Wii U MacRumors members reviews.

[iMacFarlane]

Originally Posted by MacRumorUser

Hope your not looking forward to Aliens on the Wii U in February though, as sadly its just 360 / PS3 & PC that is released in Feb, the Wii U launch date is TBA but will be sometime after

Likewise I'm very disappointed that Rayman Legends and Lego are not out sooner too. I'm just downloading the Rayman demo, but sadly Demo's on the Wii U are 'usage limited' too, so you can only play them a certain number of times before they stop working

With Rayman its 15 times, so now we have to ration our demo sessions too
.

My God. That's stunning. You know, just when I thought I've come to terms with the negative things I've heard about that system, something like THAT comes along.

My reaction to the Wii U started as mild interest, became neutral, went to disappointment and sorrow after I tried one in the store, and is now at disgust and disbelief.

I have no Nintention of ever, ever buying one.

Now that I've said that, cue the announcement for the next Metroid Trilogy . . .

----------

I've heard it said that Nintendo is selling their Wii U's at cost or a slight loss, and that analysts have assured Wall Street that "Nintendo Wii U becomes profitable after the sale of ONE game."

You know what Nintendo? You could stand to make money selling your games without even having to provide hardware if you would just PORT THEM TO SONY OR MICROSOFT! Millions of dollars lie in wait! You're sitting on a gold mine, Trebek! Do it! Do it now! What are you waiting for?!

[peskaa]

Originally Posted by MacRumorUser

God only knows !!! Nintendo think they are gods clearly ;-)


It's a concern, and yeah its really annoying.

My other gripes remain in that I must admit I'm still nervous about the fact e-Shop content is locked to your hardware despite nintendo introducing usertags/id's.

Add the fact that I can't view or download any adult rated games until the hours of 11pm - 3am because they lock out the content between those hours is yet another really annoying predicament. One that Nintendo blames on German law, but one that could have easily have been remedied by having 18 rated content require a pin authorisation.


As ever with Nintendo, for everything I find I'm really liking about the new system and when it genuinely looks like Nintendo are learning from past faux-pa's , they screw it up with quite rather big badly conceived and frustrating moves.

I've never liked Nintendo's treatment of customers regarding E-Shop content - transferring from Wii to Wii was a nightmare (I ended up having to send both Wii units in to Nintendo as SD card transfers weren't working), and I simply don't trust them. They'll lock it to a single WiiU, and then you're stiffed if you need a new one.

[MacRumorUser]

Ok lots of negativity and justifiably so... I'm fair, I bitch one minute and praise when it's due the next...

But to lighten the mood...



OMFGG Rayman Legends is quite simply the most beautiful breathtaking looking game I have EVER played even by the already high standards of Rayman Origins.

If there was a game Nintendo should have help prime for launch day it was this,

Hands Down it looks better than anything I've ever played before and the Wii U gamepad features work very well indeed..

And OMG the level that's a rhythm action platformer is absolutely GENIUS !!! This game is offering depth nd nee experiences to the genre that I've never experienced before in 30 years of gaming history.

I am utterly memorised by this game. Anyone doubting the graphical prowess of the Wii U will be silenced by this game. Plain & Simple. There is levels of artistry going on the backgrounds that are 2.5D and animated and not one single jaggy in sight ANYWHERE... words can not do the aesthetics justice here.


The only disappointing this is we still have 12 weeks without it.

The demo is 30 launches only But they are the best 30 launches you'll see on the Wii until March 1st I guarantee.


I suspect this game is ready and finished and is being artificially held back on its release so Nintendo can shift copies of New Super Mario Bros with the system, because to be quite frank, this game shi5ts all over NSMBU in a major way.


If you haven't downloaded the demo yet. Do so.

Dagless you are going to be in NIRVANA !!!

[Dagless]

OOoooh the Rhythm level is in the demo? Awesome! I hope they replace the Chest Chase levels from Origins. I loved those levels and would happily play a game just made of them!

When I got to play the rhythm level at E3 my skin melted off from all the tingling. They remixed one of my fave songs from Origins, had the difficulty and style of the Chest Chase levels aaaand it looked amazing at the same time!

But I'm gonna hold out for a PS3 version. Origins was the only game I ever wanted to get a platinum trophy for, and I'll do the same for Legends.

[Yujenisis]

Originally Posted by peskaa

I think your usage of the Vita is a bit skewed - I use mine out and about, which is what Sony intend you to do (see the adverts!)

I'm glad to hear it works for you. But I've heard this complaint a lot regarding Sony's handhelds: A handheld that is trying to re-create the home console experience is tricky to "fit" into many people's lifestyles.

I got a PSP back in the day and immediately lost interest. It didn't "fit" my lifestyle because I had a relatively short commute, have a 30min lunch break, and a lack long chunks of downtime during my day.

I think it's harder to "fit in" games intended for longer play sessions when on the go. This is the majority of "big" games on the PSP/Vita. When I got home I could sit in front of my PC or my XBox and clock in a few hours in a game. Doing the same thing on a smaller screen lacked appeal to me.

