I NEED SCISSORS
Banned
How do the buttons being placed below the analog sticks feel?
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Official (I guess) Wii U Demo Station impressions thread
- Thread starter Christberg
- Start date
Hero of Legend
Member
I went to the event at Dundas, folks helped me get a shirt! D
Played Scribblenauts and Mario, and just barely had a moment with NL Luigi`s Ghost Mansion.
FUCK Mario`s crisp! 720p or whatever, it was smooooth, must`ve been the AA at work!
SN was uber jagged, not sure if it was displaying in 1080p, but it didn`t impress, right away I typed in NEOGAF and bounced on our coveted ball. XD
Mario was fun, it was the usual three stages, the squirrel suit was cool, definitely not like the Raccoon or Tanuki suit. you can`t attack, and you can only swoop upward once while in the air.
Wish Rayman Legends was there, woul`d`ve loved to have tried playing it in single player.
The touch screen was lovely.
So if anyone`s in Dundas, I am still around, if you got a Mii in red, brown hair and glasses wearing a Mario hat named Joshua, that was me.
Played Scribblenauts and Mario, and just barely had a moment with NL Luigi`s Ghost Mansion.
FUCK Mario`s crisp! 720p or whatever, it was smooooth, must`ve been the AA at work!
SN was uber jagged, not sure if it was displaying in 1080p, but it didn`t impress, right away I typed in NEOGAF and bounced on our coveted ball. XD
Mario was fun, it was the usual three stages, the squirrel suit was cool, definitely not like the Raccoon or Tanuki suit. you can`t attack, and you can only swoop upward once while in the air.
Wish Rayman Legends was there, woul`d`ve loved to have tried playing it in single player.
The touch screen was lovely.
So if anyone`s in Dundas, I am still around, if you got a Mii in red, brown hair and glasses wearing a Mario hat named Joshua, that was me.
JordanN
Banned
All the character's helmets have a distorted reflection of the world around them concentrated somewhere (see the elephant's trunk). Could be just a well placed environment map but the way it nailed glossiness so realistically and accurately looked new to me.
Weird. Hard to react fast in ZombiU because of it. I assume it gets better.
Ninja Moomin
Banned
can you access the OS / miiverse?
Q
qizah
Unconfirmed Member
I went to the Wii U Canadian Tour thing at Yonge/Dundas Square in Toronto today. Here are my quick impressions.
GamePad
The GamePad is smaller than I initially thought it'd be, which isn't really a bad thing. I have pretty big hands so the controller fit really comfortably in my hands, with the grips on the back being perfect and the placement of the shoulder buttons being perfect as well. I got used to the buttons being below the analog pretty quickly, despite not really using them much for the games I played - it won't be an issue in the long run. The controller itself feels really light -- most comparable to the Wii Classic Controller Pro. It has the same kind of design too, matte-type finish on the back, glossy on the front.
I also noticed that the screen is pretty pressure sensitive, seems like it can handle it a bit more than the 3DS/DS. The Stylus felt a lot better than the original 3DS stylus since it's not retractable (better choice).
We were told not to press the Home button as it does nothing anyway, so boo on that. The GamePad's screen itself was super impressive. Although not HD, it's has a high resolution and looks awesome.
Wii U Console
The console itself is pretty sleek and kinda long. It's not really thick (looked about the same as the Wii) - but it's definitely longer. Didn't really get a chance to look at the back side of it though I wish I did.
Nintendo Land -- The Legend of Zelda Battle Quest
I played this game using the Wii Remote and watching another player use the GamePad. It's pretty boring compared to the other Nintendo Land game there (Luigi's Ghost Mansion). You just go through a course as a team, with Wii Remote players playing as Link's with swords slashing enemies and the GamePad user using the GamePad and it's accelerometer. The Wii Remote controls worked fine and the GamePad controls did too ... it was just not that fun.
Nintendo Land -- Luigi's Ghost Mansion
While I didn't get hands on time with this one I saw my friend playing it and it looks like a lot of fun. The GamePad player is the one who is the ghost and can see the map of where other players are, the Wii Remote players are running away from the ghost and using a flashlight to light up the ghost. It seems like one of the more fun multiplayer experiences in Nintendo Land.
New Super Mario Bros. U
I played this twice. The GamePad features seem pretty fun if you're going to be playing with five players. You can use it to help players get to hard to reach places and help them along the way -- or you can do what I did (which is way more fun) and be a complete dick and fuck people over in the game. There were many lives lost caused by my stupidity, but it made for a good time (even when players did it to me).
The game looks awesome in HD, especially the backgrounds. So much detail in the environments and everything just looks great, artistically and level design wise the demo impressed me a lot more than New Super Mario Bros 2 did overall.
Everything looks highly polished and it runs well. The in game items are way more interesting than New Super Mario Bros 2's were -- especially the flying squirrel suit and the baby yoshi. So awesome. Can't wait to pick it up.
--
I didn't end up playing Just Dance 4, Sing! and Scribblenauts Unlimited, because I had no interest. Also, I got a free t-shirt at the end of it so that's cool -- and 10 Street Pass tags.
GamePad
The GamePad is smaller than I initially thought it'd be, which isn't really a bad thing. I have pretty big hands so the controller fit really comfortably in my hands, with the grips on the back being perfect and the placement of the shoulder buttons being perfect as well. I got used to the buttons being below the analog pretty quickly, despite not really using them much for the games I played - it won't be an issue in the long run. The controller itself feels really light -- most comparable to the Wii Classic Controller Pro. It has the same kind of design too, matte-type finish on the back, glossy on the front.
I also noticed that the screen is pretty pressure sensitive, seems like it can handle it a bit more than the 3DS/DS. The Stylus felt a lot better than the original 3DS stylus since it's not retractable (better choice).
