Just got back from the Atlanta WiiU Experience. Had a fun time, most everybody seemed to have a blast.
Anticipation going in (for games available to play):
1. ZombiU (played single/multi)
2. P-100 (didn't play)
3. NSMBWiiU (played with Gamerpad and wiimote)
4. NintendoLand (played three minigames)
5. Arkham City (didn't play)
6. Pikimin 3 (played)
7. Rayman Legends (played with Gamerpad)
8. Game & Wario (didn't play)
9. Wii Fit U (didn't play)
10. Ninja Gaiden 3 (didn't play)
11. Just dance 4 (didn't play)
12. SiNG (didn't play)
Note: Scribblenaut, AC3, Mass Effect 3, etc. not available to play.
Gamerpad: felt comfortable, lighter then expected. The back buttons are nicely placed, and the controller just felt right inside my hands. Touchscreen was surprisingly very responsive to fingers, in fact I did not see one demo using the stylus.
CCPro: Felt like a 360 controller without clickable sticks(?).
Overall, I had zero problems with controls at the events, and everything I played felt surprisingly intuitive.
ZombiU (single-player): I was really shocked at how easy the section seemed to be. I breezed through the Nusery, mostly without bullets and a cricket bat. In fact, I killed the Nusery 'boss' with two bullets and tons of whacks from said bat. I only had two bullets because they seem to be very scarce, and so are weapons. You die with one bite, but you have two injections (per character) that will kill a zombie if he grabs you (as long as you press the proper button in time). No idea if you can collect more or not. I would like to add that I had already seen a full walk-through of this stage before, and the mumbled sound really took away from the atmosphere/scares. As for controls, the touchscreen worked really well with the fingers, and the need to constantly switch back and forth made for some tense moments. The game controls were extremely intuitive, and I had the hang of them within a minute. Overall, ZombiU seems to have a ton of potential.
ZombiU (multi-player): I only got the chance to play with the CC Pro/Human, and while the mode was fun, it seemed to lack much depth. You are in a fairly small area, and you have to capture the flags before the Zombie creator does. Maybe the guy I was playing against sucked, but I breezed through each zone (even without inverted Y-axis....ugh) and completed my task within ten minutes. I would of liked to get a go at the Gamerpad, but time had ran out. :/
P-100: They only had one station up, and the line was fricken crazy long at all-times besides the beginning (while I was playing ZombiU right next to it). At one point I was waiting in line for it, but I saw that NintendoLand had opened up and I had at least four people in front of me, so I dashed over there instead. Everybody I talked to had no fucking idea what it was, but enjoyed it immensely. The graphics looked surprisingly good, and the game looked like it was neat. Wish I could of played it. :/
NSMBWiiU: It's NSMBWii with awesome backgrounds.... and touch platforms. As always, 2D Mario was a joy to play, and had by far the longest line. There was a crowd around both stations the whole two hours. I didn't get to play in the tournaments, but I did get some time with the Gamerpad. It seemed to me that the touch platforms could be used to make some amazing speedruns, and elsewhere could be fun for someone who can't handle actually playing Mario.
NintendoLand:
Luigi's Mansion - A better version of Pac-Man Vs. I only got to play as the ghost, but sneaking up on people and being able to drag their bodies around to set up other players is evil... and genius. Everybody I was playing with was laughing their heads off, and it seemed to be a really popular game at the event.
Animal Crossing - Basically Chase Me, but a bit deeper. Played both the runners and the guards. As runners, you really have to work with your teammates because the guards have a huge advantage. Runners are so simple to play, but being able to drop fruit to outrun/escape guards only to swoop back around to pick them up later was grin inducing. As Guards, you are bad-asses. You can trap the little runners like mouses, and it's easy to do with some proper planning. I was surprised how easy it was to control two different characters with each analog. Other games should try and use this technique. Anyways, I beat the runners within 30 seconds because they were all gathered at a three-button-fruit tree and I surrounded them before they knew what was coming. No stolen fruit on my watch!
Donkey Kong - Played in a tourney, got three chances to reach the princess. I was the first one to play, so I messed up pretty badly the first two times, but I still had a good time with it overall. Seems like a neat sidescrolling version of something like Korniopa, which I dug. The controls are very sensitive, and you have to keep a certain speed/angle for all different kinds of slopes, or otherwise you will hit a wall or tilt over like in Trails HD. No one ever made it to the princess, so the game was pretty hard.
