The 'Other' Wii U Thread

[Agent Gibbs]

Assassin's Creed HD packs? First time I've heard of this.

 

I think the difference is that these HD feel like extras, whereas in the case of Zelda it feels like Nintendo are throwing us a bone.

 

I thought Assassin's creed anthology was a HD compilation thingy...maybe i'm wrong, i only have Assassin's Creed 3 anyway

 

Oh i agree they are throwing us a bone, i just see all HD remakes in the same light, a nostalgia fest to shut up fans while they take ages doing a new installment to a franchise, or worse still to distract us from the fact a franchise is dead.

in Nintendo's case its a case of "we are making a big new experience for zelda, which is going to take a long time, so here have WW to distract you from moaning"

 

don't get me wrong with the right games i LOVE HD remakes/updates (looking at you ICO/Shaddow of the colossus)

Edited January 24, 2013 by Agent Gibbs

[dazzybee]

- there's some wild crap in here. Please explain what HD remakes Nintendo supply us? I think people wish there were more? This is a particularly weird comment as the ps3 and 360 have WAY more HD remakes than nintendo consoles have had.

 

- I love the fact that Daft thinks Splinter Cell, Metal Gear etc are fine "little extras" with just tacked on HD and minimal extras; but NIntendo remaking WInd Waker, really improving the graphics and tweaking the gameplay etc is "throwing a bone". Hilarious. Such a fan boy. I think both styles have their place. But just love the fact that he twists everything to fit his ant nintendo agenda.

 

- You can play all your VC games on your wii u. For free. They're not making us buy them all over again.

 

- Though I do agree that they shouldn't charge for letting us play them on the gamepad and use miiverse etc. That;s irritating.

 

I also think they need to have the VC work across all of the systems, this winds me up beyond belief, I should be able to play new, gb, gba and snes games on the wii u, gamepad, and 3DS, and not have to pay for them. This "generosity" goes a long way; apple have nailed it because they created an ecosystem with incredible compatibility, meaning you have an iphone, then it's beneficial to have an ipad, and maybe even a mac. Sony have embraced that brilliantly too, not only having digital downloads that work on both, but retro games that do and now the brilliant buy the ps3 version get the vita version free for retail games! This will encourage people to buy a vita, as it becomes better value for money. NIntendo could have a field day with this!

[Rummy]

Wait a minute, this shit is VC games only? What about Wii Ware? I want my Wii Ware games on the gamepad, too!

 

Possibly not going to happen, not unless the Devs wanna put the work in to enable that functionality. Tis a shame, really.

 

you don't need to upgrade to the Wii U supported version and you can just play them as they were on the Wii...so, yeah, what? Where's the new individually crafted emulator coming from?

 

You can. However on the Wii, you did not have a Gamepad. It's like trying to use a Wiimote for Gamecube games on Wii; it just isn't/wasn't made to be done. I didn't know about this individual emulator per game(I know 360 did it for xbox games, didn't know wii VC did it), so to play a VC game with WiiU functionality/pad, the game needs to be added to to allow this; if that makes sense. I don't agree with charging folks who already have things in Wii form, but that's Nintendo for you.

[Cube]

I thought Assassin's creed anthology was a HD compilation thingy...maybe i'm wrong, i only have Assassin's Creed 3 anyway

 

The original games were HD. The anthology was just a pack of them, like Mass Effect Trilogy.

 

- there's some wild crap in here. Please explain what HD remakes Nintendo supply us? I

 

While not "HD" ports (most of them are not remakes), they've done Metroid Prime Trilogy, Pikmin 1 & 2 and Mario Tennis.

[Jonnas]

While not "HD" ports (most of them are not remakes), they've done Metroid Prime Trilogy, Pikmin 1 & 2 and Mario Tennis.

 

Changing control methods is quite a different feat than making HD versions, though. And I do hope that's not what MadDog was talking about.

[Daft]

- I love the fact that Daft thinks Splinter Cell, Metal Gear etc are fine "little extras" with just tacked on HD and minimal extras; but NIntendo remaking WInd Waker, really improving the graphics and tweaking the gameplay etc is "throwing a bone". Hilarious. Such a fan boy. I think both styles have their place. But just love the fact that he twists everything to fit his ant nintendo agenda.

 

To put it plainly, I think will HD updates are great but I don't get excited over them. Any of them. Even MGS3 which is one of my favourite games, completely uninterested.

