Monday 19 November 2012

Wii U: Rise of the Second Screen.

Nintendo released their new console, the Wii U, in America yesterday and reviews have been flooding in left right and center! Unfortunately Europe won't be seeing a release for 2 weeks so doing a full review won't really be possible on this blog yet. So, in order to celebrate the release of the Wii U I thought I'd do a small summary of the new features available with the console, as well as a list of release titles



The Gamepad



The most obvious, and most interesting, new feature of the Wii U is the Gamepad. The adds a whole new dimension to gaming, it creates a new window into the game, removing the barrier between the remote and the TV. It might take some getting used to, but it looks like it could be brilliant. With it's ~6 inch LCD touchscreen, and analog controls it sort of looks like a one screened DS. It includes a camera, a microphone, motion control, speaker, rumble support, a stylus and Near Field Communication (this makes it possible to read certain items, such as special cards). It's possibly the most sophisticated remote control ever designed (no throwing this one down in a fit of rage when you fall down the same hole in Mario for the 5th time). You might just think this is just a DS tacked onto a Wii, and less of a new console and more of an upgrade. You couldn't be more wrong. Imagine if you extended your top screen to the size of your TV, gave it HD support, and detached the bottom screen and you could interact with the top screen no matter where you were in the room. That's what this is. It add's a sense of freedom to the idea of two screens, and opens up a whole new niche for gaming (just think what motion control brought to the consoles).

The new hardware



Although the new console just looks like a slimmer version of the Wii, it's a whole different beast inside. The Wii U now supports 1080p video, which puts it on hi-def par with the 360 and PS3. This is fantastic, it means we finally get to see Zelda and Mario in all their high definition glory. It's been classified as the first 8th gen console (WE'RE IN THE NEXT GEN, PEOPLE) and has pre-sold out everywhere. Just like when the Wii first came out, it's going to be difficult to get your paws on one for a few weeks unless you pre-ordered.

Prestigious and anticipated titles released with Wii U 


 

ZombiU, Nintendo Land and Super Mario U are ones I am really looking forward to playing. This will be the first HD Mario game to be released, and I'm interested to see how well the WiiU pad is intergrated. Nintendo Land is sort of the "Wii Sports" of this console, showing off the new features in addictive mini-games. ZombiU is a zombie game more focused more on survival than slaughtering zombies, an interesting approach!

Full list of Wii U titles (Exclusive's in italics)

  • Assassin's Creed 3
  • Batman: Arkham City - Armored Edition
  • Ben 10: Omniverse
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
  • Chasing Aurora
  • Darksiders 2
  • Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
  • Funky Barn
  • Game Party Champions
  • Just Dance 4
  • Little Inferno (eShop)
  • Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition (eShop)
  • Nano Assault Neo (eShop)
  • NBA 2K13
  • New Super Mario Bros. U
  • Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge
  • Nintendo Land
  • Puddle (eShop)
  • Rabbids Land
  • SiNG Party
  • Skylanders Giants
  • Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
  • Tank! Tank! Tank!
  • Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Wii U Edition
  • Transformers Prime: The Game
  • Trine 2: Director's Cut (eShop)
  • Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper
  • Wipeout 3
  • Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013
  • ZombiU

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