NOTE: This review was written back in December of 2012. I just got around to posting it now. =P
Introduction
Hello, everyone! It's been a little over a month since the
Wii U console has launched in the United States. I’ve had a lot of time
to play the Wii U for the month that it’s been out. And so far, I’ve been
pretty impressed. The Wii U had some quirks with it at launch.
Mainly the very large console update that enabled a majority of the console’s
features was not welcome at all. I personally had a lot of trouble
with its insane amount of updates. It wasn’t until I purchased a Wii
ethernet adapter that I was finally able to keep a stable connection
online. I’m not putting this against the Wii U in the review because
mainly, they provided a day 1 update to enable the features that they
promised. Lastly, I’m putting the game reviews aside as this post will
already be pretty big in itself, but I will be referring to a few games as the
review goes on.
Wii U Console
The Wii U console is Nintendo’s eighth generation home
console. It’s hard to believe that after two rocky E3 presentations that
the console turned out being not so bad. Everyone was worried about
its online features and the game to TV streaming technology which Nintendo
almost never commented on until launch. The console itself is not exactly
good looking, in fact, it’s really long. Perhaps, too long.
Compared to the previous Nintendo consoles that came before it, the Wii U seems
a bit large, but not nearly as large as the (first two models of the)
PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (both models). For whatever reason, the Wii U
excluded an ethernet port. The Wii U has a SD card slot, 4 USB 2.0 slots,
and a drive which I’m going to consider a Blu Ray drive even though Nintendo
does not call their disc format Blu Rays (but they are the exact same size – 25
GB per layer, similar to how Wii discs were more or less DVDs). One final
thing I want to note is how the Wii U put a sync button for other Wii &
Wii U accessories right on the front of the console. It always annoyed me
how the Wii sync button was behind a lid which confused a lot of new users.
Wii U Gamepad
The Wii U gamepad (or tablet) is an interesting piece of
technology. It’s not that heavy, in fact, it’s actually very light.
The screen isn’t amazing by any means (it’s no OLED, like the Vita) but it’s
also a touch screen (single touch, no multi-touch). The Wii U gamepad
does take a while to get used to, but after a while, it starts to feel
natural. I played and beat Call of Duty: Black Ops II on
the gamepad without any problem and I never had any issue with the controls at
all. The streaming technology that the Wii U uses to stream the game to
the gamepad works for the most part. Not all games support it, but for
those that do, it works great. The range isn’t exactly impressive, I’d
say it’s roughly 30 feet max, and it likely work within any room that the Wii U
is in. Just don’t bring it into the bathroom, as you will likely lose the
signal. The final thing to note is the gamepad’s lackluster
battery. I’d say on max settings with constant game play, the Wii U’s
battery lasts about 2.5-3 hours. You can extend its life by putting it on
power saver and lower brightness settings, but the gamepad will need to be
charged constantly.
Wii U Pro Controller
The Wii U also offers a “hardcore” gaming controller known as the
Wii U Pro Controller. This controller isn’t included with the Wii U
console, but it does offer a more console-like gaming experience for games such
as Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops
II. The controller is very similar to Microsoft’s Xbox 360
controller. The buttons with the exception of the right analog stick are
placed in the exact same spot as Microsoft’s controller. That aside, the
Wii U Pro Controller is actually much lighter than the Xbox controller.
Thankfully, unlike the 360 controller, the Wii U Pro Controller does not
require batteries and can be recharged. Nintendo claims the on a single
charge that the Wii U pro controller can last up to 80 hours. I
personally was not able to buy one until today, so I’m unable to verify if this
claim is true or not yet. Other than that, I like it. Since I
already used the Wii U gamepad for a month, the controller and button placement
worked for me on the first try with the pro controller. I like it.
