Nintendo Land - Nintendo Wii U review

[MarioMark]

Had about an hour on this so far and it's surprisingly decent which makes good use of the gamepad.

Basically your Mii is in a huge hub where you walk round to select your attraction, there are also other gamers round the world in the same hub you can interact with.

Metroid Blast is where it's at. Couldn't wait to try it so I forced the wife to play it with me It works really well as you team up to shoot enemies. I had the gamepad and flew the ship thing where I had to shoot from above. Player 2 has the Wii Remote with Nunchuk on the TV and was on the ground. Player 2 could also cast this type of lazer rope and swing off of my ship while I flew round. It's co-op play at its best.

Gonna get stuck into some other attractions now but loving it so far. Mario Chase works well, more on that later.

The graphics are basic but sharp and it runs at a smooth 60FPS on both the TV and Gamepad which is pretty impressive.

[gambit6613]

Im still thinking of getting this but is there any point if im more than often just going to play on my own? I dont think i have managed to turn my Mrs into a gamer quite yet

[Party boy]

It reminds me of Wii Play in many ways, but with more depth. I reckon it's probably worth getting for single player, it has 9 games you can play on your own, and they're all pretty cool. Metroid's meant to be the hardest, but DK seems hardest so far, it's so easy to make a mistake. The ninja game's a lot more fun than expected, it has a really cool mechanic. Zelda's rather good as well, and Pikmin's really got me looking forward to Pikmin 3.

I was going to ask what games others are enjoying, but I see there's just Metroid so far.

[noobish hat]

"Metoid"?
"Ship thing"?
"Type of lazer rope"?

Hmm.

[JSR]

Im still thinking of getting this but is there any point if im more than often just going to play on my own? I dont think i have managed to turn my Mrs into a gamer quite yet

As a multi player game this is a sure thing. I've only played it one other person so far, but already then I was laughing and shouting (the good kind of shouting) more than I've done in a game in many years. I can only imagine how exciting it is when we'll be enough people to formulate strategies and really work together.

As a single player game, it's hard to say. The best way to think of the game is like a Nintendo-only arcade. All the games are constantly tracking your score and what stamps you've unlocked. The game gradually unlocks more stages and game variants as you play, and it often does so a bit obtusely, not telling you exactly how to unlock stuff. This is very typical of Nintendo, and something I really love about their games. Making playing more fun, never knowing if it it'll grant you something new. There's 3 games that aren't playable when alone, 3 that's playable with one or more players and six games that are only playable alone. To me, the three games in the second group are still very fun alone. Zelda, Metroid and Pikmin function the same way as if you were playing alone. The same levels and the same progression. You can even choose if you want to use the gamepad (which acts as a bow in Zelda) or the wiimote (for a sword in the same game). The games that are single player only are also mostly great. My personal favourite is the F-Zero one, where you hold your gamepad vertically and twist it to turn the aircraft. DK's Crash Course, Yoshi's Fruit Cart and Balloon Trip Breeze are also very fun. They are all fast to play and addicting to try to best your own high score. If the thought of a bunch of Nintendo arcade games appeal to you, then I think you should pick it up. And whenever you actually do have someone else to play with, you have one of the worlds best couch multi player games out there.

I was going to ask what games others are enjoying, but I see there's just Metroid so far.

My favourites are easily Zelda and F-Zero. Really digging the bow mechanic in Zelda, flicking the right stick to fasten the bow is really cool.

[Party boy]

I'm not really feeling F-Zero, but just been playing Metroid, which is actually really good, just beat the first boss using the ship. I haven't tried the wiimote stuff yet. It seems there's just one big stage in DK, which is a shame, got right to the end, but the very last bit is solid.

I keep getting hit while reloading in Zelda, Pikmin seems quite easy so far, and Yoshi is fun, but tricky. Balloon Trip is cool, but soon gets tricky too.

[JSR]

It seems there's just one big stage in DK, which is a shame, got right to the end, but the very last bit is solid.

Sure about that?

[noobish hat]

Is there a consensus on whether this stands up on its own as a full game? Imagine it was released in the middle of the console's life, and not as a bundle game. Would it be worth getting?

[JSR]

What makes you think lesser of it than other games? The fact that it's bundled? I think it's well worth the RRP, and then some. Me and two friends just (like just now) played this for seven hours straight. Haven't had this much fun with multiplayer since Nintendo 64. We tried all the competitive modes, alternating who has the gamepad; played through all of the standard Pikmin levels (unlocking some additional ones); got to the final level in Zelda, at which point we got stuck, and even got some new high-scores in many of the single player modes. A second player can actually assist in many of the single player modes, using a Wiimote to do different stuff. This is a GOTY candidate for me.

