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    Nintendo Wii U

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by ocre

    Don't forget the blue drink that was nasty as hell.

    Blegh. I figured 'berry lemonade' would taste better than green apple soda. I was so wrong.

    @2manygentlemen I appreciate your appreciation!

    Nintendo Wii U

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by ocre

    I recently got a hands on with the Wii U GamePad and Pro Controller to play a few Wii U games last Thursday at Nintendo's Wii U Experience in Austin.

    I played Rayman Legends, New Super Mario Bros U, Pikmin 3, a couple of NintendoLand games and ZombiU (Project P-100, Batman Arkham City, Wii Fit U, Game and Wario and Ninja Gaiden 3 were there too but time didn't permit me to play them - Game and Wario had as long a line as Pikmin 3 and it took like 18 minutes to get to play that one.)

    Anyway, some impressions on the controllers: I was VERY pleased with the GamePad and Pro Controllers. They feel light (but not cheap) and the button and stick placement is as easily adapted to as Nintendo's controllers always have been. Everything feels natural and the screen on the Wii U GamePad feels smooth and solid (I was afraid it would have a cheap feel- it feels very similar to a 3DS screen.)

    Rayman Legends has been elevated from "will probably get" to "definitely want it on launch" for me, after demoing a stage. It's really gorgeous (even moreso than Origins) and the co-op play (I had my brother using the GamePad while I played as Rayman on the Pro Controller, and we switched so I got to use the GamePad to control the flying assistant fairy Murphy) is quite fun and involved. As Murphy you can cut ropes, turn handles, manipulate the level to find secrets and you can highlight the games collectibles to make them worth more points. Admittedly - and maybe it's because the venue was so chaotic - at first you don't know what in the environment you can manipulate, outside of the obvious cranks and ropes, but I'm sure with more time, everything would've been clear in no time.

    NSMBU, in the interest of having as many people play it at once, was played in 5-player mode (4 people with Wii Remotes, 1 with GamePad) and with so many people playing, it was harder than I'm used to my Mario games being. Thankfully I'll be playing in 1 player most of the time, when I do get the game. Anyway, we were playing on the "rotating star platorms" level - I was immediately taken aback at how "heavy" Mario feels, though that may have been because I hadn't played a 2D Mario game since NSMB DS -there was a lot of dying among all involved, but I managed to be the only one still alive at the end of the level. I didn't get to play this one with the GamePad (placing blocks doesn't sound too interesting to me) but the player with the GamePad saved me from dying a few times, which was cool. Remembering that this game will be one of the ones you can play on the GamePad without the TV, and the fact that we haven't seen everything the game has to offer, keeps me interested in getting it at launch.

    Pikmin 3 was playable in two modes - a 'time attack' mode where you have to collect fruit (which I strongly doubt will be the campaigns collectible du jour) and dead enemies against the clock - and a Boss Battle involving that giant millipede thing. I elected to play the time attack mode. I should note that they didn't allow us to use the GamePad to play this, instead they made us use a Wii Remote; I haven't played New Play Control Pikmin, but I assume the controls were the same, with the addition of a side-roll dodge move, which was kind of cool. The Nintendo rep showed me the map and replay functions that you can do with the GamePad, which were pretty cool. Since the vast majority of the main game is still a big secret, I'll still anxiously await getting my hands on the full retail version.

    I was able to play a couple of games from NintendoLand, the Zelda one and Takamaru's Ninja Castle. The Zelda one is an -on rails- 'adventure' where you and whoever you're playing with use your sword and shield to navigate an outdoor area and a 'dungeon'. This was played with the Wii Remote instead of the GamePad. The swordplay is similar to Skyward Sword, where enemies can block if you're not slicing at the right angle, and shieldplay is rather simplistic, basically you raise your shield when the enemy fires arrows at you. If you get hit by anything, it deducts a heart from you and your companions shared pool of life. We didn't make it to the end of the stage.

    Since the Nintendo reps were trying to get as many people to play as possible, they weren't demoing Takamaru's Ninja Castle BUT I was able to catch the NintendoLand couch at a lull and I asked if I could demo that one, and the rep allowed me to. The aiming is a bit more difficult than I was expecting, not by fault of the game design but just from the mechanics of physically aiming the GamePad. In the game, you rack up more points by throwing shuriken at the ninja enemies without missing any - the rep urged me not to haphazardly spam ninja stars, but it was difficult not to miss any without doing that. Of course, some portions of the minigame are easier if you take your time and aim carefully, for instance when the enemies throw their own stars at you. All in all, NintendoLand was alright. Not something I am expecting to go to the store and drop 60 dollars on, so hopefully it's a pack-in with the system at launch.

