Wii U General Discussion

[Rummy]

What do you think about Borderlands' art style?

 

What do you think about this being the Wii U General Discussion thread?

[Fierce_LiNk]

re: The Witcher 3, I keep hearing about how amazing the overworld is, how pretty it looks, how many missions there are to do, how the scope and scale of it all is breathtaking. I never hear any comments about how much fun the gameplay itself is, something that Nintendo pride themselves and focus on. It's the same with a lot of these big AAA games, questionable substance behind all the visuals and huge overworlds. Destiny had you replaying the same 5 levels over and over and over again, in the hopes of finding better random loot drops. Personally I find that kind of gameplay so boring, and the antithesis of what Nintendo offer.

 

Case in point:

 

 

 

You'd honestly choose a mediocre game because it lets you chat to your mates easily, over a brilliant Nintendo game that doesn't? I'll never understand that way of thinking.

 

I also don't agree the Witcher looks anything special. The game will look dated in five years, unlike say the Wind Waker to a slightly lesser extent Skyward Sword which just look timeless.

 

My Witcher sense was tingling and I had to answer this immediately.

 

U wot m8?

 

Let me give you a brief overview of how the gameplay works. I'm going to take a relatively simple mission structure show you how it works.

 

- You pass by a villager who tells you that they're worried that somebody they know has gone missing. They give you a rough area to search. This is all done with voice acting and it's own designated and unique cut scene. It's not a cookie cutter type of template.

 

- You go to the area and you use your Witcher senses to look for clues. This is an important gameplay mechanic that you use very, very frequently throughout the game. You might have to follow some tracks that take you to a body.

 

- You examine the body and identify what killed the person. Let's just say that, in this case, it's a night-wraith. Night-wraith's can't be viewed during the day, so you can either do some other shit and come back to it later, or you can meditate and fast-track-through-time to whenever you want (to the hour).

 

- Here's a Night-wraith. You can choose to equip an oil to your blade to boost your power. I also sometimes use potions to boost my stats or even to give me certain powers, such as being able to see in the dark, or being able to increase my speed. Using cat to see in the dark is immense.

 

- I use the magic power/glyph or Yrden to create a trap. Whenever the wraith comes into my circle, I can attack her and take off a shit load of damage.

 

- There is also an upgrade system in place where you can determine what sort of "build" you want your character to become. I started off by upgrading my combat stats, but there are some awesome magic skills that you unlock. For example, using Quen means that you can summon a magic shield around you. Upgrading Yrden means you can increase it's distance and even take off damage when they're in your circle. Using Igni means that you can actually WIELD FIRE, like a human-flamethrower effect.

 

- After you kill it however the fuck you like, you go back to the person who gave you the mission and collect the reward after giving them the news. This is also where you get another unique cut scene. In some missions, I could even choose to LIE to the person. I did this in one mission where a mother was looking for her son. He had been hanged for abandoning his squad, but I told her that he had died in battle, thus saving her heartache. What you do in these missions changes the outcome of the world.

 

The battle system fucking rules. You can decapitate enemies, slice off limbs, use Axii (magic, again) to cause enemies to remain stunned or even to cause them to fight each other. You can use Aard to force enemies back. You can use explosive bolts to take off a shitload of damage. You can get better swords and armour and actually customise them to an extent by equipping them with runes to boost their stats.

 

Ronnie, if you're going to come out with these points, at least understand what you're talking about beforehand. The Witcher 3 IS re-writing the template for how not only RPGS should be written, but pretty much every adventure game that will follow it...in every sense. Gameplay, visuals, overworld, writing, you name it.

[Happenstance]

I don't think it particularly matters anyway. Just because something has the potential to look dated down the line doesn't mean it doesn't look incredible now. I would hate to look at games that way.

[drahkon]

What do you think about this being the Wii U General Discussion thread?

 

Well, could ask others the same thing. Next time I'll PM him

[Rummy]

You'd honestly choose a mediocre game because it lets you chat to your mates easily, over a brilliant Nintendo game that doesn't? I'll never understand that way of thinking.

 

You don't get this, and that's fine, but it's happening.

 

Technology has moved into so much more of a social sphere - evidenced by the huge rise of social media - people want that. Having a good online ecosystem isn't just about playing a game online - it's about merging both the desires of people for their social media with the traditional media to produce something that satisfies both aspects at the same time.

