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Post by reaper on Nov 19, 2012 12:05:04 GMT -5
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Post by fatty on Nov 19, 2012 14:39:28 GMT -5
My brother ending up taking the plunge and went to Walmart 3 ½ hours before midnight to secure a Wii U Deluxe bundle. After enduring another 3 quarters of the Chiefs game on Sunday (why do I keep doing this to myself, might end up like this guy), I headed over to his house to play the Wii U. Besides the included Nintendoland, he picked up NSMBU and Assassin’s Creed 3. Add my other brother and two friends and we had five people playing. Impressions of the GamepadGamepad was lighter than I thought it would be, not bad in that it felt cheap, but just lighter. Front of the pad was a gloss finish which picked up fingerprints easily but the back where the triggers were and most of your hand was touching was matte and felt nice. Screen resolution was really clear and vibrant, looked nicer than I expected. Tested out Netflix a bit. I wanted to see how easy it was to switch between the gamepad and TV screen. Very slick, seemed to be instantaneous. When watching the movie on the TV screen the gamepad displayed basic info about the movie. Tested out range as well. My brother had the gamepad and went up one floor to let the dog out while the rest of us played against him with the wii remotes in the basement and there were no issues. But he did mention that he did have to stick to the same room directly above or the range would be lost. NintendolandDisclaimer, even though it proved to be huge hit/system seller for the Wii I did not like Wii Sports. It was too simplistic and I felt it was just something where I could show the system to my parents, non-gamers, etc. Going in I was expecting basically more of the same for Nintendoland, too. Mario minigame – I can’t remember the name but this is the one where one person is Mario and uses the gamepad to escape the other players playing Toad (up to four). Basically like Pac Man versus on Gamecube except the gamepad is now the Gameboy Advance. I liked this one better because everyone was more involved and vocal trying to work together to hunt down Mario. You might already know but each level is divided in four quadrants identified by color. So all of the people playing Toad were yelling “Yellow, top floor, now center, he’s going to red…no back to yellow, middle!! Middle!!”. Add to that that each Toad player has the ability to dive and try to tackle Mario, so seeing Mario trying his best to dodge and play mind games with his pursuers was hilarious. There are three levels to choose from, one with mud and one with slides which adds more obstacles to work for or against you, and there is always the star power that pops up in the middle periodically for Mario to use. Each level also has a replay so you can see the path that everyone ran (think of the overhead map display on a Mario Kart game) and the close calls with Mario when trying to dodge or getting caught. Had a lot of fun with it, and one of the touches that I think Nintendo is known for is using that camera on the gamepad, so we are seeing on the TV screen the expression of the guy controlling Mario as we chase him down, it had us cracking up. Animal Crossing minigame – Again I don’t remember the name but with this one the person using the gamepad controls two gatekeepers, one with each analog stick, so keep that in mind as that can get kind of tricky. The rest of us had to pick up 40 pieces of candy in a certain amount of time. The kick is that some of the candy had to drop from trees that would require one, two or three people to activate them at once, waiting for a few seconds. When the gatekeepers were chasing you…not so easy. What makes things even harder is that the more candy you carry, the slower you walk (and the bigger your head gets which is pretty funny). So we tried to develop different schemes, try to get someone to distract the gatekeepers while the others gather the candy. Of the games that I played this I think was the game that provided the most challenge for the people using the wii-remotes. We only got three lives between everyone so it was pretty tricky. Luigi’s Mansion – Unlike the Mario minimage, this time the tables were turned since the gamepad user was the ghost and the other four with the flash lights were the hunted. Only way you could see the ghost was if you used your flashlight, the ghost was trying to use his special ability or if the occasional lightning strike lit up the room. Using the flashlights also used up precious battery life so you had be selective when using them. What made the game so tense is that your wii remote would vibrate as the ghost got closer, the closer he got the more intense the vibration. So it was embarrassing to admit that you had four grown men last night acting like big babies because they were trying to get away from a ghost at the same time trying to find it. And once someone gets tagged by the ghost he is unconscious till someone revives him (and it takes a bit of time and precious battery life). On one of the levels there is conveyor belts, and the player playing the ghost ends up knocking out three of us, and they are just laying there. I was the last one left and there was no way I would be able to revive any of the guys since the ghost was now only focusing on me. “Oh crap, I’m a goner”. I start to panic just flinging my flashlight in every direction as the wii remote starting vibrating. “AAgghh”. I was dead and the ghost won, everyone just lay there