aim of the game is to travel around the board, completing objectives to win a set number of trophies, before returning to the starting ring. Winner, obviously, is the first to get all the trophies and make it home. Players pass around the GamePad in turns, tapping on a virtual die that determines how many spaces can be moved. The most desirable spaces to land on are game squares, as these pick the player and a random opponent to compete for three trophies. Quiz spaces ask a general knowledge question in exchange for two trophies, while traps remove a trophy from any player unfortunate enough to land on them. Prize spaces grant unique one-use abilities, such as a loaded die that lets you pick any number you wish, or the power to steal a trophy from another player. Finally, there are event spaces, which alter the board itself by adding score multipliers, bombs, or burglars that move around the board and steal trophies.
The mini-games make use of the Wii U GamePad in a variety of gimmicky ways, but it has to be said that none of them come across as very inspired. Unlike Nintendo Land, Ubisoft's own party offering is a little on the tame side, doing nothing that we haven't seen before from other mini-game compilations that use motion or touch controls. We have a game where you tilt the Pad to move a ball around, one where you trace images with the stylus, one where you use the gyroscope to look about and shoot at things -- it's all quite pedestrian stuff. There's a little bit of a spin when the Wiimote comes into play, with other players trying to stop the main participant from winning, but again, it's the same kind of stuff we've seen on the Wii already. The games are slow paced, simplistic, and kind of dull. They all work just fine, but they're hardly exciting. Part of the problem is that I believe the GamePad is far less suited to the idea of party games than the Wii was, but Ubisoft is trying to force it anyway. The GamePad is a less physical controller than the Wii remote, and it's not exactly cause for a party mood when you're watching somebody hunched over a little screen, tracing lines with a thin plastic stylus. The GamePad's potential for asymmetrical multiplayer experiences is exciting, but not for these kinds of thoughtless mini-game experiences. The informed wackiness of people performing "crazy" objectives together is lost in translation when it comes to the more exclusive properties of the Wii U's primary controller.
There's very little else of note in Rabbids Land, for all its promise of silly adventure in a crazy theme park. Outside of the board game, you can tackle unlocked mini-games in a Free Play or a Treasure Hunt mode. Treasure Hunt places coins in the games that can be tapped on and collected. The more coins players find, the closer they get to unlocking various videos in the Extras menu. These videos are mostly brief skits featuring the Rabbids doing silly things, and I believe they're far more entertaining than the actual interactive portions of this product. Rabbids Land isn't awful, but it's wholly unnecessary for a system that's launching with Nintendo Land, a game that trounces Ubisoft's attempts in every conceivable way. Rabbids Land does nothing exciting with the new input, nor does it take advantage of what the Wii U can do in order to provide games more suited to the GamePad. Instead, it tries old tricks on a system that's not built with them in mind, and the result is something disposable that has no real value to anybody. If you play Rabbids Land, you won't have the worst time, but it'll be wasted time nonetheless. |
| Posted: 18 Nov 2012 03:00 AM PST ZombiU will be viewed through a very particular lens, one designed to scrutinize the Wii U's worth as a "hardcore" gaming system. One of the few original launch titles built to appeal to the lifelong gamer, many are going to judge its worth as a demonstration of the GamePad's functions and how they can make familiar experiences more engaging. While that is a perfectly valid way to approach ZombiU, it is something of a tragedy that it shall be the near universal standard by which it is judged. For you see, the game does something far more important than that, something it won't get credit for, due to the lens everybody will be peering through. ZombiU brings real survival horror back to home consoles, and that's what we should really be talking about.
ZombiU (Wii U) Four centuries past, an astronomer by the name of John Dee predicted that a blight would sweep across the United Kingdom in 2012, and sweep it did. London finds itself in the grip of a viral outbreak, as citizens turn into mindless, cannibalistic killers. One man, calling himself the Prepper, has spent years safeguarding against the prophecy and reaches out to survivors across the city, welcoming them to his safe house. Meanwhile, the Ravens of Dee, a secret organization dedicated to fighting the prophecy, searches for a cure. ZombiU's plot is hardly groundbreaking, but then it doesn't intend to be. It's a straightforward zombie game with a typical zombie story, and it simply does what it needs to set players up with an undead-infested city of nightmarish proportions. Survival is the key word here, more so than in pretty much any other horror title to have seen a console release this generation. ZombiU is a about constantly being on the edge, facing overwhelming odds, and escaping death by a hair's breadth.
Like so many classic survival horror titles, ZombiU's combat system is designed to put players at a disadvantage, giving them just enough to survive without ever letting them dominate. It's hard to remember these days, but there once was a time when zombies were genuinely intimidating foes as opposed to walking bags of gore that could be popped with gleeful abandon. ZombiU remembers, and if it does one thing spectacularly, it's that it puts the viral shamblers back where they belong -- on top of the food chain and breathing down your neck. A single zombie is no joke. The player's mainstay weapon, a cricket bat, needs at least four solid whacks to a skull before the zombie is down long enough to be executed. The player's swings are slow, with attacks needing to be readied first before striking, otherwise the survivor will harmlessly shove the enemy back (though this is crucial for keeping space between the opposition and the would-be victim). Delivering the final blow does not render a player invincible -- any other zombie within range will take advantage of distracted prey. Taking on multiple creatures, even just two, is possible but best avoided, as such encounters are invariably desperate struggles of backpeddling, shoving, and sneaking off well-judged blows at just the right moment.
The monsters are stupid but aggressive when provoked, and their guttural screams, jerky movements, and willingness to get right up in your face make them easily more hideous and scary than your run-of-the-mill geeks. Breaking barricades and opening the inventory is done in real time, meaning foes could lurk in from behind while the GamePad's screen is being viewed. In short, ZombiU is a consistently oppressive experience, one that deliberately limits the player in exchange for something quite terrifying -- and as a survival horror fan who laments the sidelining of the genre, I couldn't be happier with just how well it succeeds. Supplies are limited, so while there are a number of ranged weapons to find and upgrade, ammunition can't be wasted. Guns fire slowly and are best used when there's both distance and a lot of enemies that need putting down before they reach you. A really nice balance has been struck between weapons that feel satisfyingly powerful and resources that can't be thrown away recklessly, constantly ensuring the player is kept in check. As bodies and lockers are looted, one can find Molotovs, grenades, and mines, all of which are invaluable in the right circumstance and a terrible waste in the wrong one. Although the player can freely travel to newly discovered locations via a series of sewer shortcuts, ZombiU is nonetheless a fairly linear experience that tosses in a solid bit of backtracking to pad itself out. Each mission typically starts from Prepper's safe house, where the survivor will be charged with obtaining an item or discovering something important. From there, it's up to the player to pick one's way carefully through the devastated London streets, surveying each environment, working out the best way through a route, and making sure to engage zombies on a one-to-one basis as much as possible.
