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Events 2012: Wii U launch
Depending on who you ask, the next console generation may or may not have started this year. The confusion stems from the fact that this new console is the Nintendo Wii U, which, following the example of the Wii, innovates with a crazy new control method instead of pushing graphical capabilities far forward.Following its November 18 debut, the Wii U has enjoyed robust sales, though it doesn't appear to be the genuine cultural phenomenon the Wii was, which Nintendo was surely hoping for. On the upside, that means you can find one. Its launch was also marred by the need for a gigantic day-one patch which added all of the online functions, plus Wii backward compatibility.It's honestly too early to predict how the Wii U will affect the industry as a whole. Remember that it took the 3DS a year of near-death and a price drop to become a massive success. But as we go into 2013, you can read up on what we thought about the thing. Wii U review: Our comprehensive overview of the hardware itself found that the weird GamePad controller is a success, loaded with features, easy to use, and greatly enhancing the convenience of console gameplay, thanks to its built-in screen. The new online features are addictively fun, too, if plagued with confusing interface issues. Trying to set up the friends list was one of the hardest puzzles of 2012. Wii U GamePad: console gaming with no TV required: In this brief roundtable, three new Wii U users discussed their experiences with the off-TV play of the Wii U. We were all impressed by the ability to enjoy full-size console games without hogging the TV, even if it didn't work in the bathroom. Shigeru Miyamoto on how the Wii U could change games: The world-famous game designer talks to Joystiq about the possibilities created by Wii U's motion controls and second screen.
Darksiders 2 Wii U review: Scythe quest
For Wii U re-releases of existing games, we're republishing our original reviews with added evaluation of the new material. Keep track of all of Joystiq's Wii U launch coverage on the Wii U hub page! Death may be deficient when it comes to charisma and skin tone, but he boasts one of the biggest adventures of the year in Darksiders 2. The Wii U version of the grim reaper's star vehicle is as roomy as a hearse and comes packing nearly all of the game's DLC right out of its new blue box.The Wii U revision isn't too ambitious in utilizing Nintendo's new hardware, though this also spares us from obnoxious mechanisms that don't do justice to the game's original design. Pairing different weapons, powers and protective outerwear with Death's taut physique is a simple time saver on the Wii U's GamePad, and it's a great deal faster than the sluggish menu that shipped with the other versions. You can, of course, keep the original menu and play exclusively on the TV or your handheld screen.There's some graphical tearing on the smaller screen, but otherwise Darksiders 2 comes close to technical parity with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions. There appears to be more shadow pop-in within the larger areas, but the framerate holds up just as well (which is to say, it doesn't always hold up when fighting gets frantic). Attacks feel responsive through the game pad – the light click of the right shoulder button works especially well for Death's graceful dodge – and they all work through the Pro controller if you prefer. The face-button commands are not remapped, however, leading to considerable travel time for your right thumb between jumping on B and manipulating the camera via the right stick.Other Darksiders detritus ends up on the Wiipad too: you jolt the controller to spur on your undead equine transportation (that's the thesaurus result on "zombie horse"), and you tilt it to roll around the impractical, spherical keys that tend to litter ancient temples. Neither of these are preferable to doing it the old-fashioned way, so it's just as well they're optional control methods.The best addition to Darksiders 2 on Wii U is the inclusion of post-release content, offered separately on other systems. You can start using some bonus high-level weapons and armor once you exceed level 5, while "Argul's Tomb," a bonus campaign that can be accessed from the main menu, offers extra traversal puzzles involving portals and Death's ghostly grappling hook.The overall game doesn't get the polish on Wii U that it needed on other platforms back in August, but it remains a majestic blend of melee combat, puzzle solving and exploration. And if you squint, it's the best Steven Tyler game since Revolution X!%Gallery-166856%
Joystiq answers your Wii U questions via Wii U Chat
Keep track of all of Joystiq's Wii U launch coverage on our Wii U hub page! We decided to try out Wii U's video chat application the other day – handily referred to as Wii U Chat – and since we were chatting anyway, we figured we might as well answer some reader questions about the Wii U itself.Check out the video above, in which Joystiq Reviews Editor Richard Mitchell and Managing Editor JC Fletcher discuss the Wii U and, more importantly, draw funny things on each other's faces.
