Best looking Wii U game to date?

[curl-6]

Samus Aran said:

curl-6 said:

I thought there were a few rough spots in TF as well; the particle effects for things like splashes and enemy deaths were Wii-caliber, for instance.

As for lighting and shading, stuff like the rainy stages and the first Bowser fight with the setting sun producing light shafts in 3D World, or the luminous glow of N64 Rainbow Road in MK8, show that such techniques can be used to create a sense of depth and impact that TF did not have in my view. In fact, one of the few levels in TF that actually uses lighting in an interesting way, Amiss Abyss, gives a teasing insight into how the game could have looked better if more levels used this approach.

Don't get me wrong, it's a visually pleasing game, and I agree in that there wasn't a single level I'd call ugly, I just feel that with a system of Wii U's power they could have gone further. Perhaps, like many other great studios, Retro hit the stumbling block of debut HD development.

When I first played the Rocket Barrel level in world 5 I went: "wow, I want a 3D DK platformer right now!)

The only complaint I have is that the dynamic camera was underused. Another wow factor for me was in the mine kart level of world 4 when you're descending down the underwater tubular cave. In fact, I thought the lighting in that level was top notch as well. 

I wasn't annoyed by the death animation of enemies, they were purely intended to be cartoony, not to be a technical marvel. 

I too was impressed by those levels, but more  from a gameplay perspective.

And I didn't mean the actual death animations, I meant like the particle clouds of dust/feathers left behind, which look almost identical to in DKCR.

I completely agree about Metroid Prime 3 though. Hell, even at 480p I find it more visually pleasing that the majority of PS3/360/Wii U games. It may not have all the advanced shaders in the world, but the way it captures varying alien cultures through the geometry of their architecture is amazing.