lifeless, some of the bodies being moved around by the conveyor belt (it looked pretty funny). There were some other games that we played, but those were the three that stood out the most. Some of the others were OK, but since my one of my brothers kept skipping past the instructions we were trying to figure things out on the way which didn’t help. I think I need more time spent with them to give them a fair assessment. I will say that these are the types of minigames that I like playing. Reminds me of the fun I had with friends playing games like Bomberman and that competitive streak came out again. Individually the games aren’t deep enough to stand on their own but as a package I think it delivers. I probably spent about 3 hours on Nintendoland, not nearly enough time to play everything but I did get a good feel for some of the games. But because of all the time we spent with it the time with the other games suffered. New Super Mario Bros UTo be fair, we only had time to play 3 levels. It felt just like you would expect, not a lot different from NSMB on the Wii. But I would also say the same thing in regards to the latest Call of Duty’s and Halo’s. On the surface not too different and without spending more time unfortunately I can’t say much. With the little bit that I did play, it made me want to go and finish NSMB with my son. We cut the gametime short to pop in Assassin’s Creed III but by the time all the opening cinematics and tutorials got going I had to leave. After playing the system, I think I will look to purchase the system sooner rather than later. With that backlog, I still need to play some of those games first. But the system definitely has a lot of potential, especially for ‘hardcore’ games. That screen is so slick. ZombieU kind of intrigued me but never enough to where I would want to buy it and from reviews I guess it is not so hot (and I can't see the review reaper posted yet but I'm guessing it isn't too favorable either). It will be interesting to see some of the first unique experiences coming out for this system.
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Post by oldskoolboarder on Nov 19, 2012 16:19:53 GMT -5
Those are interesting mini-games. Thanks for the assessment. I didn't touch those at the Wii U event.
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Post by reaper on Nov 20, 2012 7:19:58 GMT -5
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Post by fatty on Nov 20, 2012 21:17:53 GMT -5
Pretty neat video on how the gamepad is being used for Black Ops 2 on the Wii U: Those are interesting mini-games. Thanks for the assessment. I didn't touch those at the Wii U event. I think you would have a great time playing it with the kids. My kids love Wii Party (bleh). Right now I only play NSMB, Little Big Planet and Castle Crashers with them so I'm looking forward to getting to play this with everyone.
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Post by dschroll on Nov 20, 2012 22:22:57 GMT -5
Great impressions fatty! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm still gonna hold off until rev 2 I think (or unless a must have game comes out). But I'm eager to read more impressions from people here who get some time with it. Jincman has one, but is still torn on whether to keep it or sell it, so its still sealed. Ugh....I don't know if I could have such will power.
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Post by dschroll on Nov 22, 2012 1:37:56 GMT -5
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Post by oldskoolboarder on Nov 23, 2012 0:17:46 GMT -5
Got mine yesterday. I was debating whether to get the Pro controller but didn't see any sales. Waiting till Xmas morning so the 'kids' can open it. I may have to crack open the games tho so I can get the bonus Club Nintendo points...
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Post by UsualNoise on Nov 25, 2012 21:32:56 GMT -5
Anyone even getting one of these on release day? I'm not, probably will wait for the first price drop, whenever that is. I'm a lying liar. I was grocery shopping in the local Walmart and saw a single deluxe Wii U sitting on the shelf. I caved. I'm so weak. Well, that plus my daughter has been talking about the new Scribblenauts game all the time, so I figured it would be a cool surprise. She's been playing it for like 3 straight hours. It is a pretty fun game for creative kids as you can customize pretty much anything to all sorts of wacky specs. The other game I played was Mario Bros, and it was pretty much what I expected. One cool thing is that my daughter, who isn't as experieced at the platforming games, was able to use the gamepad to do "boost" mode, which means she could create platforms, unlock stuff seen only by her, and various other things. A nice option that keeps a child occupied, but doesn't require them to actually control a character. Anyway, by way of warning, the first system update is a doozy. It took roughly 45 minutes to an hour. I couldn't believe how long it took. Nothing like getting set to play and then waiting for an hour. Also, an AV setup issue: there is no way to send video out via HDMI and audio out via the standard AV cable. This sucks, as my upstairs setup relies on doing just that (and both the XBox and PS3 allow it). I'm hoping Nintendo allows it via an update in the future, but I'm not holding my breath.
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Post by UsualNoise on Nov 25, 2012 21:35:18 GMT -5
One other thing - this thing is GLOSSY black. Just as bad as the original PS3. It will NOT be good for fingerprints.