Should the player die -- and there are plenty of opportunities to do so -- ZombiU employs a cool spin on the Demon's/Dark Souls respawn system. The player's Bug-Out Bag, containing all mission items and supplies, will be left wherever the player died while a new survivor wakes up in Prepper's safe house to continue the story. As a fresh-faced, randomly generated Londoner, the player then has to fight back to the scene of the last one's demise and, in most cases, take out their newly zombified remains. The body, which is flagged with the survivor's name alongside a score total, can then be looted for lost items. Although death is a slap on the wrist to the player, the knowledge that it will actually lead to the character's death has a noteworthy psychological effect, not to mention the fact that the next survivor will have to do them in. The tension this brings to the game is palpable, and the sight of a dead body, lying in mute monument to your failure, manages to be depressing in a way that standard "game over" screens just aren't. Another cue taken from the Souls games is found in online functionality. Players can use spray paint to leave messages viewable by other users online, and slain survivors may invade friends' campaigns to terrorize them and grant potential extra loot bonuses. At the time of writing, the Nintendo Network has not been active long enough for me to run into any of these items, but I love the idea as I did in Demon's Souls.
For the most part, ZombiU is controlled with a familiar first-person control scheme. The left stick moves, the right stick looks, and the triggers handle attacks. As one might expect, Ubisoft exploits the GamePad in a number of ways to keep things interesting, and the results are hit-or-miss. Surprisingly, the oft-used mechanic of holding the Pad like a scanner to survey the area is not as intrusive or annoying as I dreaded, helped by the fact that, rather than use the gyroscope to look around, the player can just use the right stick. Scanning a room highlights key items, doors, and infected, which are surveyed on the touchscreen and flagged on the television. Using the GamePad in this way became second nature after a while, and I was happily scoping out every new environment I discovered. When not scanning, the GamePad's screen acts as a radar to detect movement of both infected and animals such as crows and rats. This is a good way to get a bead on potential enemy locations, though the inclusion of animals can also ramp up a few pleasant scares, as you prepare to face a horde only to discover it's simply a mass of vermin.
Using the touchscreen to pry open manholes, break barricades, and pick locks, however, feels like a cheap bit of filler and merely excuses meant to further justify the GamePad's features. It doesn't help that the touchscreen is not the most responsive of input methods when it comes to rapidly tapping objects, and I'm never a fan of a game that breaks the action to force you to change the way you're holding the controller in order to perform some banal non-gameplay. Fortunately, these moments are infrequent and over quickly, but they remain ultimately pointless. Item management is all done on the Pad too and suffers from similar response and precision issues. Moving items around with a finger is a pain that can be mitigated by the stylus, but having to stop and switch to an entirely new input method every time you want to use something is not a real solution. At least the on-hand items, of which six can be carried, are accessed using well-placed touch icons near the analog sticks, making them quite simple to grab.
As well as the main campaign, brave players can take on a one-life survival mode, where death literally does equal death. There are no reloads, no continues, and no respawning survivors. As you might expect, this is built to ramp up the terror considerably, and it will be enjoyed by most players not as a game to be beaten but simply one to see how far they can get before falling. Local multiplayer rounds out the content, providing a competitive mode called King of the Zombies. In this game, one player acts as the eponymous King Boris, taking control of zombie hordes to wipe out survivors and claim territory. Other players utilize the Pro Controller (or Wii Remote/Nunchuck combo) to become Survivors and drain the zombie army while fulfilling set objectives. In short, this mode is brilliant fun. For the survivors, they get a taste of faster-paced and more gun-friendly zombie combat not found in the main game, while the Zombie King essentially gets to play a real-time strategy game against human-controlled units. As the King, players get to intermittently level up, gaining access to more powerful zombie units such as exploding, spitting, and sprinting ones. The survivors get granted bonus gifts of extra guns and ammo to keep them on their toes. All told, I have to say I have the most fun playing as the undead overlord, spawning creatures on an overhead map to try and catch the enemy off guard. That's not to say playing a survivor isn't fun, but it doesn't quite match the satisfaction of launching a small army of explode-on-contact flesh-eaters and hearing the opposition's lamentations. There are two modes to choose from -- a straight-up survival mode, where players have to kill as many zombies before the King wipes them out, and a capture-the-flag, where both sides try and take over territory using their quick wit (humans) and specialized zombie "grunts" (the King). The flag-capturing game is easily more compelling and recommended playing for anybody with zombie-loving friends.
There is a lot about ZombiU that pleases me, and if I were able to, I'd be singing its praises to all comers. Sadly, the game is held back by a number of issues that stop it being quite the classic it could have been. First of all, while vanilla zombies are indeed scarier and tougher than usual, they are not exactly varied. Character models are reused considerably, and while there are a few variations, such as ones that spit acid or come decked in riot gear, the vast majority of the horde are quite identical and grow repetitive to tackle. Riot cops in particular takes a tremendous amount of smacks to finish off, and it goes from nerve-wracking to exhausting by the time the ten-hour campaign is done. This isn't helped by a poor map system that can lead to the player getting lost and the generally tiresome slog from point A to point B that typifies return trips to previously discovered locales. It took me 11 hours to complete the campaign, but I think I spent at least two of them getting lost. ZombiU is a glitchy game as well. I've had it crash on me twice, I've encountered zombies that could attack through closed doors or just fall through solid objects, and I had one case where my previous survivor didn't spawn and I was worried I'd lost all my gear. It respawned after I left the area via a shortcut and reloaded it, but doing so was a hassle. This is all typified by regular and slow loading times, plus graphics that, if we're being nice, wouldn't look too out of place on a Wii, let alone the Wii U. I'm no graphical nut, and I like my horror ugly, but I'm a little disappointed by a game that looks this poor while being so buggy and slow to load. The game is riddled with problems, and its focus on harrowing, slow-paced survival is going to put off a ton of people. In fact, there's a very good chance that many of you reading this will hate it and question how I could ever begin enjoying the thing. ZombiU is not for such a person, and I can't blame anybody who dislikes their time with it. There is, however, a certain breed of player who is going to love it to bits and will find the returns well worth the struggles required. I count myself among them, and I have a feeling that many aficionados of real survival horror will join me.