[noobish hat]

The fact that it seems like a mini game collection like Mario Party, but with way fewer games. And yes, the fact that it is bundled with the Wii U and appears to be designed primarily to show how the Wii U controller works makes me very suspicious. I certainly wouldn't consider Wii Play or Wii Sports to be able to stand up as full games in their own right, and it looks like the Wii U version of those games. If Nintendo Land is a lot bigger and deeper than that, then Nintendo have done a really ****ty job of marketing it.

[JSR]

If Nintendo Land is a lot bigger and deeper than that, then Nintendo have done a really ****ty job of marketing it.

They have certainly tried. A lot of their E3 keynote was devoted to the game (to the extent that people complained about it afterwards) and several conferences since then. They've shown of all of the different game modes, explaining how they have several levels, and often several modes of play. I remember a ten-minute showing dedicated solely to Metroid Blast. I think the problem is that many people instantly write off games that are compilations, thinking they are shallower than games with a single, focused mode. Even though the depth in this game far exceeds many big blockbuster titles out there. I would even claim most of the modes in this game are deeper than the entirity of Wii Play. Metroid for instance has several modes of play, and more than 20 levels. And the depth in gameplay is real, encouraging repeat plays for increasing your highscore. So for people who enjoy arcade-ish titles (like in the good old days), one of the 12 games alone could offer tons of hours of fun.

[crocky-chocky]

I'll be honest, I'm surprised at just how much myself and the missus are pure loving this. I wouldn't yet say any one game is a classic, but it's the way the whole experience flows that makes it so special. There's just a really consistent level of neat ideas and attention to detail right the way through...Dicking about in the plaza is just magic, has anyone unlocked the switch that

->Open Spoiler<-

changes the time of day?

A minor detail, sure,

->Open Spoiler<-

but the theme-tune shifts into smooth jazz when it switches to night, which makes skipping about the plaza to nocturna-jazz a delight.

The soundtrack is just class actually. A lot of it's rooted in nostalgia but they mostly cover lesser known ditties and are arranged very differently. NES soundchip + Marimbas = The Octopus Dance music is awesome too, lots of playful Rhythm Tengoku-esque tempo/signature shifts.

There's some fantastic visual touches too, like the chalkboard scribbles in place of standard particle effects on DK, and the whole wind-up toy aesthetic in Pikmin.

Above all though, it's fun to play, as in properly loads of fun. DK and Metroid Blast are my favourites so far, both of which control just beautifully - DK has a tangible, mechanical toy kinda feel and the aiming on Samus' blaster is astoundingly accurate and extremely satisfying.

It's really settled me into the Wii-U and its really invigorated 2-player gaming for me and our lass. It'll be straight up nuts when the fam's over for Christmas and I can't ruddy wait!

[Party boy]

Sure about that?

I think so, I mean I've got a silver without beating the first level, so I imagine you get a gold by beating the level. So a bit like the original DK, short, but fun, with good replay value, hopefully you'll be able to beat it multiple times in one go to get a big high score. The penultimate plarform is a nightmare though, the last one might be even harder.



But yeah, the more I play this the more I like it, I want to win as many coins as possible to win all the prizes though, that's my main aim at the moment. The coin game's quite fun actually.



Has everyone seen that if you press Y sometimes one game offers double coins? Though I'm finding Yoshi's good for coins, though the later stages are solid.



The Miiverse integration is really cool, and I realised you can click on your Mii, or others', to check your game stats and realised I've got a long way to go, even though I've put nearly 10 hours into it.



And when you consider people buy COD just for the multiplayer, I think this will be much more fun, albeit local only.

[JSR]

I was trying to be enigmatic or something, but there really is a second level. I've been there. I'm currently at 4800 points, which is still only gold. Hoping the platinum unlocks at 5000.

For the last few hours I've been playing Pikmin pretty ferociously. The Advanced stages are pretty darn hard. They even give Olimar a new ability, further deepening the game. If anybody's got any tips on Cage of Terror, I would love to hear them. I'm a bit unsure of which power-up is best for the final boss. The hammer seems to do the most initial damage, but when using it the Pikmin seems unable to cling on to it. Playing as Olimar btw.

[Party boy]

I was trying to be enigmatic or something, but there really is a second level. I've been there. I'm currently at 4800 points, which is still only gold. Hoping the platinum unlocks at 5000.



For the last few hours I've been playing Pikmin pretty ferociously. The Advanced stages are pretty darn hard. They even give Olimar a new ability, further deepening the game. If anybody's got any tips on Cage of Terror, I would love to hear them. I'm a bit unsure of which power-up is best for the final boss. The hammer seems to do the most initial damage, but when using it the Pikmin seems unable to cling on to it. Playing as Olimar btw.

Any tips for that last bit of the first DK level then?