The Wii U OS
The operating system for the Wii U is very similar to the OS that
has been seen on the Nintendo DSi and 3DS portable consoles. On one
screen (which can switched at any time), you can see squares that have a list
of the applications and games available to use. The other screen you can
see the Mii plaza where you can see what other Wii U gamers are playing and
talking about. After the day one update, the Wii U has a wide variety of
features to use. As of end of the December, the Wii U now has access to
popular media streaming apps such as Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Instant
Video. For each game, Nintendo has setup message boards for gamers to
talk about the games that they are playing. They can also exchange
drawings if they please. The boards are heavily moderated and do give the
option on whether or not if your post will contain a spoiler or not. I
wouldn’t worry about seeing troll like or offensive posts, as Nintendo seems to
rapidly delete any post that maybe causing trouble. I personally don’t
see a need for the boards, but for newer gamers that aren’t used to googling on
what to do next in a game, the boards may provide them with the help they need
in a Wii U game.
Next, the Wii U is operated on the Nintendo Network that was
recently introduced with some 3DS games. The Nintendo Network is very
similar to what was Nintendo’s WiFi connection in the past with the original
Wii and DS systems. The Wii U is the first Nintendo console to not rely
on friend codes, and that Nintendo IDs can be exchanged with friends instead of
an annoyingly long code. This Nintendo ID will also be used in every
online game you play, so choose your name wisely!
Wii Transfer and Backwards Compatibility
As expected, the Wii U is backwards compatible with all original
Wii games. Of course, this means that Gamecube games are no longer
supported (and this should have been obvious since it doesn’t have Gamecube
controller and memory card ports). The transfer process between the Wii
and Wii U is a little tricky, and it requires some patience. Both
consoles need to be powered on at the same time. Both also need to be on
the internet, and you will have to have an SD card to swap data (which the
Wii/Wii U will do for you). Thankfully, the Wii U will transfer saves
that will were previously copy locked such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Animal
Crossing City Folk. However, at the end of this transfer, it
completely wipes your Wii. Meaning that if you had any desire to have
a Wii Sports game on the older Wii with your grandparents or
a Smash Bros tournament with the vastly superior Gamecube
controllers, consider your night ruined.
After the long transfer process, the Wii along with most of your
applications (not all of them transfer) and virtual console games, the original
Wii menu can be accessed from the Wii U menu. The Wii menu on the Wii U
is basically an emulated Wii. The original Wii also cannot use any of the
cool new Wii U features such as the putting games on the gamepad or playing
them with the new Wii U Pro Controller. However, the Wii U does upscale
games similar to the how earlier models of the PlayStation 3 upscaled PS2
games.
The Wii U Shop
The Wii U Shop app is a vast improvement over the clunky Wii shop
channel that was seen on the original Wii console. The format is way more
streamlined and is very easy on the eyes. Several Wii U games can bought
digitally without having to go to a store and buy games. Sadly, most of
these digital games are still sold at retail prices ($60 for most games).
The only problem I see with this is that most people will probably fill up
their Wii U console memory after buying 2 games with the basic set or roughly
eight games with the premium set. Nintendo does give gamers more options
for expanding the memory such as using SD cards or external hard drives, but I
feel that a console that was this expensive should of expanded more on the
console memory. The Wii U’s cheaper previous gen competitors currently
offer cheaper consoles with 4x or more space than the Wii U does.
Something tells me that in the future that Nintendo will update the console
with more built in memory so that it will appeal to more hardcore gamers, but
time will only tell. That aside, the Wii U also offers demos,
applications (that I previously mentioned), and smaller digital games similar
to what has been seen on Xbox Live Arcade.
Launch lineup, graphical capabilities, online
gaming, etc.
This is more or less the misc. part of the review.
The launch lineup for the Wii U was actually very big.
Probably the biggest ever for a home Nintendo console. However, most of
these launch titles were already on last gen consoles before the Wii U was
released. The Wii U had very few exclusives to the console. New
Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendoland are decent
launch titles, but will not keep most gamers occupied for very
long. Zombi U on the other hand is actually a very good
game. But the difficulty and game play will likely turn most gamers
off. That aside, if a gamer for whatever reason wants a new console to
play Assassin’s Creed III, Call of Duty Black Ops II,
and Darksiders II on, then the Wii U will keep you occupied
for quite a while. If not, you might want to wait a little longer for the
Wii U to bring out some games that are worth playing.