I understand this is different for some people and there are those are the people who get a lot out of the PSP/Vita. But I suspect for the majority of people, this is not the case which is why the iPhone has become such a significant portable gaming device, despite the games overwhelmingly being relatively simple games designed for playing in short bursts.

[peskaa]

Originally Posted by Yujenisis

I'm glad to hear it works for you. But I've heard this complaint a lot regarding Sony's handhelds: A handheld that is trying to re-create the home console experience is tricky to "fit" into many people's lifestyles.

I got a PSP back in the day and immediately lost interest. It didn't "fit" my lifestyle because I had a relatively short commute, have a 30min lunch break, and a lack long chunks of downtime during my day.

I think it's harder to "fit in" games intended for longer play sessions when on the go. This is the majority of "big" games on the PSP/Vita. When I got home I could sit in front of my PC or my XBox and clock in a few hours in a game. Doing the same thing on a smaller screen lacked appeal to me.

I understand this is different for some people and there are those are the people who get a lot out of the PSP/Vita. But I suspect for the majority of people, this is not the case which is why the iPhone has become such a significant portable gaming device, despite the games overwhelmingly being relatively simple games designed for playing in short bursts.

Oh I agree totally. For me, my commute at the moment is over an hour each way, which is sufficient time for a bit of Vita gaming (by which I mean the more involved games, such as Uncharted, Assassins Creed etc). That said, there are shorter burst games available (usually marketed as Minis) but I would also completely agree that the iOS store has got that market nailed down.

[Liquorpuki]

TVii launches tomororow, though Netflix and Tivo aren't integrated til next year

Hope it's cool

source

[btbrossard]

Originally Posted by Liquorpuki

TVii launches tomororow, though Netflix and Tivo aren't integrated til next year

Interesting. I kind of gave up hope for this coming out this year.

It looks neat at the demos. We'll see how that plays out in real life.

[LagunaSol]

Originally Posted by MacRumorUser

Maybe I'm mellowing as I get older but I'm finding more fun and enjoyment in these family orientated games than ith a lot f the recent big gun AAA blockbusters.

Such a shame all the good family stuff is on Nintendo. Sure, PS3 has Little Big Planet (which is incredible), but I wish I could get all the Nintendo IP on the PS3. I have a Wii, but I don't know if/when I'll get a Wii U. Waiting to see what Sony has in store for next year.

In some ways I hope the Wii U is a flop and Nintendo is forced to get out of the hardware biz and starts providing their IP on other consoles. Yeah, it won't ever happen, but it sure would be nice. I'm tired of the multiple-console thing.

[e²Studios]

Originally Posted by LagunaSol

In some ways I hope the Wii U is a flop and Nintendo is forced to get out of the hardware biz and starts providing their IP on other consoles. Yeah, it won't ever happen, but it sure would be nice. I'm tired of the multiple-console thing.

I've expressed concern that will happen in the past, I doubt it would be this generation but if the Wii U is a flop it would hurt Nintendo's dwindling bankroll.

I don't mind multi-console for one reason, competition. Without competition whatever main console will get complacent and fail to innovate. Also without competition we'd like get screwed on pricing and if you think shovelware is bad now wait till there's no competition.

[Dagless]

Originally Posted by LagunaSol

I'm tired of the multiple-console thing.

And boom goes the competition. As a gamer that's something I'd never want, but thankfully we live in a market where we have clear winners, which pushes the other manufacturers to innovate.

[LagunaSol]

Originally Posted by e²Studios

I don't mind multi-console for one reason, competition. Without competition whatever main console will get complacent and fail to innovate.

Originally Posted by Dagless

And boom goes the competition. As a gamer that's something I'd never want, but thankfully we live in a market where we have clear winners, which pushes the other manufacturers to innovate.

Agreed, but you gotta hate having to buy 3 separate consoles to get all the exclusive titles.

[e²Studios]

Originally Posted by LagunaSol

Agreed, but you gotta hate having to buy 3 separate consoles to get all the exclusive titles.

As a gamer I've been buying separate systems for more console generations than I'd care to admit. I'm used to buying more than 1 console per gen, its "normal" to me.

[Liquorpuki]

Originally Posted by btbrossard

Interesting. I kind of gave up hope for this coming out this year.

It looks neat at the demos. We'll see how that plays out in real life.

Alright, I just tried out TVii. My experience is I can see what they're trying to do and it's promising but current implementation/usability sucks, they really need to streamline the app. Personally I don't think they should've even released it because the frustration makes you not even want to use it.

Things I didn't like:

UI is laggy as hell. To the point there's input latency and you have a hard time selecting what you want and regularly select the wrong thing.

There's no way (at least that I've found) to use the Gamepad buttons to scroll through the UI. So you're pretty much using your finger to drag on the resistive touchscreen. How much of a pain in the ass this is becomes especially evident when using the Grid, which is the built in channel listing. All my HD channels are above 400, I have to push and drag repeatedly to get down to 400. Add the UI lag and selection problems and now I'm bringing up shows on accident and I didn't make it past 200 before I gave up.