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge review: Sharpened
Keep track of all of Joystiq's Wii U launch coverage on our Wii U hub page! Team Ninja has always done better on the rebound, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge is a testament to this fact. The technical excellence of the 2004's Ninja Gaiden was one-upped in Ninja Gaiden Sigma. Ninja Gaiden 2 was improved dramatically in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. Razor's Edge carries that trend forward into the series' latest entry, with surprising results. It's one thing to turn a great game into an even better one, but to turn a once-terrible game into a launch lineup highlight? Impossible!Apparently not. Team Ninja cuts liberally from Ninja Gaiden 3 in Razor's Edge, stripping away everything from the obnoxious "steel on bone" QTE-style button mashery to the multitude of joy-killing sequences in which players guide a stumbling, curse-afflicted Ryu through neutered enemy encounters. Even the questionable presentation is erased, exemplified by an early moment that forces Ryu, and thus the player, to murder a man in cold blood as he pleads for his life. This insufferable moment has been excised from Razor's Edge, and for that we can all be thankful.%Gallery-165268%
Hulu Plus app now works on Wii U
Wii U owners have been taunted by a Hulu Plus icon on the menu for two whole days. Now, the television service is active, allowing paid subscribers to watch TV shows and movies on either the ... well, the TV, or the Wii U GamePad.If you want to know how the Wii U app works, but not enough to go turn it on, you can get a preview in this weirdly thorough video Hulu put together. You'll know exactly which options are available from where.
Tank! Tank! Tank! review: Tread on your head
Keep track of all of Joystiq's Wii U launch coverage on our Wii U hub page! The thesis of Tank! Tank! Tank!, I think, is that it's fun to crush your friends' faces. Or blast them. Either one works. Tank Tank Tank (henceforth rendered without exclamation points), allows its players to photograph themselves with the Wii U GamePad. These photos come complete with carnival-style cutouts (military helmets, pirate hats, tiger faces, etc), and once the photo is taken, the images are attached to each player's in-game tank.It's a simple feature, but significantly adds to Tank Tank Tank's limited level of entertainment. Without it, you'd just be blasting tanks and monsters. With it, you're blasting the snarling face of your brother-in-law wearing a lucha libre mask.%Gallery-165976%
ZombiU review: Anarchy in the U.K.
Keep track of all of Joystiq's Wii U launch coverage on our Wii U hub page! I have twelve pistol bullets left, one crossbow bolt, a Molotov cocktail and about half a dozen zombies between me and freedom. I've spent the last half hour on an undead killing spree, emptying most of my guns and exhausting my medical supplies. I've become a fairly confident zombie slayer over the last few days, but rarely have I come across this many at once, especially in close quarters. They're just milling about on the other side of an open door. I know that because I can spot their pings on my radar.There's no telling what kind of zombies are over there though. Run of the mill civilians? The Molotov would make quick work of them. But what if there are undead cops, decked out in bullet-proof, fire-resistant riot gear? I shuffle through my backpack, glancing away from the television and toward the Wii U's gamepad in order to do so – they haven't spotted me, so I feel relatively safe rooting through my supplies.After some soul searching, I decide my aim – and certainly my nerves – just aren't good enough. I'm betting on the Molotov. I take a deep breath, listening to it hiss through my teeth, and step through the door. This is moment to moment survival. This is ZombiU.%Gallery-162496%
Wii U user stumbles into 'mock up' debug menu, Nintendo removes access
Nintendo is playing down reports of a Wii U owner accidentally hacking into Miiverse's debug interface, the company saying he only accessed a prototype. Nintendo released a statement to GamesIndustry International which says what the user found was "a mock up menu," and that it is now removed and inaccessible.NeoGAF user Trike claimed to accidentally hack into a debug menu for Miiverse, simply by hitting X over the network's exit button. The user gained access to what Nintendo claims are mock-ups of the system's back-end. Among the things Trike stumbled upon were administrator lists and forum posts from developers. However, the info within his photos does resemble that of a mock menu, with repeated email addresses and messages.Nintendo's official statement reads: "It has come to our attention that some people were able to access a mock up menu on Miiverse following the launch of Wii U in the US. Please note that this was only a mock up menu and has now been removed and is not accessible."Interestingly, one of the user's photos shows a list of game-based subforums, with 'Yoshi's Land Wii U' and 'metal gear solid' among them. Of course, if the subforums are part of a prototype menu - one of them is for 'resident evils' - we can't draw anything from it.