ZombiU is awkward, ugly, crawling in its pace, and often nonsensical with its narrative ... and I remember when horror games weren't ashamed of any of that, even actively exploiting it to create alienating, frightening atmospheres that stuck in a players' memories and made them too spooked to want to take another step forward. ZombiU did that to me. It made me afraid to walk into rooms, it made me think twice before tackling two opponents at once, and it frequently reminded me I was weak, piteous, but maybe just careful and lucky enough to get through. And for as much as it screws up, ZombiU somehow does it well. |
| Nintendo Download 11/18/12: U Day Edition Posted: 18 Nov 2012 02:30 AM PST Today, on the launch of the Wii U (on what shall be known as "U Day"), you can nab five eShop games, and a bulk number of full downloadable titles (I hope you have your external HDD ready!). On the eShop side of things we have Trine 2: Director's Cut ($19.99), Nano Assault Neo ($9.99), Little Inferno ($14.99), Chasing Aurora ($14.99), and Mighty Switch Force: Hyper Drive Edition ($9.99). The full list of retail titles is below: it's a doozy. If you missed last week's installment, here it is. As for what I'm getting, I'm downloading Mighty Switch Force: Hyper Drive Edition right now, I'm musing on the idea of Little Inferno (which is also for PC), and I'm thinking about maybe getting one or two retail titles -- but NSMB U and Nintendo Land should last me a while. What about you? Wii U downloadable retail games: New Super Mario Bros. U (Nintendo, $59.99) |
| Review: Scribblenauts Unlimited Posted: 18 Nov 2012 02:00 AM PST The problem with a game like Scribblenauts is that the promise of boundless freedom comes with strict boundaries. A game that promises you can conjure any item in existence to solve puzzles can be broken pretty simply in a world without rules, since electronic ninjas could theoretically solve any and all problems. Thus, rules are contrived, fences erected, and you find yourself not quite free as the bird you just created out of thin air. Not to mention, a game that tries to do so much has to cut corners somewhere to fit it all in. So it is that you end up with no distinction between a dragon and a wyvern, as items share models and traits, and ultimately you find that the limitless potential just got a hell of lot more limited in the journey from premise to practice. Scribblenauts Unlimited even promises infinite freedom in its name. As you might have already guessed, that promise is not fulfilled ... and perhaps even falls shorter than previous games in the series.
Scribblenauts Unlimited (3DS, PC, Wii U [reviewed]) For Scribblenauts' big Wii U debut, Maxwell finds himself attempting to free his sister from a petrifying curse. The spell can only be broken by collecting Starites -- magical objects that are dropped in fragments by people whenever they're happy. Maxwell, atoning for an indolent life brought about by his magical summoning notepad, must use his scribbling powers for good and collect the Starites that appear as a result. It's a simple excuse to toss Maxwell into an "open world" of sorts -- and by that I mean a series of sidescrolling environments that are gradually unlocked and freely traveled to. Each environment is littered with people who have problems, which the player solves by conjuring objects based on the predicament at hand. For instance, if there's a cyborg who says he wants to look human, you simply write "wig," give it to him, and he drops a shard of Starite. Shark with toothache? Give him a dentist. There's not much more to it than that.
Unlike before, where specific puzzles were solved to get Maxwell to a Starite, the bulk of Unlimited is spent in this fairly simplistic fashion -- highlighting NPCs, working out what they need, and giving it to them. There are slightly more complex challenges, where Maxwell performs a series of tasks that tell a little self-contained narrative -- but they more or less follow the same pattern, and often basically just tell you what to write down before you do it. You may get a tiny bit of creative freedom in the type of object you draw, but the basic requirement is linear, explicitly suggested, and leaves no room to challenge the player's mind. Only once or twice did I ever get moderately stumped by vague clues or puzzles that required any form of thought. For most of the campaign -- which can be cleared in a handful of hours -- I was simply going through the motions, inputting words without having to think about them and watching the cute animations unfold as a result. For many of the larger challenges, your choices don't even influence the results -- for instance, if you're told to give an injured dinosaur a new tail, your decision to write, "Pink Fluffy Tail" won't be shown on the dinosaur afterwards. Attempts at creatively solving the challenges are an active waste of time. This problem lies at the bulk of Scribblenauts Unlimited. It's not actually worth it to be inventive. You have the option to do so much with Maxwell's notepad -- changing the size, temperament, and color of anything you desire -- yet doing so doesn't really matter. Applying adjectives to objects only really matters when the game outright tells you to apply adjectives to things, otherwise you're doing it for personal amusement -- amusement that doesn't arrive since, as stated, nothing matters. Even worse, it's entirely possible to overthink puzzles -- being too creative can render the object unrecognizable to the game. It's always best to keep it simple, dreary, and unambitious. Scribblenauts really wants to drag you down to its level.
Unlimited takes advantage of the Wii U's online function to allow users to create and share their own creations. You can make a Smelly Wheeled Neon Dog or a Giant Supersonic Demonic Fly, and most of the time, you'll get a fun result. The depth of creation is greater than ever before, and includes some characters from the Zelda and Mario series for added amusement, but it all feels for naught in a game where these inventions are more pointless than ever before. Not to mention, it's all just a slight expansion on ideas that have already been in two games, so there's not exactly anything fresh to make up for a new and mundane campaign structure. One thing I do like is the cute character editor. As well as Maxwell, players can choose any one of his many, many siblings, and each sibling may serve as a base for personalized character avatars. Their clothing colors can be changed, limbs grown or shrunk to disproportionate sizes, and they can be named. This has no bearing on gameplay, but is nonetheless a cool little addition to the series and does go some way to providing a bit of added interest.