 

What I don't see them as is some kind of stop-gap while waiting for the big AAA games. Surely you can see the context that WW HD arrives in is completely different to the other HD updates (Of which I have picked up only the God of War collection because I never had a PS2 - if I'd never had a GC my tune would almost certainly be different. Actually, I have that Ico collection too but died of boredom an hour in). The Wii U is in a bit of a drought. Shit, it's like the Vita and Sony releasing Sly as a non-Cross Buy title. FUCK THAT. But then no everyone was touching themselves over Sly because guess what, no one cared. It's just this weird mass hysteria. How can someone get so excited over a game they've already played? I find it bizarre. It's why I rarely play online. It's like groundhog day except you just repeat the same round/match/race again and again.

 

Incidentally I also said it was an great thing if you already had a Wii U but for someone looking for an excuse to buy one, nah, not happening.

 

In short, it's frustrating.

 

I honestly wonder why it would be so bad for Nintendo to go multiplatform.

 

Whatever, I'm a fanboy. I haven't properly played a game on my PS3 since...September. Borderlands 2. Which was shit. I played Uncharted on my Vita...because it was 'free'. But I do defend Sony, that's true. But then look at the new franchises they've pushed through this generation. They champion the interactive medium more than anyone. In my eyes they're the equivalent to V&A, Microsoft are pretty much the Natural History Museum (the Earthquake simulator is rad as fuck, there) and Nintendo are the Science Museum - the launch pad specifically, I did GCSE Chem/Bio/Physics, I know all your charming tricks. It's fun but you don't expand your mind at any point.

 

You know what, it may just be that I'm just bored of games and Nintendo are the company that personify that ad nauseam lack of imagination.

 

I'm sure none of this is coherent. Probably just made me sound more extreme.

 

...also, I'm at work so I'm set to 'irate' as it is. Just be glad I'm 'no comment' on Microsoft.

Edited January 24, 2013 by Daft

[Retro_Link]

I'll never understand why Nintendo fans are happy buying the same game again but with HD graphics. I'd be pissed.

There is another side to remakes, and that's allowing a new audience to play them.

 

There might be a lot of Wii owners who joined with the Wii and have never played Wind Waker. For them Wind Waker HD should absolutely blow their mind!! And if it makes them pick up more Wii U games and maybe even a 3DS then it's great for Nintendo. Having said that those users need to have made the transition from Wii to Wii U. Not sure how many are doing that.

 

But personally having got a PS3 last year I do enjoy HD remakes... whilst I'm yet to buy any, I'm constantly considering the likes of Shadows of the Colossus, a game I never got to play. I think for this reason they're very worthwhile!

[dazzybee]

 

To put it plainly, I think will HD updates are great but I don't get excited over them. Any of them. Even MGS3 which is one of my favourite games, completely uninterested.

 

What I don't see them as is some kind of stop-gap while waiting for the big AAA games. Surely you can see the context that WW HD arrives in is completely different to the other HD updates (Of which I have picked up only the God of War collection because I never had a PS2 - if I'd never had a GC my tune would almost certainly be different. Actually, I have that Ico collection too but died of boredom an hour in). The Wii U is in a bit of a drought. Shit, it's like the Vita and Sony releasing Sly as a non-Cross Buy title. FUCK THAT. But then no everyone was touching themselves over Sly because guess what, no one cared. It's just this weird mass hysteria. How can someone get so excited over a game they've already played? I find it bizarre. It's why I rarely play online. It's like groundhog day except you just repeat the same round/match/race again and again.

 

Incidentally I also said it was an great thing if you already had a Wii U but for someone looking for an excuse to buy one, nah, not happening.

 

In short, it's frustrating.

 

I honestly wonder why it would be so bad for Nintendo to go multiplatform.

 

Whatever, I'm a fanboy. I haven't properly played a game on my PS3 since...September. Borderlands 2. Which was shit. I played Uncharted on my Vita...because it was 'free'. But I do defend Sony, that's true. But then look at the new franchises they've pushed through this generation. They champion the interactive medium more than anyone. In my eyes they're the equivalent to V&A, Microsoft are pretty much the Natural History Museum (the Earthquake simulator is rad as fuck, there) and Nintendo are the Science Museum - the launch pad specifically, I did GCSE Chem/Bio/Physics, I know all your charming tricks. It's fun but you don't expand your mind at any point.

 

You know what, it may just be that I'm just bored of games and Nintendo are the company that personify that ad nauseam lack of imagination.

 

I'm sure none of this is coherent. Probably just made me sound more extreme.

 

...also, I'm at work so I'm set to 'irate' as it is. Just be glad I'm 'no comment' on Microsoft.

 

Great post to be fair. I've been bored of games in the past, and to an extent I do worry where the industry is going, but bizarrely it's Nintendo that give me hope if not stagnating

 

I guess Wind Waker does feel more like a stop gap, them saying Zelda is ages away so we though we'd give you it doesn't help that But at least they're putting more effort in than the general HD re releases and Ocarina 3D, which is very similar to this, is still very welcome. I personally feel the HD rereleases as much more cynical cash cows which I think is worse than a stop gap game that offers to do a little more.