    Lastly, ZombiU. This was one of the titles I was really anxious to test out and see if it was going to be worth getting at launch but unfortunately the idiot representative didn't reset the game and made me play at some 'escape' portion of the game where the flashlight goes out every 5 seconds, and there's some kind of ghost zombie lady attacking you at random. I died within 4 minutes of 'playing'(more like stumbling around near an air condition vent, disoriented) and my turn was over, while the guy before me got a ton of time playing a more low-key stage.

    All in all, the event was a blast. They gave us custom Wii U lanyards with the state capitol building on it (quite classy), free drinks and snacks (a Wii U cookie and a Super Mushroom 'cakepop' on a stick). They had contests too but I didn't participate in those. My brother did take part in the Wii Fit U trampoline game contest but he got second place.

    Nintendo Wii U

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by ocre

    More than 2 months after E3, I'll be surprised if ANY of the big 3 companies manage to keep interest burning for the next-gen systems before all 3 of them launch.

    To be fair, we only have concrete details on one and the launch details will be revealed before the end of next month. The other two launch well into next year.

    All of Nintendo's energy right now should be behind the Wii U launch AND making sure there's a compelling line of games in the months following launch. You'd be pretty dumb to completely discount the double dose of opportunity both 2D Mario at launch and the Holiday alone offer up to the Wii U's chances.

    As for the other systems, at this moment, everyone is sure they are the 360/Kinect/PS3 on steroids. I won't comment on how much interest there is there, because there isn't any information to value that with any real meaning. Though I will say that people banking on hardware specs alone seem to be slow learners.

    Nintendo Wii U

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by ocre

    Okay, so these Wii games(yes this is on topic, as the Wii U has full BC) will be on sale at Best Buy from 8/12 - 8/18 for their big Games Blowout or whatever.

    - $4.99:

    Rhythm Heaven Fever

    - $9.99:

    Rayman Origins(for PS3 and 360 too), Kirby's Epic Yarn, Animal Crossing: City Folk & Wii Party

    Get on it, YOU CHEAPSKATES!

    Pokémon Conquest

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I don't think it's too shallow not to buy it and enjoy it, I just think it could be a bit more complex. To me, the game feels very much like an FFTA game but it falls short of that greatness by being a little limited. For instance, your Pokemon only have access to one attack. How cool would it have been if your Pokemon could learn more of the different moves from the main series games( even if they have to be tweaked ) so they could augment things like defense, movement range, attack range, attack power. In the released game the depth of the battling is little more than type advantages( a trademark of the original games, only simplified even further ) and often the single move your Pokemon has access to changes type/range when it evolves. Learning different moves as you increase your bond would've enabled your pokemon to be more versatile and would've added incentive to going for 100% bond rating. Toward the end, the battles felt less and less satisfying as I could just lay into the enemy with my evolved monsters. And collecting Items from treasure boxes wasn't ever any fun because of the weird item use system.

    Other than being a bit limited, the game was a joy to play. I like the detailed Pokemon sprites and animations and the music is great. I give the game an enthusiastic B+. ( I hope the next one is more like the FFTAs )

    3DS: Friend Codes on First Page, OMG THE THIRD DIMENSION

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by ocre

    PSA - Game of the Weekend

    Colors! 3D – This weekend's featured title is Colors! 3D, a powerful painting application that caters to everyone from serious artists to aimless doodlers (and allows you to create amazing 3D paintings as well as browse a gallery of other peoples works- with the ability to watch a replay of their painting process!). For a limited time, download this title from the Nintendo eShop at a discounted price of $3.99. Offer is valid from 9 a.m. Pacific time on Friday, July 27, through 9 p.m. Pacific time on Sunday, July 29. (For Nintendo 3DS)

    My first impressions can be read here.

    And there's an upcoming update that allows subscriptions to specific artists and adds a search function to the online gallery.

    New Final Fantasy VII PC Port is happening

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Square Enix have definitely been in a slump.

    People expect a true FFVII HD remake and the magically beautiful Luminous engine games to materialize when SE can't even deliver FFXIII Versus. How many years has it been since that's been announced? 6 years? Come on now. Can anyone pretend to care about that at this point?

    If I had a genie I would wish for Square to never have been Enixed.

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