Another waste of time is playing the game with the television switched on. You'll be using the stylus on the GamePad's touchscreen to do practically everything, from interacting with objects to writing down words. The vibrant, colorful game looks utterly gorgeous on a television, but you can only really play if you're looking at the Pad, so it's not worth looking at.
Scribblenauts Unlimited still serves some purpose as a playground of silly ideas, and it still has a measure of charm left over from its original incarnation, but when it comes time to actually play it, this is the most boring and monotonous game in the series. Anything it does well was already done in the portable installments, and the new structure is utterly tedious. With Unlimited, 5th Cell had an opportunity to greatly expand on a brilliant idea and bring us something truly groundbreaking. This opportunity was squandered, and the result is a game that can't hope to live up to the lofty promise of its own name. Boundless freedom? Scribblenauts Unlimited doesn't even try to drag itself out of the holding pen. |
| Wii U eShop game devs can set their own prices Posted: 18 Nov 2012 12:30 AM PST Trine developer Frozenbyte has confirmed to IGN that the WiiU's eShop will not be subject to pricing regulation from Nintendo, meaning games don't have to adhere to strict monetary tiers as developers enjoy the freedom to charge what they like. "We have the power to price our products as we please, with just some basic guidelines from the big guys," beamed marketing manager Mikael Haveri. "The step to this is purely from Nintendos's side and they clearly see that [their] previous installments have not been up to par. We can set our own pricing and actually continuing on that by setting our own sales whenever we want. It is very close to what Apple and Steam are doing at the moment, and very indie friendly." Great news indeed, though I'm sure we can expect the big publishers to continue charging premium prices because, well, they can get away with it. That point aside, it's great to see Nintendo diving into the world of digital gaming with both feet, and really going out of its way to provide a service that's friendly to game maker and game buyer alike. Respect due! Oh, and in equally awesome new, developers can patch games free of charge. Take that, Microsoft! Check out our full review of the Wii U on Destructoid, why don't you? |
| How moderated is Miiverse? It's a police state! (Update) Posted: 17 Nov 2012 03:50 PM PST [Update: It seems Nintendo has given the deleted post in question further review and decided that it was okay. "We have checked the reported content and determined that it is not in violation of the Miiverse Code of Conduct," reads the notification sent via Miiverse. "The content has been reposted, and all restrictions have been lifted." Perhaps this means reported content is automatically removed, to be reviewed later? Or maybe the pressure from the oppressed proletariat moved the powers into action! Who knows? All I know is, I'm drinking the sweet fluid of freedom. Freedom Fluid!] Look at the image above. What do you see? You should see a very accurate review of Batman: Arkham City that I posted to the Armored Edition community on Miiverse, the social networking feature found on the newly launched Wii U. A review that, it turns out, is too risque for the likes of Nintendo and its stringent administration policies. Like the Eye of Sauron, it casts its steely gaze down on our Miiverse postings, responding to reports of misconduct with swift retribution. How swift? Well, the admins deleted my above post before the system was even sold to the public -- within two hours of its appearance, in fact. Your humble narrator may now hold the dubious honor of being Miiverse's first ever moderated user, his post having been removed for that Nintendo calls, "Violent Content." Violent content. In a community for a game in which arms are broken, people are shot, and Catwoman is called a "bitch" roughly ten thousand times. Is this Obama's America? Is this the police state we have signed up for? Oh Nintendo, your oppression knows no bounds. I AM NOT A NUMBER, NINTENDO! I AM A MAN! But hey, now we know exactly how moderated Miiverse is going to be. |
| PSA: Harmony of a Hunter: 101% Run is ready fo' yo ass Posted: 17 Nov 2012 03:30 PM PST Guys. Guys. It's out. Shinesparkers' arrange album Harmony of a Hunter: 101% Run, which we reminded you about a mere two days ago, went live earlier today. If you haven't snagged the free three-disc release already, head on over to the download page now and get to steppin'. If that page is not working for one reason or another, use this mirror or this torrent. As mentioned previously, 101% Run arrives just in time to celebrate Metroid Prime's tenth anniversary. And if you happen to be one of the lucky punks picking up a Wii U at midnight or sometime on Sunday, it'll make perfect background music while you unpack and hook sh*t up! Double whammy! |
| Posted: 17 Nov 2012 03:09 PM PST The Wii U has been a curious prospect ever since Nintendo revealed it to the world at E3 in 2011. Depending on the perspective of the individual, it's either launching very early for the next generation, or very late for this one. Depending on the perspective of the individual, it's an exciting new concept, or a desperate bid by Nintendo to stay in the game. With a controller that boasts a gyroscope, its own touchscreen, and all the buttons associated with more traditional gaming consoles, the Wii U is trying to hit everything it can, providing the culmination of every way users have found themselves enjoying games in the past five years or so. Whether that's an inspired idea or a lame grab for as much attention as possible is, again, dependent on the perspective of the individual. As for this individual, I have one crucial thing to add -- I'm a believer. I am a bigger believer in the Wii U than I ever was with the Wii, and I think that, at least in terms of usability, Nintendo has concocted for itself the perfect storm. ... With some caveats, of course.
A tight little box The Wii U is bigger than the Wii, but remains a humbly sized little box when compared to both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Even next to Sony and Microsoft's slimmer offerings, the Wii U is a compact system that is easy to place on pretty much any shelf, floorspace, or entertainment unit. It can be stood upright in a tower position, or horizontally, as is the standard of consoles these days. Unlike in mine, when all systems were as big as a car and had to be stored on the Moon. Like any good Christian, the Wii U keeps all its action in the front. Aside from the usual disc slot, eject and power buttons, a small compartment opens up (on the left or underside, depending on how you're standing it) to reveal an SD card slot and two USB ports, all very easily accessible and even helpfully labeled for people who have never heard of USB ports and, as such, probably won't be reading this. Hello anyway, if you are. While I like the design of the box overall, I've never been too fond of flat buttons that run evenly with the casing. Both the power and eject buttons are like this for the Wii U, and given the tiny size of the eject one in particular, it's a pain to press -- especially given the inability to remotely eject a game from the system menu. That gripe aside, this is a sleek, sexy little machine that conforms to modern design sensibilities more than Nintendo fans will be used to. Looking like a modern entertainment device as opposed to a fun toy, the design may not appeal to some, but others like myself shall appreciate having something that looks a little more at home sat next to all the other gadgets feeding the television with their whimsical wares.