 

It surprises me constantly that Nintendo, arguable kings of the local multiplayer, miss the mark so much with this aspect.

 

Well, could ask others the same thing. Next time I'll PM him

 

I know, but yours was the most off-Nintendo post - the beginning of the rest of a derailment we've had many a time, and a potential for the same circular arguments that come with it.

 

Though I did wonder when Flink would arrive :p

Edited July 29, 2015 by Rummy

[Fierce_LiNk]

I had Mario Kart when it first came out, which was whilst I was at uni so could play local multiplayer, and it was great. The online I didn't like so much (and so sold it once I finished uni because it wasn't getting played), which is the reason I didn't bother with the DLC or Smash or Splatoon.

 

It really does boil down to Nintendo's piss poor online. The best way I can explain this is by comparing to Destiny. That game has many flaws, everyone knows that, but the fact a bunch of us from these forums can easily get online, start a party chat and play together is fantastic. No screwing around with Skype, etc. It all just works well, unlike on the Wii U.

 

Yoshi, well I don't really want to play 2D platformers at the moment so that's off the list.

 

The only two games I've been looking forward too are Xenoblade Chronicles X and Zelda. Proper games that I can poor hours and hours into, however I feel The Witcher 3 has probably ruined these for me. That game is spot on. It is the prime example of how to create a massive living overworld, something that I seriously doubt Nintendo will be able to match with Zelda (as much as I want them to be able to). As for Xenoblade that will have the same problem as the first - stuck on inferior hardware and so not being able to realise it's true potential. It will never be as pretty as something like The Witcher and that is a massive shame.

 

If you think this is bad I haven't played my 3DS since A Link Between Worlds, so roughly 20 months?

 

Unless they turn it around with the NX then I honestly think my days of Nintendo gaming are done, which makes me feel incredibly sad because I grew up with them and want to enjoy the games they're releasing.

 

I agree a lot with what you're saying.

 

I think the rest of the gaming world has either caught up or overtaken Nintendo in many respects. I wasn't sold on the WiiU concept and, imo, we're still pretty much waiting for a game to actually make some decent use out of that damn, oversized, ugly controller. I hope to God that the NX isn't another one of these "concept" consoles, otherwise I'm out.

[S.C.G]

So... the Wii U.

 

Regardless of the state of retail releases - which have been more frequent of late anyway - there are some genuine classic Virtual Console games available for it now, just the edition of VC Weekly that I'm still writing has Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon which is an amazing remake of a game which we didn't even get in Europe until this came out on the DS and is expensive to buy in physical form, then we have Advance Wars 2: Black Hole rising which is one of the best titles in the series in my eyes which I recall completing fully back in the day but being able to play it on the big screen for the first time in addition to the Gamepad is nothing short of a revelation as is the case for all portable strategy games.

 

Finally we only have The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time... re-released for the fourth(?) time technically yes but it's still outstanding even if it appears dated in some places. I'm about to load it up now so I can get some screen-shots for my review but I suspect I'll end up playing it for a fair bit... to the end? Maybe... then again I might end up finally turning on my PS4 for the first time in weeks in a bit so that I can invest some time in The Witcher 3 which does have a lot to be said for it even in the short time I devoted to the game when it initially arrived which was a couple of hours.

 

Here I am not trying to fuel any off-topic discussion but to merely put across my perspective of these titles from having played games on both machines, there are plenty of reasons to play on either console, the issue I have is spreading that time equally as it never seems to work out. Even if I was still to stick with playing on my Wii U exclusively I have at least five games I can think of off the top of my head which I've only really dipped into, most of which are platformers yes but that's fine because I know where to go should I feel the urge to play one; yet on my PS4 I also have criminally untouched titles which definitely deserve my attention, it just depends on when I'm swayed in either direction. : peace:

 

But for many games across all platforms I have a great amount of affection.

[Ronnie]

[Sheikah]

You'd honestly choose a mediocre game because it lets you chat to your mates easily, over a brilliant Nintendo game that doesn't? I'll never understand that way of thinking.

 

I also don't agree the Witcher looks anything special. The game will look dated in five years, unlike say the Wind Waker to a slightly lesser extent Skyward Sword which just look timeless.

 

'Mediocre'. Right.