Speaking of games, many have been debating on how powerful the Wii
U actually is. It honestly seems that nobody has any idea on what the Wii
U may or may not be capable of. Apparently games such as Ninja
Gaiden 3 run better on last gen consoles than on the Wii U. But
then other multi-platform games such as Call of Duty Black Ops II and Tekken
Tag Tournament 2 seem to run just as good as its other versions.
All in all, just treat the Wii U as a console that can handle last gen
games. Sure, after next year, the Wii U will likely be underpowered
compared to what Microsoft or Sony may offer up at E3 2013, but then again, the
Wii U may have another year to finally show off what it’s made of. Pikmin
3, Bayonetta 2, and the upcoming Super Smash
Bros. game aren’t expected to be released until next year. It
might be even longer until we see not only Smash Bros, but also a
new 3D Mario and Zelda game. Nintendo has been well known to deliver on
its first party titles, but hopefully they will convince more third party
developers to make more exclusives for the console.
This is what nightmares
look like
Finally, online gaming was something I only got to try with Call
of Duty Black Ops II. Even before I had my ethernet adapter come in
the mail, Black Ops II ran without a hitch. It ran just
as well as its only last gen counterparts. Sure, it may not have had as
many players playing, but the Wii versions of previous Call of Duty games
have sold millions of copies, despite them being watered down versions of the
games. I can only see that number skyrocketing likely if the next Call
of Duty stays last gen for next year (which it likely will).
Online gaming aside, online applications such as the Wii U Internet browser,
Netflix, and Amazon Instant Video ran great. I feel these three apps are
perfect for the Wii U. Nothing really beats the feeling off
watching Doctor Who on the gamepad during the night, and being
able to turn off the TV with the gamepad and going bed (forgot to mention that
the gamepad doubles as a universal TV remote). The YouTube app on the other
hand, seems to be rather finicky at times. I’ve had several issues with
it such as constantly hanging while loading videos or simply stopping mid video
and never loading the rest of the video. Thankfully, all Wii U games and
apps can be patched at any time, so hopefully the YouTube team will fix this
issue soon. I do not have a Hulu Plus subscription so I never had the chance
to try it out.
Conclusion
Overall, the Wii U is a step in the right direction for
Nintendo. It’s trying really hard to impress everyone, and so far, I
think it’s doing a decent job. Every console has a bumpy first year, and
it’s always a determination on whether or not a system will fail. After
the massive 3DS bomb in 2011, hopefully Nintendo will make sure that the system
won’t stagnant and lose steam, or it may join the likes of PlayStation Vita and
be on life support. Despite me really digging the Wii U, it’s extremely
hard to recommend due the last gen Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 having more
storage space for cheaper, more games to choose from, and overall a cheaper
console that more people have. The Wii U doesn’t have the “wow” factor
that its previous console had because with the exception of the TV to gamepad
gimmick, the Wii U has little to nothing that we haven't seen
before.
It’s sad to say that the Wii U gamepad is what likely what made
the console so expensive. I feel if the console had itself for $250 (for
basic) and $300 (premium) that it will appeal to more customers. But
unless sales completely tank after launch, I don’t think that the price will
budge for quite a while. Reggie Fils-Aime has already stated that the Wii
U is selling at a loss, but if a consumer buys at least one Wii U game with the
console, that it will sell at a profit. I don't believe he ever
specified on which set he was referring to, but I found that info to be fairly
interesting.
If you are a gamer, I’d say wait another year to see what happens
with the Wii U. We’ll have to see what Nintendo announces for the Wii U
in the coming months and see if Nintendo can jump back and say “Hey, we games
you have to play.” All in all, the console a very much a
step in the right direction for Nintendo. I'm just having the
problem of seeing if it will be worth it in the end.
Overall Rating for the Wii U:
7.5/10