Bigger can indeed mean better Of course, the design of the Wii U's box was never the real focus for Nintendo, to the point where early marketing even confused potential consumers who thought it was just a handheld peripheral. While the Wii U system is compact, shiny, and fashionable, the GamePad plays entirely by Nintendo's anomalous rules, giving us the chunky, attention-grabbing, toy-like design that we've come to expect. This is a big controller, as I'm sure you're all aware, and it has to be. Making room for a large touchscreen, as well as two analog sticks, face buttons, a D-pad, and two sets of shoulder buttons isn't going to make for a pocket-sized interface, but Nintendo has gone above and beyond in making something that feels comfortable and pleasant to use, despite its hefty bulk -- very much like myself. Get it because I am fat. For a start, the GamePad is deceptively light, not feeling much heavier than a standard Xbox 360 controller in any appreciable manner. Of course, when held in one hand, the thing is awkward and unwieldy, but for most traditional gaming experiences, there's quite a nice distribution of weight afforded by its flat, lengthy design, meaning that only those with frail, cat-like limbs will struggle. The large surface area makes playing games more comfortable, at least for folks with massive pig hands like mine. The way in which the buttons are spread out makes me feel a lot less cramped, and I've found it far more enjoyable to play old favorites like Warriors Orochi 3 on it. The extra space also means there's a lot more freedom of hand positioning, so if one's palms do start to ache, the hand can be shifted without ever having to stop the game. A welcome little ridge is provided at the back of the controller, providing a useful shelf that players can rest their fingers under in order to securely cradle it while in use. While it boasts a traditional controller layout, it wouldn't be a Nintendo system if things weren't altered just a little bit. Both the left and right stick are placed above the D-pad and face buttons respectively, and this can indeed take a little getting used to. Even after a week, I'm still occasionally hitting the X button while expecting to hit the Y button, but such instances are growing exponentially rare as I spend more time with the system.
Touch Waggle Touch Waggle Swipe As far as the touchscreen goes, it looks, feels, and behaves very much like that found on the DS family of systems, meaning there's no multi-touch, and the input isn't always the most responsive, especially when using thumbs or fingers. It's not awful, and it generally works, but playing games like ZombiU, where there's a lot of thumb-tapping touches, the spotty response can get a bit annoying. The touchscreen will work best with games where touch is only occasionally implemented, or requires the stylus as the predominant method of control. It's a good option to have, but developers are going to have to not go overboard, as they often seem to love doing. As far as picture quality goes, you get a consistent stream from the Wii U with any potential lag remaining imperceptible to the human eye. The only fault here is that the screen just can't compare with an HDTV, and colors appear washed out in comparison. Bright and vibrant visuals appear just that bit more muddy on the GamePad, and given any choice in the matter, I always prefer to be looking at the TV than the pad. It still works perfectly for maps, menu interactions, and a few well-implemented game mechanics, but as an alternative method of viewing an entire game, it doesn't speak to me. I foresee rarely, if ever, choosing to play a Wii U game solely in my hands. As far as motion controls go, I have to say I'm always going to take a gyroscope over a remote pointer or something like Kinect. It's just that much more precise, and gives the GamePad a lot more versatility than limited motion controllers that restrict input options and are bound to some form of sensor bar or camera. Letting the GamePad's independent movements dictate motion input allows it to work in conjunction with all the more tactile controls on offer, and also opens the door to one thing I wish we'd had more of with this past generation of waggle -- options. Even at launch, there are games like Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition and ZombiU that offer some choice in how we use the touchscreen, allowing us to look around in GamePad-specific viewpoints using either motion or the right stick. Flexibility is something I hope developers give us more of this time around, rather than forcing us to do inefficient things just to show off. There's a microphone and a camera, both of which work about as well as they do on the 3DS, and a pair of speakers are situated on the bottom corners. The speakers are quite loud and clear, and add a level of fun interaction as radio chatter in Arkham City comes through your controller, or the GamePad adds extra bits of percussion to the background music playing on the TV. I was always a huge fan of Wii games that used the oft-neglected Wiimote speaker, and I'm thrilled that so many Wii U launch titles have embraced it here. The only thing to watch out for are those games that simply stream games to the controller -- they'll play exactly the same sounds on the TV and GamePad, which can just sound echo-y and weird. Fortunately, there's a volume control right on top of the Pad.
Into the Interface Once the Wii U is booted, and initial setup is dealt with, the menu is somewhat similar to the Wii's, with big, user-friendly windows containing all the games and apps. The major difference is that the GamePad hosts all the icons, while the television is littered with wandering Miis and helpful tips. Touching an icon switches these screens, but strangely the icon menu can't be interacted with via the GamePad when it's on the television. It's easier to just leave it where it is. Although not to a gross degree, the menu can be a little slow. It takes a short boot time to return to the home menu or to load up apps. Not huge amounts of time, but just enough of a wait to register as noticeable with every use. Fortunately, once you're there, things move swiftly and responsively, especially in areas where Nintendo has been famously sub-par, such as anything that involves an Internet connection. Pressing the Home menu brings up quick links to key features, such as a friend list, the web browser, and downloads. Adding friends is far quicker and easier now, thanks to the removal of friend codes in place of good ol' fashioned usernames. That, alone, is a marked improvement.