 

I'm guessing you call it that because you heard other people say that and it's 'cool' to nod along. Yet again, talking about games you haven't played like you are an expert. I honestly have no clue how Wii can be banned while you continue to troll these boards.

 

I've played 550 hours of Destiny since it was released September last year. Since then I have spent countless hours in raids and got to know several people on this forum who I knew nothing about before. Going on raids has been such a fun experience, like something I've never really had in a game before.

 

More recently, and near enough every weekend, I team up with people on here to play Trials of Osiris (PvP) which is great fun (and infuriating when you get rinsed, bit that's another matter ).

 

Sorry, but this is no mediocre game. Call out its flaws all you want, but this underneath it all a pretty great game in its own way.

[Mr-Paul]

The problem with this thread is that it goes for a while being used for just general Wii U news, all is fine, someone may make a negative comment related to some news, which is fine, but then someone complains about the negativity and it turns to the same "state of the Wii U/why I like the Wii U/why I don't like the Wii U/grey shooters/voice chat etc." conversation that we've had time and time again.

 

Is it really necessary?

[dazzybee]

'Mediocre'. Right.

 

I'm guessing you call it that because you heard other people say that and it's 'cool' to nod along. Yet again, talking about games you haven't played like you are an expert. I honestly have no clue how Wii can be banned while you continue to troll these boards.

 

I've played 550 hours of Destiny since it was released September last year. Since then I have spent countless hours in raids and got to know several people on this forum who I knew nothing about before. Going on raids has been such a fun experience, like something I've never really had in a game before.

 

More recently, and near enough every weekend, I team up with people on here to play Trials of Osiris (PvP) which is great fun (and infuriating when you get rinsed, bit that's another matter ).

 

Sorry, but this is no mediocre game. Call out its flaws all you want, but this underneath it all a pretty great game in its own way.

 

You're right, it isn't mediocre. It's borderline awful The social stuff makes it bearable, but other than that I thought it was one of the dullest, more derivative games I've played in a long time. I realise its main innovation is its structure and social stuff, but if the game is as dull as it is I don't care about that.

 

But we're not here to chat ps4 and such, but Wii u. I actually think it's been a reasonable discussion. And to be fair to Ronnie he never claimed he'd played the games and was quite explicit in that he hadn't. Loads of people talk about wider views on games, don't quite k ow why he was attacked like that.

[Sheikah]

You're right, it isn't mediocre. It's borderline awful The social stuff makes it bearable, but other than that I thought it was one of the dullest, more derivative games I've played in a long time. I realise its main innovation is its structure and social stuff, but if the game is as dull as it is I don't care about that.

 

But we're not here to chat ps4 and such, but Wii u. I actually think it's been a reasonable discussion. And to be fair to Ronnie he never claimed he'd played the games and was quite explicit in that he hadn't. Loads of people talk about wider views on games, don't quite k ow why he was attacked like that.

I don't recall you joining in a forum raid or large social activity (such as PvP) once. It's no surprise you walked away thinking that!

 

As is common with these kinds of games, you get out what you put in. Us sociable fellows have a great laugh.

 

Also regarding you saying 'not here to talk PS4'...you pretty much just brought the PS4 up again for no reason. Not the first time, either.

 

Taking everything into account I love the Wii u, definitely. And this generation more than any other as made me love Nintendo more. The ps4 bores me senseless, a few good games, hopefully lots more to come, up near 2 years in there's less than a handful of games I've enjoyed, and of all the many games I've never played, they just don't appeal to me anymore. Gone are the days I'll want to play everything. I have to be mich more selective, so weirdly, getting the ps4 moved me more towards Nintendo than ever before. With limited time to play, I'd just rather play Nintendo games! And the Wii u is housed to some classics! So I'm happy. There's too much for me to play so game droughts don't bother me.

 

Now if I played games like I used to? If I played games with my friends online a lot? Maybe I'd feel differently. I can only imagine how teenage me would've been with the online stuff in ps4 to be honest, I'd have been all over it.

 

 

 

A year? So you haven't played smash? Or splatoon? Mario kart dlc? You could try giving it a go, sounds like youve made up your mind in it with nothing stopping that, I do t think it explains how you feel at all, maybe other than apathy. If youve played all the games and hate them that's much more revealing.