 

I'm really hopeful we're going to see a different nintendo this gen, last gen, although I loved their output, it always felt like they were giving us the bare minimum in their titles, I have a feeling when we see Mario Kart and Zelda and such we will get much more featured titles. Even NSMBU offers some great extra content!

 

It's going to be an exciting year ahead with everything unveiling and probably apple joining in a big way; but I also think it's going to be a chaotic mess as the industry refigures itself out. I think there's going to be some major casualties in the hardware front. Big changes ahead, hopefully leading the way for the medium to truly join the big artistic elite.

[Rummy]

There is another side to remakes, and that's allowing a new audience to play them.

 

This is something I'm most intrigued with, I wish a site or two out there would do a focus on getting impressions on remakes from people who've never played them. We all love OoT, and still to this day, but does it hold up? I'm most interested to see how 'the next generation' react when they play Wind Waker; unfortunately the review scores will probably mostly reflect oldies playing it again.

[Captain Falcon]

Given Wind Waker sold better than Majoras Mask, I fail to see why it's a more worthy contender for updating - heck Wind Waker sold more than Skyward Sword has. And who hasn't had the chance to play OoT in some form before it's port? When an expensive game like Okami struggles to hit half a million across the two biggest selling consoles of all time, seeing a HD remake isn't a shock as you know they are hoping that by throwing a bit more money at it, they can further recoup costs. Whist they may dress it up as them doing us a favour, we know what's really happening, but at least enough people had passed it first time round.

 

I'll keep asking for it until the Moos come home, but Majora's Mask done with cel-shading graphics in line with the official artwork. That would transfrom that game beyond any minor update the 3DS would end up giving it. OoT on the 3DS looks only like you remembered it looking on the N64 - it is definitely better looking (though not as much of an improvement as SF64 3D), and smoother, but there is no incentive to play through it again if you've had enough the first time round. And whilst that is true for any remake, MM hasn't been thrown about as much as OoT has.

 

And for all their talk of gameplay changes, it will ship with certain things exactly the same as they won't want to alter it too much from what you remember - it's a remake, not a re-envisioning of it. Unfortunately, I remember it having a few issues that are even harder to look past once that first play through novelty has worn off and I don't see how those things can be addressed without a lot of work.

 

And much like it's original release on the GameCube, time is not on their side. It was rushed to a December release in 2002 (in Japan) because the GameCube wasn't dong too well and lo and behold, 11 years later and it's the same thing over again. A lack of video again a solid indicator that progress isn't that far along - it didn't need to be a full on trailer but just a couple of sweeping camera shots.

 

And Rummy, I question that too. I'm not convinced that OoT holds up anywhere near as much as people make out - certainly doesn't for me anyway - and I can't help but feel that people who did reviews are just projecting childhood memories instead of critically analysing the thing.

[Choze]

So erm, can we post here about the day's developments?

 

Wind Waker HD looks kind of cool. I guess.

 

Sorta. thing.

 

The games looked really premature. Some of the games didnt look like they had their game mechanics decided. Hard to get excited any more when 3rd parties are outdoing their best efforts.

 

Wind waker was ok. Better than their recent efforts. But that game had some awful mechanics along with the good. Nintendo need to actually update the franchise not constantly relive OOT. The hardware they use being a generation behind is less of an issue compared to their lack of ideas and quality of games.

[Rowan]

I'm slowly coming to the realisation that I don't want a Wii U and will probably not buy one unless it's mega cheap. In the months leading up to the launch I convinced myself that I'll wait for the good games to come out. But in the back of my mind I've realised that a new Zelda is years away, Mario Kart will just be the same, 3D Mario will be decent but won't be worth buying a console for alone, and a little cautious over Smash Bros.

 

Couple this with my desire to go full digital next gen then maybe Wii U isn't designed for me.

[Jonnas]

I do find it a bit limiting that you measure a console's worth by their true-and-tried franchises, and nothing else.

 

It pisses me off in general, this tendency to only look at big budget "AAA games", which are inevitably part of an "AAA series". You know, stuff like Assassin's Creed, Final Fantasy, the 3D Zeldas or Metroid Prime.

[Hero-of-Time]

It pisses me off in general, this tendency to only look at big budget "AAA games", which are inevitably part of an "AAA series". You know, stuff like Assassin's Creed, Final Fantasy, the 3D Zeldas or Metroid Prime.

 

Why should it? It doesn't effect you in any way, shape or form.

 

At the end of the day some people know exactly what they like and what they want from a game, which is why they stick to franchises they enjoy. Also, some don't have the cash to blow on games, so again, stick to know what they will enjoy.