eShop, Miiverse, and Internet shenanigans The difference between the Wii U's eShop and previous digital storefronts on the Wii and 3DS is remarkable, given that this time it's actually good. Vastly quicker to browse, with an efficient layout and easy access to game info, screenshots, and trailers, the new eShop is an active pleasure to browse. It looks prettier than storefronts on rival machines, works like a charm, and boasts one beautiful feature that Nintendo systems have been aching for -- background downloads! Credit card information can be input easily and saved, and downloads themselves are fairly swift. I'm yet to buy one of the full retail games, because I'm not made of money, but my purchase and download of Chasing Aurora was fast and hassle-free, taking four minutes or so to download. The only issue is that, like with the PlayStation 3, downloaded games must be installed manually, a process that tacks on an extra minute or so of waiting. Once that's done, another few seconds on the home screen will add a fresh-faced icon. Miiverse is the Nintendo Network's new social hub, which pretty much acts like a forum on a console. Every released game gets its own community that users can share drawings and short posts within. These posts can be liked (Miiverse calls them "Yeah!"s) and commented on, while users can be followed, friended, and messaged. Although simplistic and fairly limited (you only get 100 characters per post), I am finding Miiverse more entertaining than I expected, if only for the fact that I can saunter up to the Rabbids Land community and start posting about Willem Dafoe for my own stupid amusement. It remains to be seen how stringently Nintendo will police this stuff, but rest assured I'll be testing the lines! As with everything on the software side of things, Nintendo has gone above and beyond to make things easier and faster than before. Again, browsing is actually fun, rather than an impediment to my entertainment, and I do love getting to interact with other Wii U users via the system itself. If it takes off with customers, I can see Miiverse being something genuinely compelling, worth checking out every time the system is booted. It'll take a while to see if it does indeed catch on, but I hope it does. The Internet browser has been improved tremendously, and I'd say that, of all the consoles, this is the best system for Web browsing on a TV. The GamePad and its stylus interface certainly helps in this regard, as it makes scrolling, browsing, and looking for pornographic images a lot less awkward than it is when using a normal controller. The speed of the browser is practically supersonic compared to past efforts, and I can say that if you indeed use your game consoles for general Internet chicanery, the Wii U's got you perfectly covered. Oh, and did you know you can open the Home menu and access the Web browser while playing a game? The game will pause and you can go to Miiverse or the browser, and play will resume once you close the Home menu. Neat! Over time, the Wii U will also boast a range of apps, including popular offerings such as Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube. At the moment, these items aren't active, nor is the TVii feature. They are coming in the weeks following launch.
Battery chicken If there's one major potential dealbreaker to worry about, it's the battery. As big a fan as I am of the GamePad, there's no skirting around the problem of an incredibly short battery life on the controller. The projected three to five hours of play is pretty true, with spans that rarely trend toward the higher of those two numbers. In all honesty, I've found it easier and simpler to just keep the GamePad plugged into a source of power at all times -- something I can do simply by the good fortune of a setup abundant in nearby outlets. Other gamers may not be quite so fortuitous, and for them I'd suggest they think strongly about whether or not the Wii U will work. If you're not rocking backup batteries or a wired controller, the GamePad just isn't going to work for intense and lengthy gaming sessions. I can't blame anybody for being put off by this quite crucial issue, but at the same time, I feel it'll be only a minor hassle for those who can keep it plugged in.
Lots of fun for Wii and U As I said at the top of this article, I am a believer in the Wii U. Of course, a lot of this belief hinges on the Wii U getting the software support it needs, and while there's a solid launch library of titles to choose from, the coming months after release shall prove themselves the true test of this system. The Wii U needs a healthy mix of both traditional software and that which exploits the GamePad's functionality in a way that doesn't try to fix what isn't broken. The GamePad can do almost anything in terms of popular interface -- that doesn't mean a game needs to force it to do almost everything. The Wii U has a few faults, with a less colorful, simplistic touchscreen, and a dire battery life, but ultimately I have been impressed by its flexibility, as well as the welcome chance to see Nintendo's colorful library of games designed with HDTVs in mind. Titles like New Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendo Land are absolutely gorgeous on a modern television, and that feature alone is as exciting as anything the GamePad's bells and whistles can do. The GamePad's motion controllers are inherently superior to the Wii's, and the ability to play any type of game with one controller, regardless of genre, is something I find quite exciting. Not to mention, more traditional input works -- although the relative stiffness of the analog sticks takes a little getting used to, I've found myself easily able to play a first-person game, a platformer, and a third-person action title with no dip in personal performance. It does take a little while to get adjusted, but now that I have done, I honestly find using the GamePad as much fun as any traditional controller -- maybe even a little moreso. I wish the Wii U all the success in the world, because I am behind it. Conceptually, it's exciting, and in practice it works. That's rare for new ideas in the game industry these days, and I feel it's a success that needs to be rewarded with publisher support. I foresee potential for an amazing library of not just exclusives, but multi-platform titles to boot, and I'm rather excited for it. Whether that future comes true remains to be seen, but I maintain a level of hope nonetheless. Hope feels good. Really quite good. |
| Review: New Super Mario Bros. U Posted: 17 Nov 2012 03:00 PM PST New Super Mario Bros. 2 was a good game, but I couldn't help feeling disappointed with it. The first New Super Mario Bros. felt like a breath of fresh air, a welcome return to the past in an age where such simplicity had been forgotten. The right bit of nostalgia at the right time can feel incredibly new. The sequel was not that. Already following New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Super Mario 3D Land, it didn't feel old-school as much as it felt plain old. Still good, but wholly unambitious. With the advent of New Super Mario Bros. U, I now know why it lacked adventure and inspiration. Nintendo had clearly already spent itself working on this little bit of greatness.
New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U) New Super Mario Bros. U is, as you might expect, yet another sidescrolling romp through a variety of platform levels spread out across a colorful map of eclectic themed worlds. As usual, Princess Peach has gotten herself kidnapped by the forces of Bowser, and Mario must come to her aid. You know the deal by now. We joke about how much she gets kidnapped, but it's honestly gotten past the laughing point. Sort it out, Mushroom Kingdom. Sort it out. This latest chapter in the Mario story doesn't go out of its way to contrive surface-level innovations like NSMB2 did, instead focusing on the kind of purity that made the series so appealing, while making sure to throw in just enough new toys to validate its existence. Chief among the fresh trinkets is the acorn power-up that transforms Mario into Flying Squirrel Mario, able to not only glide but gain a huge boost jump with a button press or shake of the GamePad. It's a subtle addition that blends features of old power-ups with a few unique twists, which sums up the game overall quite adequately.