[dazzybee]

I don't recall you joining in a forum raid or large social activity (such as PvP) once. It's no surprise you walked away thinking that!

 

As is common with these kinds of games, you get out what you put in. Us sociable fellows have a great laugh.

 

Also regarding you saying 'not here to talk PS4'...you pretty much just brought the PS4 up again for no reason. Not the first time, either.

 

Ha, well I played with @david\.dakota it was fun enough chatting with him, but the game didn't do it for me. I'm not a big online gamer to be honest though so it's not particularly for me. But as a game, the mechanics of game and level design, I thought it was extremely poor.

 

As for bringing up the ps4, well I was just giving a reason why this gen in particular has moved me more towards nintendo, which was the discussion at hand, I'm not going to say "I feel more for nintendo this gen than ever before, but I'm not going to tell you why..."

 

I think it's fine referencing anyway, other consoles, other games, but this is the Wii U thread, just don't think we should have lengthy discussion on another console or too much on Witcher 3 or Destiny etc.

[Sheikah]

Level design and mechanics are top notch. These are the guys who made Halo and it shows; the gameplay has a real sense of weight to it and they clearly put a lot of effort into making weapons feel good (unlike something like Borderlands where there is a lot of random generation going on with their weapons).

 

If you'd have come complaining about story or running out of things to do after a while I'd agree with you, but in terms of gameplay it's top tier for a console FPS. There's a reason why people are still playing the PvP activities long after they've got most the things they want. It's just good fun!

 

Regarding the PS4 thing, I don't think it was really necessary at all, and it isn't the first time I've seen you do it here.

 

(Yes, I realise this may seem ironic given I am talking at length about an FPS game that appears on other consoles, but being an avid fan of this game I'm going to call someone out if they start with the generalisations)

[Eddage]

re: The Witcher 3, I keep hearing about how amazing the overworld is, how pretty it looks, how many missions there are to do, how the scope and scale of it all is breathtaking. I never hear any comments about how much fun the gameplay itself is, something that Nintendo pride themselves and focus on. It's the same with a lot of these big AAA games, questionable substance behind all the visuals and huge overworlds. Destiny had you replaying the same 5 levels over and over and over again, in the hopes of finding better random loot drops. Personally I find that kind of gameplay so boring, and the antithesis of what Nintendo offer.

 

As others have said the EVERYTHING about the Witcher 3 is incredible, it is pretty much the new pinnacle of gaming that others should be aiming to match.

 

You'd honestly choose a mediocre game because it lets you chat to your mates easily, over a brilliant Nintendo game that doesn't? I'll never understand that way of thinking.

 

If we're talking about online multiplayer then yes, definitely. You just don't understand how much of a great time we've all shared with Destiny, the social aspects turn a 'mediocre' game into a brilliant game. Where as I felt the Mario Kart 8 was made worse by poor online, so going on experience I'm not going to put faith into other online Nintendo games.

 

I also don't agree the Witcher looks anything special. The game will look dated in five years, unlike say the Wind Waker to a slightly lesser extent Skyward Sword which just look timeless.

 

I don't think it will look dated in five years. I think we've reached a point in gaming where a game with a 'realistic' look will still hold up well in the future because graphics are so good these days. Sure in 5 years time games will look better, but it won't necessarily make the old games look bad.

 

 

If this is the best a console can offer after 2 1/2 years then it just goes to show that Nintendo aren't doing it for me any more. I enjoyed 3D World and Mario Kart briefly but I guess my tastes have changed since the GameCube days.

[dazzybee]

No, I really think the game mechanics are dull and uninspired. You're just going to have to deal with the fact I think that. As for ps4 my point is 100% valid, you clearly have a very bizarre difficulty with hearing opinions you don't agree with.

[Goafer]

I dont think the Witcher will look dated in the future because it's not just the graphics that make it look amazing. The locations (such as the half ship in the mountains or the castle at Skellige) and the character design (such as the Crones and Uma) are amazing. It's the same reason why Shadow of the Colossus is still great to play today and still looks good, despite being a PS2 game. The world is just a great place to explore, good graphics or not.

[Pestneb]

I don't think it will look dated in five years. I think we've reached a point in gaming where a game with a 'realistic' look will still hold up well in the future because graphics are so good these days. Sure in 5 years time games will look better, but it won't necessarily make the old games look bad.