Scribblenauts Unlimited review: Limitless tomfoolery
5th Cell's Scribblenauts Unlimited brought out the worst in me.Available for 3DS, PC, and Wii U -- I played the Wii U version for this review -- the game begins with series star Maxwell pranking a hungry beggar, as he feeds the fellow a rotten apple conjured by his magic notebook. It's a useful pad that can summon any manner of objects players type into the Wii U's GamePad, or alter the properties of whatever it targets. Maxwell could have just as easily transformed him into a "satiated beggar" or pulled a "delicious steak" out of thin air, but we're dealing with a "cruel protagonist" here.So that beggar returns Maxwell's favor by casting a curse on his sister (we're introduced to Lily and the many members of Maxwell's family in this game) that slowly turns her into stone. Our jerk of a hero is sent off to collect Starites that will save Lily from permanent petrification, but Maxwell can only gather them by helping others with his notebook.Though it's meant to be a redemption quest, one that forces Maxwell to examine the way he's mistreated others and abused his notebook's powers, I was having none of that. It's a game filled with characters dropping their wishes at Maxwell's feet, and I wanted to be the venomous djinn, the nefarious wishmaster that only granted them with a terrible twist. I became the devil on Maxwell's shoulder, goading him into silencing my counterpart with his notebook by writing out "absent conscience."%Gallery-165296%
Review: Nintendo Wii U
The Nintendo Wii U is an important system. It's the first step into the next console generation, after the longest generation to date. It's Nintendo's first console after the world-changing anomaly that is the Wii. It's an attempt to create a new standard for game controllers. It's a console with pervasive digital distribution of retail games. It's a delivery system for a really good Mario.It also has some troubling issues that I'm not sure how to interpret. The system update enabling all online features – eShop, Miiverse, Netflix, system transfer, and even Wii backwards compatibility – arrived late Saturday night, just three hours short of this posting. I had reason to believe this update would be here in the middle of last week.Not only does that mean this review had little time to evaluate broad swaths of the Wii U's functionality, it has me worried about Nintendo's ability to handle the new online network. I won't judge the online too harshly for something that happens before launch, but I can fairly say the launch is already suboptimal. This review will be updated as we have time to examine features.In any case, the stuff that does work is pretty nice.
Batman Arkham City: Armored Edition review: Wonderful toys
For Wii U re-releases of existing games, we're republishing our original reviews with added evaluation of the new material. Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition brings a little bit more to the excellent 2011 game than some action figure-looking armor. For what is supposed to be the marquee feature, the B.A.T. armor isn't really a big deal – except for the nice side effect of covering up Catwoman appropriately for cold weather. Poor Catwoman.A meter fills as you punch people, representing stored kinetic energy. This can be released by tapping an icon on the GamePad or clicking both analog sticks, temporarily increasing your strength. It's a nice feature for big fights, but not really a big deal.What is a bigger deal is the GamePad integration. This ranges from the usual "DS port" stuff like a persistent map screen and a touch menu interface to upgrade Batman's abilities, both of which are very appreciated, to AR tweaks like tilt-controlled Batarang aiming. I found these additions, and the use of augmented reality to search crime scenes in Detective Mode, pretty useful and natural. Aiming in particular augments analog stick targeting with tilt fine-tuning in the same way Uncharted: Golden Abyss did, and it's welcome.The coolest use of the GamePad, however, is in the environmental audio. When Batman receives radio transmissions from Oracle or overhears a conversation with his surveillance equipment, the audio comes in over the GamePad, simulating Batman's earpiece. As you get close enough to a conversation that Batman would be able to hear it unassisted, it shifts over to the TV audio. It's cool.You can also play the entire game directly on the GamePad, which is an absolute boon for absentminded Riddler trophy searching while watching TV.These extras – along with the presence of all previously released DLC – would all be fine reasons to opt for the Armored Edition over the normal, uh, Spandex Edition on other consoles, but there is one Bat-Caveat that must be noted. The framerate is nowhere near as smooth as it is elsewhere. Armored Edition doesn't really have slowdown – instead, there's a consistent choppiness to animation. I hope this is a problem Unreal Engine 3 developers get sorted out quickly. In any case, it's not a reason I would avoid Armored Edition (it still looks great), but be aware you're not getting the best-looking version.Original Batman: Arkham City review by Griffin McElroy:
Wii U's 'TVii' launching in December, video on demand (Netflix, etc) in 'coming weeks' [update]
Originally thought to be out at the system's launch, the Wii U's "TVii" feature is now slated for December. The TVii functionality, exclusive to the US and Canada, puts a TV program guide on the Wii U GamePad, and allows users to use the pad to view and control programming from cable and satellite, along with YouTube and popular video on demand services. Through the Wii U, TVii also allows commenting and sharing via Twitter, Facebook, and Miiverse.Speaking of those video on demand services, don't expect Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, and Netflix to work on day one. Nintendo now says that those services will be available "in the coming weeks."[Thanks, Eric!]Update: Netflix tells Engadget that its service will be on Wii U "at launch," but won't be part of TVii until Q1 of next year.