Also joining the adventure are Baby Yoshis that can be carried for new powers. Unlocked in the world map, these plump curiosities follow the player through courses and are color coded according to their unique abilities. Pink Yoshis are inflated to gain high altitudes, Blue Yoshis spit bubbles that trap enemies and can be jumped on to cross gaps, while Yellow Yoshis generate light and radiate a large circular glow in order to push Boos back a little and give Mario some breathing room. Baby Yoshis will also eat any monster they come into contact with, and, more importantly, sing backing vocals to any course's music once held -- which is ludicrously adorable and brilliant for all the right reasons. Crucially, NSMBU's level design is where it really stands strong. Intricately set out and featuring some really clever environments that play with conventional platform design, this Wii U launch title not only brings inspiration back to the series but challenge as well. Far more than in recent Mario games, quick reflexes and a solid knowledge of Mario's abilities are required to get through each course intact, not to mention discover the many hidden paths scattered throughout almost every environment. From spooky forests to deadly mountains and even a course rendered with a lovely watercolor aesthetic, the variety and vibrancy is something more recent releases have sorely lacked. Multiple paths, allowing players to choose which world to visit, as well as courses, add to the feeling of discovery that has returned with welcome aplomb. Those looking to be challenged and surprised while still enjoying all the familiarity of the New Super Mario Bros. series will be more than satisfied with what Nintendo has to offer here.
Less-skilled players are once again catered to with a little condescending help in times of repeated failure. Die on a course enough times, and you can offer to have Luigi take over and play the level for you. Players can step into Luigi's shoes at any time and take over where the CPU left off, allowing them to pass a particularly tricky obstacle or even clear an entire course. While the hardcore players will be angry at the further "dumbing down" of videogames, the fact that you have to die quite a lot, not to mention how boring it is to watch Luigi slowly play through a stage, ensures that this feature is not something easily exploited. Skilled players will barely, if ever, even have this feature offered, so it should bother nobody and be accepted gratefully by those who may need it. Though NSMBU is a return to liveliness, it still must be said that a lot of the freshness of the original concept is long gone, and the foundation upon which this new chapter is built happens to be nothing we've not seen before. The game is pure quality, through and through, but it's not the kind of breathtaking experience that once it was. Some of the sheen invariably comes off when such a simple idea as New Super Mario Bros. is repeated as many times as it has been, and while this is a vastly entertaining experience that does a lot of what New Super Mario Bros.2 didn't, the recent release of that latter game has unavoidably taken some the wind out of the sails of this one. There are some moments where the pacing seems to drop off and the game settles into safe territory. Bosses are relatively uninspired and more or less retread old ground with maybe one or two little spins on the formula. A few levels also mine for nostalgia, but come off more like repetition, especially when it comes to the "snaking" stages and mid-world castles. Likewise, the game's worlds are quite traditional, from the usual mountains and deserts to ocean and sky-themed environments. The watercolor course mentioned earlier could have supported an entire world, but bold new themes are only ever explored in their own little levels, while the larger portions of the game are not quite so brave as to reinvent themselves.
Nevertheless, New Super Mario Bros. U is a largely brilliant return to greatness for a series that had been teetering on the edge of banality. It's helped that, for the first time, we get to see a Mario game built for HD viewing, and it is glorious. The endearing animations and gorgeous color scheme were made for modern televisions, to the point where one almost feels compelled to look back on the Wii's first-party library with sad regret. I was fine with the Wii while it lasted, but New Super Mario Bros. U will make it almost impossible to go back once it's been experienced in its new resolution. Local multiplayer returns for this console installment, though thanks to the Wii U's limitations, only one GamePad can be used. This is exploited for a new co-op feature that has players controlling characters directly with Wii remotes, while the GamePad player can interact with the world itself to generate new platforms and deal with enemies. It's a unique little idea that can certainly alleviate the challenge for players, but at the same time I can't help but feel that the GamePad side of things is a little boring. When you play a Mario game, you want to play a Mario game, rather than feel relegated to a jumped-up cheerleader position. As well as the main game, there is a Boost Rush and Coin Rush mode, playable solo or cooperatively. These challenge modes take previously cleared courses and have you trying to either clear them as quickly as possible or with as many coins as can be grabbed. While not worth the price of entry alone, they provide a neat little distraction for those who want some extra replay value.
New Super Mario Bros. U is perhaps not the best game to show off the Wii U's capabilities. It keeps things very familiar, to the point where the expected input method is actually an upturned Wii Remote (the game's start screen even says, "Press 2," despite the GamePad having no "2" button). However, a game like this is good to have early, as it demonstrates that, just because Wii U games have access to new features, that doesn't mean they need to be implemented just for the sake of it. NSMBU keeps it simple and elegant, while also revealing how the GamePad can be used as a theoretical handheld device. GamePad players will not need to use the touchscreen for any extra features, instead getting a stream of the game exactly as it's represented on the television. It's more or less useless, yet it does show off the startling response time of the GamePad screen, and while the visuals are a lot more drab as opposed to the television presentation, the idea of being able to turn on the Wii U, start the game, and play without ever having to turn the TV on is a whimsical thing to experience, if only the once.
New Super Mario Bros. U is a great little platformer that kicks off the Wii U launch with a bang. Players know exactly what they're getting with this one -- an entertaining and incomplex bit of gaming that provides challenge and smirks in equal measure. While certainly a "safe" game to launch with, it is by no means unremarkable, and the only people who would fail to have fun are those with a fundamental aversion to Mario or platformers in general. Literally everybody else would find it incredibly difficult to dislike this one ... even if some of those latter stages will make them temporarily despise it. Because nobody likes lava levels. Nobody. |
| Posted: 17 Nov 2012 02:00 PM PST The Wii U GamePad is a lot more versatile than it looks. Some potential consumers have not been quite as inspired by the system as they were by the immediate uniqueness of the Wii and its remote controller. After all, tablets and smartphones have gotten us used to gyroscopes and touchscreens -- what could the Wii U give us that's so interesting? Nintendo Land is the answer to this question. While none of the games included in this glorified tour of the Wii U's capabilities are compelling enough on their own merits, they contribute to an overall package that does an exemplary job of showing why the Wii U has so much promise as a system. This is a game with one job -- to sell you on the merits of a GamePad. It accomplishes this job.