 

I hope not. Watching cgi on older films now is amusing, it seems so transparent now. I wouldn't say we are at a stage yet where games have hit that ceiling where they can achieve a realistic look, the hardware isn't there yet.

Maybe next gen they'll get there, but actually I think it'll be the era of the PS6 before we see games being able to (with enough resources) pull off "realism" in a way that will hold up for years to come. Although as much as it is said that there is only 1 type of realism, that is bull, same as pretending there is only 1 type of "cartoony".

 

It is possible the industry will adopt a "good enough" attitude... in which case you would be correct, but I watched a video and saw the wave effects. Lovely. But lazy. that was due to either hardware not being able to pull off better, not dedicating enough time to improving those effects at a programming stage or whatever else, but within the style chosen those waves let it down. It's tiny things like that that will date it (I hope!).

 

This isn't a case of criticising that game in particular, but rather the ethos Nintendo seemed to have that graphics had hit the ceiling. Far from it, until hardware can give us film quality games with full on effects there is still need for more power.

I think Nintendo are right though, the prettier games get the more power needs to been thrown at them to make them noticeably better in the next gen.

That also perhaps offers an explanation for longer generations, it allows tech to become cheap enough for the next step to be noticeable. Which is also why I really hope the NX isn't going to cut the Wii U's flagship home console period too close to a 4 year one, I'm hoping Wii U will last at least to 4 years 7 months!

 

I dont think the Witcher will look dated in the future because it's not just the graphics that make it look amazing. The locations (such as the half ship in the mountains or the castle at Skellige) and the character design (such as the Crones and Uma) are amazing. It's the same reason why Shadow of the Colossus is still great to play today and still looks good, despite being a PS2 game. The world is just a great place to explore, good graphics or not.

 

The game can still age well AND look dated. It looks like the type of game I could enjoy, but if I can see graphical uglies NOW then they will likely standout in years to come. All nes games feel dated, but the gameplay remains

[Goafer]

The game can still age well AND look dated. It looks like the type of game I could enjoy, but if I can see graphical uglies NOW then they will likely standout in years to come. All nes games feel dated, but the gameplay remains

 

That's probably more along the lines of what I meant. SotC still looks amazing, despite it looking dated. It's because of the design choices that aren't limited by graphics: character and location design. I think The Witcher will still look good in the future for the same reasons.

 

Plus, that's bypassing the connections you form with the characters, due to the amazing storytelling etc. I've had several very emotional moments during my play through so far and that will be far more memorable to me than good graphics or an art style that will still hold up in the future.

[Kav]

@Eddage, I don't necessarily think your taste has changed since the Gamecube days. Think of the list of games for the WiiU there... where are the equivalents to the Metroid Primes, Eternal Darkness, Resident Evils, Viewtiful Joe, Killer 7, F-Zero GX, Wave Race, 1080 Avalanche... you know what? This list could go on for an age!!!

[Sheikah]

No, I really think the game mechanics are dull and uninspired. You're just going to have to deal with the fact I think that. As for ps4 my point is 100% valid, you clearly have a very bizarre difficulty with hearing opinions you don't agree with.

 

I'm not going to deal with it. I'm just going to write you off as someone who doesn't really know what they're talking about, because it shows. If you don't give the meat of the game a good go, ie. the raids and PvP modes, that's 70-80% of the real game you never even touched, so don't take offense when people don't exactly take you seriously. It would be like if I judged Smash Brothers by one or two single player only modes and came away thinking it was an uninspired, boring bag of wank.

 

You can make the argument that it takes time to access the raids, sure (L27+, generally), and that could form part of your cons list that I can tell you want to expand upon, but to damn the game you didn't really properly play so generally...when you don't have a rounded opinion of it, just doesn't really make sense.

 

This also isn't about whether your PS4 comments are valid or not. The point was that you were telling people this wasn't the place to bring up PS4 discussion... right after bringing up the PS4 in a completely unprovoked way. I'm not sure if you noticed you were doing it, actually!

 

The game can still age well AND look dated. It looks like the type of game I could enjoy, but if I can see graphical uglies NOW then they will likely standout in years to come. All nes games feel dated, but the gameplay remains

 

The comparisons aren't 1:1 though; the human eye can only resolve resolution up to a certain point, for example. I'm not saying we're there yet, but beyond a certain point it's minimal returns. At some stage, while we're going to be able to see advances between systems, games from the previous generation will have sufficient definition/realism to still remain rather good looking.