Joystiq's Wii U launch guide
As the Wii U nears its November 18 launch in North America, we're finally starting to get more information about the strange device, and our game reviews are now starting to go up. To help you keep up with the numerous reviews and copious coverage we've done and will continue to do through the launch period, here's a roundup of Wii U information.We'll continue updating this post as more content goes up, allowing you to keep track of the insanity.
New Super Mario Bros. U review: A return to form
Super Mario World ruined me. Ever since it was released in 1991, I've been waiting for Nintendo to top it, to one up its brilliant levels, wonderful music and sheer creativity. Don't get me wrong, the 3D Mario games are great, but I grew up with 2D games and will always have a soft spot for them.New Super Mario Bros. promised to return Mario and friends to their 2D roots. While the series has produced three solid platformers thus far, it's never really recaptured the old spark. The unbridled chaos of cooperative play in New Super Mario Bros. Wii is certainly fun, and romping around as a giant is novel, but nothing has compared with donning the cape for the first time, or being swallowed up by a hidden keyhole. With a few exceptions, the series has been, in a word, rote.In this latest entry, however, that's all changed. In New Super Mario Bros. U, Mario comes closer to his glory days than he has in years.%Gallery-157149%
Sing Party review: Vocal opposition
My wife is a karaoke person. She's not a hustler, but when we lived in a small town with nothing to do, we'd hit the same dive bars and Mexican restaurants every week so she could sing while I slowly got soused. We own a karaoke machine and a hundred or so discs, and instead of hiring a regular DJ our wedding reception was one big karaoke party. My wife doesn't play games but she owns almost every Karaoke Revolution and breaks out the Rock Band mic every few weeks. She knows karaoke, she knows karaoke games, and she knows that Sing Party isn't particularly great at either.%Gallery-171003%
Nintendo Land review: Controller coaster
Nintendo Land is not Wii Sports, but it occupies a similar territory in the lineup of its new console: it's a pack-in (with one particular bundle), it's a minigame collection, its games are designed to teach players how to use Nintendo's latest weird controller, and, most importantly, it acts as a statement of intent for the console as a whole.For Wii Sports, that meant simple games, based on familiar real-world sports and built around real-world movements, all designed to be comprehensible and fun to people who had never played a video game before, and, it would turn out, would probably never play another.But the Wii was a console designed to be less complicated than any previous, whereas the Wii U is in fact more complicated. Nintendo Land, accordingly, expects a deeper video game background and a more complex skillset from its players. Wii Sports wouldn't be caught dead with dual-analog shooter controls, for example. Nintendo Land demands a more literate audience.That's not a condemnation. It may not be for every single person on the face of the Earth like Wii Sports was, but if you can find four other people who know what Pikmin are or will recognize the two cops from Animal Crossing, you will have ridiculous fun.%Gallery-157153%
Nintendo: Wii U to be in larger supply than Wii at launch, replenished more quickly
The Wii U will likely be hard to find this Sunday. "All I can say is that the response has been phenomenal," Nintendo EVP of sales and marketing Scott Moffitt told GamesIndustry.biz, "and we're getting, especially in the higher priced deluxe set, that one's selling out incredibly quickly."However, Moffitt has reason to believe the shortages won't stretch on forever as they did with the Wii. He said that more Wii U systems will be in stores at launch than Wiis were in 2006. "And, second, our replenishments will be more frequent this holiday time than during the Wii launch," he said.