Nintendo Land (Wii U) Nintendo Land is a virtual amusement park boasting a series of attractions based on classic Nintendo properties, from Super Mario to Animal Crossing. Essentially, it's a minigame compilation, but before you roll your eyes in jaded memory of the Wii's minigame-saturated library, bear in mind that the Wii U needs, perhaps more than any other system, this kind of title at launch. The GamePad can be used in many more ways than the Wii Remote, and Nintendo Land does a fine job of demonstrating this. Each attraction uses the GamePad in a different way, meant to show off a number of intriguing ideas that, while not fully fleshed out on their own, could be evolved later down the line to potentially support any number of full games. There are 12 attractions in all, some of which are solo affairs, and others able to be played with friends using Wii Remotes.
Solo attractions are, as you might expect, for one player using a GamePad. Takamaru's Ninja Castle is a shooting gallery in which the GamePad is gripped on one side and aimed at the television. The player fires shurikens at the screen by swiping the touchscreen, as if they're whipping the throwing stars off of a table. Donkey Kong's Crash Course makes use of the gyroscope to tilt an arena of platforms and navigate a little wheeled contraption to a finish line. F-Zero Racing has players looking at the GamePad screen to get a bird's-eye view of the race course, while the television screen shows the racer from behind. Using these two perspectives, the player can gyroscopically steer the vehicle along a winding path from above, while using the rear perspective to navigate through tunnels. Team attractions combine one GamePad user with up to four Wii Remote wielders to cooperate in levels inspired by The Legend of Zelda and Metroid. In the Zelda courses, the GamePad user is an archer, aiming with motion controls and firing with the right stick. Wii Remote players are swordsmen, and swing at the opponents while looking at the TV monitor. Metroid is rather similar, with players using spaceships and ground troops for a larger battlefield that isn't as much of an on-rails experience as Zelda. While Metroid is more free, I have to say I enjoy the Zelda attraction much more, especially when played cooperatively. Controls are simple, tight, and very well implemented, while the typical Zelda charm is of course a nice bonus. Competitive attractions are no less self-explanatory, as these pit the GamePad user against up to four Wii Remote players. By far the standout game is Mario Chase, in which the GamePad user is Mario and the Remote users are Toads, charged with catching him. Mario gets a full view of the arena that only he can see, while the Toads have a limited field of view on the television and only audio cues as to which colored zone their objective is hiding. It's a lot more fun than I expected it to be, and could make a great party game. Luigi's Ghost Mansion is similar, with one player acting as the ghost and using the personalized view of the map to sneak up on opponents before they can blast it with torchlight.
There are a few games using the (already) overlooked stylus, one in which players swipe gusts of wind to direct a balloon-hoisted character across a course of hindrances, and a very intriguing little puzzle game in which a course is drawn on the touchscreen to direct a Yoshi to eat pieces of fruit and reach an exit. The twist is that fruit and obstacles are only visible on the television, so the player has to estimate the approximate position of them on the touchscreen using the visual clues set up by the terrain. It's a clever idea, and can become quite tricky indeed once later stages are reached. All these attractions are themed around a central hub populated by all manner of twee Nintendo Mii characters. In each game, coins can be earned and spent in a simple ball-and-peg minigame to unlock decorations for the hub, such as items and enemy statues, a jukebox, and a button to change the world's ambiance to daytime, dusk, or night. I do wish this area of the game wasn't as barren as it is. For all its promise as a virtual amusement park, Nintendo Land as a place isn't all that amusing. Outside of the attractions, there's very little to do, and the "park" is but a small circular arena that lays sterile in its clinical nothingness. The game might as well be a menu from which the games can be selected -- an idea given more credence when, after a few plays, you're given the ability to open a menu from which the games can be selected.
Nothing Nintendo Land does is necessarily enthralling, providing as it does a selection of fairly disposable games that can be picked up or dropped at leisure. They're fun, but they're not going to keep you playing for hours on end. Their job, as I've said, is to showcase the GamePad, and that is what they do. They make an incredibly convincing case that the GamePad is more than just a poor man's iPad, especially when it comes to utilizing the two screens and exploiting the unique properties of one GamePad user versus multiple Wii Remote players. Its competitive modes are more than capable of being used as party pieces, and I have no doubt it can be used to keep kids entertained for quite a while. Graphically, the game looks pretty damn impressive for a minigame collection. The bold colors look fantastic on an HDTV and do a fine job of showing just how great a Nintendo game can look when it's not tied to a standard resolution. One major downside of the game, however, comes in the form of a little robot called Monita. She acts as the host of Nintendo Land, and all I can say is that if any real entertainer talked to an audience the way she does, they'd be fired within a week. From her droning, monotonous voice to the fact that everything she says seems like a contemptuous demand rather than a suggestion, Monita is vastly unlikable. It's not as if it's been done on purpose, either -- she has zero personality to justify her hateful tone, it was simply a disastrous attempt to make her sound robotic. What's worse is that she talks ALL THE TIME. She never shuts up, and her constant annoyance really puts a crimp in an otherwise inoffensive little game.
That glaring aggravation aside, Nintendo Land is what it is. It never set out to amaze us by itself, it merely wants us to respect the GamePad, and you can't really expect much more from a title packed into the Wii U's box. Even so, it's worth noting that, unlike so many tech demos, Nintendo Land is still quite fun. It's not forcing the GamePad's touchscreen and gyroscope into gameplay that doesn't support it, and it's not making established genres less convenient to play with hamfisted new input that doesn't belong there. Its game selection isn't compelling to the point of addiction, but it's all pretty good stuff to snack on. Those unconvinced about what the Wii U can do would benefit from finding themselves a way of trying out Nintendo Land. It manages to do a lot with the system without, I believe, even scratching the surface of what more focused and dedicated videogames could achieve. It's a game meant to excite you more about the system you just purchased, and that is what it does. Well worth checking out, at any rate. |
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