Wii U
Before I start this thread, I just want to say let's try to avoid having this thread turn into a console war. Saying things like "there aren't any Wii U games that interest me yet" or "I probably won't pick one up, since I'm not a Nintendo fan," is alright. Things like "this is going to be another Dreamcast scenario," "Nintendo keeps going downhill," or "The Wii U is already failing miserably" however, won't be. Let's all try to keep an open mind and be optimistic about Nintendo's new console. Even Sony is being nice and optimistic about it, and they're one of Nintendo's top competitors. I'll admit myself that the console has some flaws like slow loading times, but compared to all the new features the Wii U has that no other console does, that's nothing. Anyways...
Has anyone gottena Wii U yet? If not, do you plan on getting one later on?
I got mine yesterday. I got lucky on my first store visit and got one from Future Shop. I couldn't help but feel bad getting one knowing that so many people are wanting a Wii U and I kind of took one away from them. The Future Shop lady was really nice and said I shouldn't worry about that. I talked to this guy at Future Shop that said that he checked Wal-Mart (which was all sold out), Toys R Us (which only had Wii U's to satisfy pre-orders, and even then there weren't enough), and Superstore (which didn't even have any yet). When he asked for a Wii U, the lady said she'd check but she couldn't guarantee that she could get him one (they only had 14 "on-shelf" Wii U's).
Anyways, the console itself is just slightly larger than the Wii. With both consoles standing up, they're about the same height (but that's because the Wii's stand gives it ~1.5 inches in height) while lengthwise the Wii U is ~2 inches longer. This is taking into account the Wii's front and not the whole console since on its stand the Wii is tilted so the front is higher than the back. The Gamepad is lighter than expected, like a lot of other people said. The span of the Gamepad is pretty big and feels kind of awkward at first, but you get used it it after the first 10-15 minutes. The interface and menus for the Wii U is really easy to use and navigating menus and typing in text/passwords with the touchscreen is really easy and straightforward.
As for the games, I got New Super Mario Bros. U, Nintendo Land, and Scribblenauts Unlimited. I know most people think Nintendo has gone overboard with NSMB, but seeing how they've only released one New Super Mario Bros. game per console (like Mario Kart, which most people don't complain about and in fact people expect), I wouldn't go complaining yet.
Anyways, the level design has actually changed quite a bit and is much more involving and chaotic than past NSMB games, especially with the enemy density and a majority of levels being really dynamic with platforms and floors shifting a lot more than in past installments. Although this sounds like it makes multiplayer bad, they balance it out quite well by providing plenty of power ups and 1UPs to counteract damage taken and lives lost (way more than past NSMB games, but given the hecticness of the levels, it's understandable). The Wii U Gamepad's boost mode isn't just a gimmick, it's really involving for the Gamepad player, giving them roles like stopping enemies from raining down spike balls on players (which saved my brothers and I from a world of pain), saving players from falling into pits (which happens quite often due to the chaoticness of the levels as I mentioned before), and getting hard to reach 3UP moons, which will only show up if you have a Gamepad player using boost mode effectively. Yeah, the general formula is the same as NSMB games, but the level design that jampacks the levels with enemies, powerups, and secrets, never leaving a dull moment which makes this Mario installment feel quite fresh.
Nintendo Land, I've only played three of the minigames: Mario Chase, Luigi's Mansion, and Pikmin Adventure. Mario Chase is really simple, yet really fun. A lot of people say that, I know, but you won't know what I mean until you've played it. All the screaming and excitement that you get when the Mario Mii is in your sight and you're chasing him down, all the planning that happens after the Mario Mii escapes, the thrill of finding the Mario Mii and homing in on him, it's so much fun. Luigi's Mansion is also riduculously fun, especially when the mansion explorers start to get picked off by the ghost. It gets so much more thrilling and exciting since you can revive picked off people, but it costs you flashlight power which leaves you vulnerable for the ghost. The aforementioned screaming and excitement feeling also applies to Luigi's Mansion, but it's more of a strategical excitement than a action excitement. Pikmin Adventure, I only tried the first co-op level (and a competitive match), so I can't accurately judge. It was kind of fun, but not as fun as the other two aforementioned games.
Scribblenauts Unlimited I only did the firehouse and museum levels. It's as fun as the DS version, but I can't really accurately judge since I only did two levels (and I didn't even use the Object Creator, the game's main attraction). All I can say is, if you're aiming for Starrites, don't let other players take control of dangerous created objects. Even creating a bug for my siblings to play as backfired on me when one of my younger brothers killed a fireman with the bug. Though I'll admit, it was kind of fun seeing my brothers wreak chaos as objects like wrenches (as in, my brother was the wrench), campfires, speakers, crickets, crates, and the like. Pillows seem to be the only safe object that you can't kill people with so far.
I briefly went on the Miiverse, and I have to say, seeing what casual gamers have to say about other games is really nice and enjoyable. Although many people see the heavy moderation of the Miiverse as a bad thing, I think it's really great. In a world where you can't go to any online community without flaming, game/game company/game series bashing, opinion bashing, and the like, it's really nice to have at least one online community that's free of all that. I only checked comments about New Super Mario Bros. U, and all of them were clean, optimistic, and in no way could offend anyone. It was an extremely nice change of pace from what I've come to expect from every online community.
Overall, I have to say the Wii U is pretty amazing and it really does give a whole new gaming experience with the Wii U Gamepad.
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Originally Posted by Bolivar