 

We saw how dated PS1 style graphics were after advancing a single generation. Right now, the last generation's graphics don't seem anywhere near as outdated following the generation jump as they did back then. Graphics are generally getting to the point where we notice less and less any major blemishes in previous generation games after advancing to the next systems (e.g. massive, blocky hands in FF7).

 

Improving power has a lot to do with game design as well as graphics, which is why it's certainly something worth improving. That said, it's not like in 5 years we'll look at 1080P Witcher 3 and think it looks like shit, like we might have done with a blocky PS1 game. Witcher 3 looks great as it is; I don't think improvements in graphics will suddenly change our opinion of that, purely because 3D graphics on the system have matured to a point that they can look pretty realistic, or even artistic on their own merits.

 

Another example would be 1080P Journey, just re-released on PS4. I can't imagine in even 20 years time people will look at that and think it looks crap. You can just tell that it looks pretty sweet by itself, without having to benchmark it to whatever else we know is out at the time.

Edited July 30, 2015 by Sheikah
Automerged Doublepost

[Ronnie]

where are the equivalents to the Metroid Primes, Eternal Darkness, Resident Evils, Viewtiful Joe, Killer 7, F-Zero GX, Wave Race, 1080 Avalanche... you know what? This list could go on for an age!!!

 

Where are the GameCube equivalents of Splatoon, Donkey Kong Country, Captain Toad, Wonderful 101, Super Mario U, Hyrule Warriors, Yoshi's Wooly World etc?

 

As others have said the EVERYTHING about the Witcher 3 is incredible, it is pretty much the new pinnacle of gaming that others should be aiming to match.

 

The new pinnacle of gaming? Technically maybe. Gameplay wise, Mario 3D World trumps it critically, if Metacritic is anything to go by. The majority of those Wii U exclusives reviewed very very well.

Edited July 30, 2015 by Ronnie
Automerged Doublepost

[Goafer]

The new pinnacle of gaming? Technically maybe. Gameplay wise, Mario 3D World trumps it critically, if Metacritic is anything to go by. The majority of those Wii U exclusives reviewed very very well.

 

You keep focusing on gameplay, yet conveniently ignore everything else which makes the Witcher absolutely incredible. Even in the quoted post from Eddage, he said it's everything combined that makes the Witcher what it is, not just gameplay (which isn't exactly shabby).

 

Although if you wanted to pick out certain aspects of the game, Witcher trounces pretty much everything else in terms of storytelling, graphics, voice acting, world design, character design and probably more I can't be arsed to think about.

[Kav]

Where are the GameCube equivalents of Splatoon, Donkey Kong Country, Captain Toad, Wonderful 101, Super Mario U, Hyrule Warriors, Yoshi's Wooly World etc?...

 

 

The Gamecube had shooters, so you could say Timesplitters 2, for example, was it's Splatoon equivalent (this is the hardest given Splatoon's unique nature, it's arguable there is no equivalent).

It had platformers, so DKC, Yoshi and Mario are covered.

For Hyrule Warriors, it had Mystic Heroes which was the same type of game.

 

So basically it had equivalents on them.

 

The WiiU doesn't have a broad enough spectrum of games really. On the list you posted, of 26 games, 7 are platformers and 5 are party-style minigame compilations. Almost half of the list belong to just 2 genres. That was my point.

Edited July 30, 2015 by Kav

[Pestneb]

The comparisons aren't 1:1 though; the human eye can only resolve resolution up to a certain point, for example. I'm not saying we're there yet, but beyond a certain point it's minimal returns. At some stage, while we're going to be able to see advances between systems, games from the previous generation will have sufficient definition/realism to still remain rather good looking.

 

Looking at films though, I remember seeing them first time and thinking it looked fairly good. A few years later I look back and think it is terrible :P

The film is still great, but the graphics show it's age. It's not about resolution, but how natural the movement looks, how light falls, colour palette choices I suppose.

 

You are right though, I think, if you insinuated that we will reach a point where budget will constrain how much goes into a game more than the hardware - I don't think any of us would be happy spending another £40 on a game just for minor barely noticeable graphical enhancements.