Nintendo brought the Wii U Experience to Atlantic Station in Atlanta this past weekend so I grabbed the most un-jaded gamer I know, my son, and drove down from the suburbs to go hands-on with the new GamePad controller and games that are coming to the console this holiday.
The Wii U Experience was held in an empty retail store location where temporary walls were thrown up, twelve game stations were setup and soft blue lighting flooded the room. A central column surrounded by couches featured three Nintendo Land stations. Behind it were Ninja Gaiden, New Super Mario Bros U plus Game & Wario. Four "private" rooms were setup with big screens for Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition, Zombi U, Just Dance 4 and SiNG. Finally, one corner had Wii Fit U, Project P-100, Rayman Legends, ZombiU and Pikmin 3. During the event, competitions were held such as speed runs for New Super Mario Bros U and the Nintendo Land mini-game, Donkey Kong’s Crash Course.
Since we only had an hour and half to try all these games out, I focused mostly on the game’s my son could play and the ones that used the GamePad in different ways.
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge
I hopped on Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge first since there was nobody on it while my son got in line for New Super Mario Bros. U. The game remains relatively unchanged from the PS3 and Xbox 360 with the touchscreen only used to switch weapons. Nothing special here so I quickly moved to join my son.
New Super Mario Bros. U
As a multiplayer game, New Super Mario Bros. U was actually more fun than I expected as the person with the touchscreen to tap on open spaces to place blocks or hit enemies to stun or knock them away. This was illustrated perfectly in one level when another player and I needed the Squirrel Suit to glide down a shaft with enemies floating back and forth. I lost my Squirrel Suit so it was up to my son to place blocks using the GamePad’s touchscreen to prevent me from falling to my death.
Nintendo Land
We checked out Nintendo Land and it quickly became clear that Nintendo's E3 presentation did not give it justice. The first mini-game we tried was Zelda: Battle Quest with two players using the Wiimote to swing swords while third held the GamePad up to look around and shoot a bow and arrow by pulling on the right analog stick and letting it go. The sword gameplay borrows heavily from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword as enemies held their shields in certain ways to encourage you to swing around them.
Donkey Kong’s Crash Course is an amusing little single-player game that has a little trolley car racing around a course as you tilt the GamePad from side to side. Neat game that looks like it would be fun to go back to and try to beat your best time or a friend’s.
Takamaru’s Ninja Castle is the throwing star shooting gallery game where you hold the GamePad long ways pointed at the screen and swipe your fingers out to throw ninja stars. Again, another game that looks like it would get repeated play.
Project P-100
Project P-100 is the working title for Platinum Games’ superhero game meets Pikmin and I hope they come up with a real title that fits its quirky and unique nature soon. You play a superhero defending the Earth from an alien invasion and you get stronger as you recruit more citizens to follow you as new superheroes. Making certain gestures on the touchscreen turns your followers into super-powered weapons like a fist, sword and gun for powerful attacks. The controls to gather followers and confirm your super-attack felt a little cumbersome but didn’t take too much away from my enjoyment. The real downer was the load times.
Rayman Legends
I don’t know how Rayman Legends will play out in single-player but the co-op mode with one player controlling Rayman and another controlling Murfy using the GamePad’s touchscreen was a blast. This was the one title I played at the show that made full use of the touchscreen as I tapped the screen to collect items or get rid of enemies, tilted it to move obstacles, swiped to shoot dragons and more while my son darted through the levels using the new Wii U Pro Controller. It was my favorite experience of the event and Ubisoft really did an amazing job with the graphics.
ZombiU
While I didn’t get to go directly hands-on with ZombiU, just watching it while waiting for Rayman Legends made it my second favorite title of the event and put it on my must buy list. It reminded me a little of Doom 3 as players slowly moved down the dark hallways of a hospital while shining a flashlight and suddenly getting rushed by zombies. The use of the GamePad was creative as the on-screen character would rummage through their backpack when the player used the touchscreen to access their inventory or to access a door. Those playing looked very tense as the overwhelming sense of isolation made them wary of getting attacked at any moment. In fact, that happened to one player who was going through his backpack only to be surprised when a zombie started gnawing on his leg which ended his play time.
What my 10 year old thought
Of the games my son played, Nintendo Land’s Zelda: Battle Quest was his favorite followed closely by Rayman Legends, New Super Mario Bros. U and Project P-100. Sadly, we ran out of time to try the rest of the titles.
He though the Wii U GamePad was neat because it actually had thumbsticks and the touchscreen was “cool.” Playing as the archer in Nintendo Land’s Zelda: Battle Quest was his favorite use of the controller as he enjoyed holding the GamePad up to look around, aim and shoot. Using the GamePad to place blocks and push back Goombas, Koopa Troopas and Piranha Plants in New Super Mario Bros. U was his second favorite. This was better than the co-op option for Super Mario Galaxy 2 in his opinion.
I asked him probably the toughest question of all though when I asked if he would play the Wii U over the Xbox 360. He was eager to pick the Wii U at first until I reminded him that he wouldn’t get to play Halo 4 and Transformers: Fall of Cybertron on the Wii U. He suddenly got wide-eyed and clammed up as the realization of what he said dawned on him and changed his answer to “no comment.”
He’s taken to playing games on our iPad so the touchscreen and controller combo of the GamePad clearly held his interest.
Wrapping it up
I liked the Wii U GamePad and thought games like Project P-100, ZombiU, Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros. U did a good job making use of its abilities. It sat comfortably in my hands though looking up and down between the GamePad and the main screen for certain titles is going to take some getting used to. While I feel better about the Wii U after my experience, I still hope that Nintendo releases it for less than $300 to be competitive against current and next-gen consoles. However, it looks like the biggest question in my house is going to be, “Who gets to hold the GamePad?”
I want to close by saying thank you to all the Nintendo employees that worked the Wii U Experience. They were all friendly, helpful and full of energy; even the poor soul who had to act like a carnival barker to get people to try Wii Fit U.
http://www.examiner.com/article/wii-u-hands-on-impressions-from-wii-u-experience-atlanta-event
So the verdict is in. Ninja Gaiden 3 is apparently still rubbish. Nintendo Land is better than we could have imagined. P-100 has long load times....I that something I do not like.