[Oxigen_Waste]

Yeah, I think I'll make my entry into this next console generation a very very late one. With a high end PC, I'll keep up with all the multiplatform releases and will eventually dive into the PS4/WiiU exclusives in 2 or 3 years, once the libraries are compelling enough and the consoles are cheaper. I see no reason to hurry into it with a 3DS and a good PC under my belt... Hell, I'll probably buy a Vita before a WiiU or a PS4.

[Jonnas]

Those games I mentioned rarely see lower prices, though. If one branches out a bit, they may actually end up saving money.

 

And it affects me in the sense that the trend affects the industry. Studios like Bluetongue and Cing are out of business, Rare are in the situation they're in because they couldn't make one of those for Microsoft, companies like Capcom run series like Resident Evil and Devil May Cry to the ground... Stuff like that.

[Cube]

I do find it a bit limiting that you measure a console's worth by their true-and-tried franchises, and nothing else.

 

It pisses me off in general, this tendency to only look at big budget "AAA games", which are inevitably part of an "AAA series". You know, stuff like Assassin's Creed, Final Fantasy, the 3D Zeldas or Metroid Prime.

 

Until a new franchise comes out, it's hard to tell if it's any good or not. It's easy to look forward to a franchise you love.

 

Or even when you know the development team. I was instantly sold on The Last of Us.

[Hero-of-Time]

Until a new franchise comes out, it's hard to tell if it's any good or not. It's easy to look forward to a franchise you love.

 

Or even when you know the development team. I was instantly sold on The Last of Us.

 

This is very true. The Last of Us looked like a good game, but when the Naughty Dog logo appeared at the end of the first trailer you knew it then has the potential to be God tier.

[Oxigen_Waste]

This is very true. The Last of Us looked like a good game, but when the Naughty Dog logo appeared at the end of the first trailer you knew it then has the potential to be God tier.

 

I wouldn't say so. I didn't like the Crash Bandicoot games, I didn't like the Jak games, Uncharted 1 was mediocre, 3 was too much, the only game they really nailed was Uncharted 2... and I'm beginning to think it might've been a fluke. Here's hoping, though...

[Daft]

Your logic is DENIED.

 

ALL PRAISE THE LAST OF US.

[dwarf]

1) I didn't like the Crash Bandicoot games

 

2) Uncharted 1 was mediocre

3) 3 was too much

4) the only game they really nailed was Uncharted 2

 

1) Your kind is not wanted here

2) Granted, but it showed promise

3) The story was gash and the formula was getting wearisome, but the multiplayer was phenomenal (except for the exploitative map support)

4) Aye

[Cube]

But 3 had a great story and the gameplay was phenomenal.

[Daft]

The gameplay was BAAAAALLS.

I reckon it needed a few more months of polishing and sorting out AI balancing issues and it would have been much better.

 

 

@dwarf Not to mention most the key people from U2 went on to TLOU, not U3.

 

Interesting article over at Digital Foundry,

 

Wii U graphics power finally revealed

 

Not that it was ever really in doubt but it's nice to get past the hyperbole from a lot of fans and intentional ambiguity of Nintendo.

 

It was ballpark speculation at the time based on what we had eyeballed at the event, but the final GPU is indeed a close match to the 4650/4670, albeit with a deficit in the number of texture-mapping units and a lower clock speed - 550MHz. AMD's RV770 hardware is well documented so with these numbers we can now, categorically, finally rule out any next-gen pretensions for the Wii U - the GCN hardware in Durango and Orbis is in a completely different league. However, the 16 TMUs at 550MHz and texture cache improvements found in RV770 do elevate the capabilities of this hardware beyond the Xenos GPU in the Xbox 360 - 1.5 times the raw shader power sounds about right. 1080p resolution is around 2.5x that of 720p, so bearing in mind the inclusion of just eight ROPs, it's highly unlikely that we'll be seeing any complex 3D titles running at 1080p.

[dwarf]

But 3 had a great story and the gameplay was phenomenal.

 

The story was loosely held together by two very implausible and convenient coincidences, and Drake's vulnerability (what with 'Drake' apparently being a pseudonym) wasn't expanded upon. I don't care if they're saving that for 4. The conclusion was lacklustre as well.

 

Gameplay - the first half was boring, by the numbers stuff. It never really got going. It improved but it never took off, despite having a plane sequence. It might've looked amazing, there were plenty of explosions and set pieces, but it really wasn't that fun to play.

 

@Daft - that figures

 

Back on topic - I don't want a WiiU.

[Cube]

I though the gameplay was great. Then again, Uncharted can even work extremely well even when the gamepaly isn't great - look at Golden Abyss.