Overall, I was really surprised at how fun NintendoLand was. It's not Wii Sports, but everybody I saw playing looked to be having a great time. As a bundled game, I do think it could move some consoles. I saw the Zelda Quest which looked badass (combination of Swordplay in Wii Sports and Archery), but I didn't get to play. :/
Arkham City: I saw a bunch of people playing it, never got my hands on it though. Arkham City was my GOTY last year, and this version looked basically identical (graphically and content-wise), but the gadget menu being on the Gamerpad could help make it a smoother experience. I did see some gyro controls that looked a bit shoehorned into the gameplay, but overall it looked like a good port.
Pikimin 3: My game of the show. This is the one game that made me want to put my money down for a WiiU NOW! And you know what? I don't even particularly like the previous Pikimin games. I thought they were fine games, but had clumsy execution through the gamecube controller and lack of proper hardware for such a game. Pikimin 3 solves both of these problems. You have an overhead map on the gamerpad (which is propped up right in front of you with a stand) and wiimotion+ along with the nuncuck to control Olimar/the Pikimin. The whole experience just felt so intuitive, like the game was MEANT to be played this way. I can't even put it fully into words, but this game sold me on what Nintendo is trying to do with the WiiU. The combination of all these controls methods so wonderfully weaved together creates an experience that cannot be replicated anywhere else. A hardcore experience that HAS to be experienced on WiiU.
Rayman Legends: My surprise of the show. Legends looked absolutely wonderful. To be frank, it made NSMBWiiU look bad. The Gamerpad controls also made NSMBWiiU's touchpad functions look like a joke. There is so much you can do here (from creating platforms, collecting items, tilting platforms, sling-shooting items at monsters, playing a fricken musical sidescrolling level, and unleashing traps on monsters) that it almost felt like its own game. Origins is a good game (though I have some personal problems with it), but Legends felt like a step above in every single way. I could only imagine playing this on five players, what a blast that would be!
Note: The Rep said the game can only be played with two or more players (don't know how reliable she is). But, the gamerpad controls are so in depth I really can't imagine how you could play the game WITHOUT some on controlling the helper. Maybe we were playing special stages, but I can't help but wonder if somehow, in some crazy way, Legends isn't single-player compatible. And if so, I can't see how any other platform could totally replicate the experience found here single-handily (you would need two Vitas, two 3DSes, Wii and 3DS, Ps3 and Vita, or Smartglass with the 360).
Game & Wario: Literally saw nothing of this game, and it had the shortest line of the show.
WiiFit U: I saw some brief glimpses of some of the games, which all honestly looked like fun. One had you walking on the balance board while balancing a try (the gamerpad) with food on top, trying to serve people without dropping anything. The other ones were a trampoline game with the Gamerpad set on the ground to aim your fall/create the illusion of going higher, and a bobsleding-like game only using the balance board. Once again, looked like fun, and everybody who played it was extremely sweaty after.
Ninja Gaiden 3: Had the second shortest line, the graphics looked pretty darn good. Didn't get a chance to see how the game really controlled, but I talked to a guy who said it was actually a pretty enjoyable experience.
Just Dance 4 and SiNG: These were in separate rooms, with a handful of people playing each at all times. I didn't get to see much, but I heard a lot of cheering.
Overall:
WiiU seems to be a system with a ton of potential, and a good launch line-up for casual gamers and Nintendo fans. Like the generation before, the WiiU will no doubt be the king of local multiplayer. It also looks to have the potential to be a better Wii in every way, with great Nintendo games (like expected) and some nice third party titles along the way. That's all I'm currently expecting after my WiiU experience, and anything else would be gravy for me.
Anticipation coming out (for games that were available to play):
1. Pikimin 3
2. Rayman Legends
3. Nintendoland
4. ZombiU
5. P-100
6. NSMBWiiU
7. Arkham City
8. Wii Fit U
9. Ninja Gaiden 3
10. Game & Wario
11. Just Dance 4
12. SiNG
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, Will schon bei allen games erfolge sammeln können .