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Post by oldskoolboarder on Nov 26, 2012 0:44:23 GMT -5
One other thing - this thing is GLOSSY black. Just as bad as the original PS3. It will NOT be good for fingerprints. Why is that a problem? Are you holding it like a DS? ;D
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Post by UsualNoise on Nov 26, 2012 1:08:27 GMT -5
Ha ha. No, but I move my Wii back and forth ALL THE TIME between floors, and will likely do the same for the Wii U. It will not be looking brand new for long, I tell ya!
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Post by fatty on Nov 26, 2012 8:37:30 GMT -5
Anyone even getting one of these on release day? I'm not, probably will wait for the first price drop, whenever that is. I'm a lying liar. I was grocery shopping in the local Walmart and saw a single deluxe Wii U sitting on the shelf. I caved. I'm so weak. HA! Two and a half down (not sure if Jincman ever kept his yet). How much longer till the next one here caves in??
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Post by oldskoolboarder on Nov 26, 2012 10:45:19 GMT -5
I missed that on UsualNoise. Ha, this is getting comical.
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Post by reaper on Nov 26, 2012 11:01:09 GMT -5
I'm a lying liar. I was grocery shopping in the local Walmart and saw a single deluxe Wii U sitting on the shelf. I caved. I'm so weak. HA! Two and a half down (not sure if Jincman ever kept his yet). How much longer till the next one here caves in?? Trying... to... resist. Must... stay... strong.
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Post by reaper on Nov 26, 2012 11:03:31 GMT -5
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Post by dschroll on Nov 26, 2012 12:22:00 GMT -5
I'm a lying liar. I was grocery shopping in the local Walmart and saw a single deluxe Wii U sitting on the shelf. I caved. I'm so weak. HA! Two and a half down (not sure if Jincman ever kept his yet). How much longer till the next one here caves in?? Jincman still has his, but hasn't opened it yet. He's still torn on what to do. I think he'll keep it though as a Christmas present for himself I actually got to play a Wii U at Best Buy this weekend. They had Rayman set up as the demo and I had to try it. I will say the graphics in the game looked gorgeous. Man, is it nice to see a nintendo console outputting HD graphics. The controller felt good in your hands overall. Very comfortable. I wish there was a tad more resistance on the analog sticks, but that may be due to them being heavily abused at the Best Buy. The controller was very light, even with a cable attached to it to keep people from stealing it. I kinda wish it was a tad heavier to feel like it had more of a quality feel. Not to say its not a quality controller, but it just ddn't have the heft that I would associate with a quality item (i.e. my wife's galaxy s3 feels lighter than my iphone 5, so it feels cheap by comparison). The touchscreen thing worked out pretty well. There was one section in Rayman where you assist Rayman in the game by interfacing with the touchscreen. I held the controller and let my 3 year old daughter try it out and she was figuring it out. That certainly made me happy that now she can participate on these types of games as its much easier for her to have that touch interface than pressing a specific button to do a specific action. I didn't get to see or try any other games, as my play session was very brief. But, I liked what I've seen so far. Not enough that I'm convinced I'll buy one if I see it on a store shelf. But enough to get me more excited about the prospect of buying one Enjoy UsualNoise. I look forward to reading more about you and your family's feedback with the system.
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Post by oldskoolboarder on Nov 26, 2012 13:42:24 GMT -5
ARRRRRRRGGGGHHH!!!!!
I forgot the Gold Nunchuck went back on Club Nintendo today. I have the points. HOWEVER, I'm only 180 away from Gold status. I haven't put in the points for the Wii U or the 2 games I got w/ it. I could wait till I get home but I'm sure it'll be gone by then. I think I'd rather go for Gold status though. Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll come back.
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Post by UsualNoise on Nov 26, 2012 14:07:49 GMT -5
My daughter has been playing Scribblenauts nonstop. I'm going to have to cut her off soon (she's homeschooled, which allows for VERY flexible scheduling). The coolest thing ever: I have the Wii U hooked up downstairs but she's playing it upstairs on the gamepad (it has a "TV Off" option right in the game). Lots of power savings since the projector & receiver don't need to be on.
Regardless of the bad operating system (I've read TONS of negative feedback but haven't used it enough to comment), once you are playing a game it is smooth. For games that support separate gamepad play it's like you've gotten a DS XL + extra circle pad + DS game ... for free! From that standpoint, the Wii U is pretty cool. Also, you can turn on & off the Wii U from the gamepad so you don't even need to be in the room (if you have the game you want in the console).
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Post by dschroll on Nov 26, 2012 14:09:23 GMT -5
Wait. what are you talking about? You can use points to buy stuff without it affecting your status.
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