There's a TV Tag pop up that appears every time you select a show that doesn't have second screen internet capability, which is almost every show right now. This is extremely annoying.

If you have a slow receiver, and this is the deal breaker for me right now, the thing might not work. I started selecting shows and when I picked the HD option, it kept sending me to the wrong channel. Eventually I realized whenever it was trying to go to a 3 digit channel, the Gamepad's IR transmission was too fast and the cable box wasn't picking up the second digit (IE channel 401 was being received as 41). There's no setting to fix this.

[btbrossard]

Originally Posted by Liquorpuki

There's no way (at least that I've found) to use the Gamepad buttons to scroll through the UI. So you're pretty much using your finger to drag on the resistive touchscreen. How much of a pain in the ass this is becomes especially evident when using the Grid, which is the built in channel listing. All my HD channels are above 400, I have to push and drag repeatedly to get down to 400.

I have the same problem. My HD channels start at 1000. It takes forever to get that far down in the guide. If I could turn off channels 1 - 999 that would be perfect.

So far - it looks like a good start. I hope they continue to refine it and fix the bugs.

[Dagless]

I saw a record button on a screenshot of the controller, does it record straight to the HDD with no limitations/DRM?

I ask because here in the UK with iPlayer you're able to download recordings and watch them up to a certain time (I think it's 7 days). Wondering if the Wii U record function would bypass that.

[btbrossard]

Originally Posted by Dagless

I saw a record button on a screenshot of the controller, does it record straight to the HDD with no limitations/DRM?

Pressing any of the DVR buttons (Play, Pause, FF, RW, Record) brings up a dialog box that says DVR Functionality Coming Soon.

It's my understanding that that's just a remote for the user's DVR (and at first it will only be supported by Tivo Brand DVRs).

[gkarris]

Originally Posted by e²Studios

I've expressed concern that will happen in the past, I doubt it would be this generation but if the Wii U is a flop it would hurt Nintendo's dwindling bankroll.

I don't mind multi-console for one reason, competition. Without competition whatever main console will get complacent and fail to innovate. Also without competition we'd like get screwed on pricing and if you think shovelware is bad now wait till there's no competition.

Nintendo will continue to make consoles.

I think when Sony's and Microsoft's next generation is introduced, the Wii U will drop to $249 (for the basic unit), while the Sony and MS may come in at $399. Wii U may be a flop now, but will take off with the next price drop.

If I remember correctly, the Wii and GameCube were great successes at their $249 intro pricing. Nintendo will learn their lesson and make all their next gen consoles come in at $249, as they're more into their IP than being the most advanced graphically.

Nintendo is currently trying to get back some of their development costs as they're the only next-gen console out right now...

[MacRumorUser]

I'm really enjoying Epic Mickey 2 on Wii U. i'm a good 6 hours into the main campaign and have other than the erratic behaviour of Oswald I've yet to experience any technical issues such as frame rate issues. I watched a youtube clip of the game and it showed it going into a slow mo kind of frame rate thing, and I've tried to replicate it and can't. I think the game is personally better than the reviews it got. It's not the greatest game yes, but neither is it a poor game. It is better than Epic Mickey on the Wii (and re-playing some of that after playing this, the frame-rate on the original was very bad at times on wii also)....

[Taustin Powers]

Zero Punctuation did a review on ZombiU and the WiiU in general. Pretty funny as usual!

I think he nails it with "the WiiU's gimmicks are a solution looking for a problem"!

[boy-better-know]

This damn update is literally driving me nuts. I think Nintendo's server is being pounded right now.
Why no ethernet?
Super Mario Bros. U seems a ton of fun from what I have player so far.

[MacRumorUser]

Originally Posted by boy-better-know

This damn update is literally driving me nuts. I think Nintendo's server is being pounded right now.
Why no ethernet?
Super Mario Bros. U seems a ton of fun from what I have player so far.

Yeah I can imagine. It was bad enough on launch day, but on Christmas Day it must be a nightmare to update, that ontop of most of the games requiring an update too.

Seriously how hard would it have been for Nintendo to supply an update DVD/disc to retailers to give out with the system? Save users the inconvenience of having to download features that should have been in the unit from scratch.

[DaveNinja]

I had a ethernet to USB adapter i had bought for the Wii (but never got it to work) that i ended up using on Wii U this morning after I couldnt get the update over WiFi. I ended up getting the update in one attempt after setting up the wired connection.

[boy-better-know]

Does anyone else's Wii U sound like it is about to blast into space as soon as it is turned on?
Very loud machine.
PS. I have added a few people who have posted their Nintendo ID's.

[MacRumorUser]

Originally Posted by boy-better-know

Does anyone else's Wii U sound like it is about to blast into space as soon as it is turned on?
Very loud machine.
PS. I have added a few people who have posted their Nintendo ID's.

Mine is noisy if you leave a disc in, its quiet without a disc in.