We were told not to press the Home button as it does nothing anyway, so boo on that. The GamePad's screen itself was super impressive. Although not HD, it's has a high resolution and looks awesome.
Wii U Console
The console itself is pretty sleek and kinda long. It's not really thick (looked about the same as the Wii) - but it's definitely longer. Didn't really get a chance to look at the back side of it though I wish I did.
Nintendo Land -- The Legend of Zelda Battle Quest
I played this game using the Wii Remote and watching another player use the GamePad. It's pretty boring compared to the other Nintendo Land game there (Luigi's Ghost Mansion). You just go through a course as a team, with Wii Remote players playing as Link's with swords slashing enemies and the GamePad user using the GamePad and it's accelerometer. The Wii Remote controls worked fine and the GamePad controls did too ... it was just not that fun.
Nintendo Land -- Luigi's Ghost Mansion
While I didn't get hands on time with this one I saw my friend playing it and it looks like a lot of fun. The GamePad player is the one who is the ghost and can see the map of where other players are, the Wii Remote players are running away from the ghost and using a flashlight to light up the ghost. It seems like one of the more fun multiplayer experiences in Nintendo Land.
New Super Mario Bros. U
I played this twice. The GamePad features seem pretty fun if you're going to be playing with five players. You can use it to help players get to hard to reach places and help them along the way -- or you can do what I did (which is way more fun) and be a complete dick and fuck people over in the game. There were many lives lost caused by my stupidity, but it made for a good time (even when players did it to me).
The game looks awesome in HD, especially the backgrounds. So much detail in the environments and everything just looks great, artistically and level design wise the demo impressed me a lot more than New Super Mario Bros 2 did overall.
Everything looks highly polished and it runs well. The in game items are way more interesting than New Super Mario Bros 2's were -- especially the flying squirrel suit and the baby yoshi. So awesome. Can't wait to pick it up.
--
I didn't end up playing Just Dance 4, Sing! and Scribblenauts Unlimited, because I had no interest. Also, I got a free t-shirt at the end of it so that's cool -- and 10 Street Pass tags.
walking fiend
Member
Apparently there's a Demo mini OS, so no
---
btw, aren't they going to have some tours in Germany?
yeah it should, I think. It's still not that big, it's just surprisingly long.
Q
qizah
Unconfirmed Member
Yeah, it will. Just don't expect it to be around the same size as the Wii, it's a big longer.
Boss Doggie
all my loli wolf companions are so moe
Interesting. Still no pics tho?
You do realize there are people here who tried the demo and found some disappointing stuff (i.e. motion sensor), right? His statement makes sense.
You do realize there are people here who tried the demo and found some disappointing stuff (i.e. motion sensor), right? His statement makes sense.
Phife Dawg
Member
You can try your luck here:btw, aren't they going to have some tours in Germany?
http://microsite.nintendo-europe.com/WiiU_ExperienceTour/?r=/home
edit: Anyone that went early today. I had the Dwight Mii that said ThisIsNeoGAFdude
Went to the Yonge and Dundas Square event in Toronto today.
Only played three titles, but here are the impressions.
Scribblenauts Unlimited
Really nice looking on the large screen. The design of the series lends itself to being blown up to this size. As for the gameplay, I find going between the large screen and the Game Pad much more disorienting than using the screens on the DS. You're looking at the Game Pad the majority of your game time and it doesn't look nearly as lovely on the Game Pad.. in fact, it has an almost squished look. Maybe I'd feel differently if I was just sitting on my couch at home. I was going to pass on this at launch, and this did nothing to change my mind.
Luigi's Ghost Mansion
I didn't really take a lot away visually from this. It is what it is and Pac-Man Vs. is a really fun game. This seemed a bit unfair for the ghost we were chasing though, because our players were actually communicating , and it was easy to trap the ghost without getting caught. I didn't get to try the ghost myself. Batteries were not really an issue, even though I was constantly flashing my light off and on as a defensive measure.
Maybe there's more to it than the two rounds I played? Not sure. Nintendo Land is coming with my Deluxe Bundle anyway, but I'm not sure I'd pick it up for full price at launch otherwise. It'll still provide a lot of fun for everyone I'm sure; Wish I tried out the Zelda game.
NSMB U
The game I'm mostly looking forward to at launch. Four player is as fun as ever and the game looks pretty nice visually. The Sky World was a bit bare, but the other worlds were really nice to see.
Sadly, the Game Pad we had on our unit was busted. The right side of the Game Pad did not record inputs correctly and just placed a platform in the exact middle of the screen any time we tried to put one on the right. Which was really noticeable when all the players are running to the right. I asked the attendant if he could recalibrate the Game Pad, and he said he didn't know, but he knew there was an issue noting 'It's just a demo unit!'
Overall
The Game Pad is pretty comfortable to hold. I had heard people talk about it being smaller than you might think, so the size didn't really throw me. Sadly I didn't really get a chance really feel it out between playing all the games, but it seems like a solid piece of hardware.
But the game demos were a pretty big let down for me. Nothing showed me why I really needed the Game Pad. In fact the wonky bit in NSMB U showed me what could go wrong with a busted one, and Scribblenauts taught me it will take some adjusting by players to share focus between Pad and screen.
Not really less hyped than I was, but certainly not any more excited than I was for the launch next month.
Went to the Yonge and Dundas Square event in Toronto today.
Only played three titles, but here are the impressions.
Scribblenauts Unlimited
Really nice looking on the large screen. The design of the series lends itself to being blown up to this size. As for the gameplay, I find going between the large screen and the Game Pad much more disorienting than using the screens on the DS. You're looking at the Game Pad the majority of your game time and it doesn't look nearly as lovely on the Game Pad.. in fact, it has an almost squished look. Maybe I'd feel differently if I was just sitting on my couch at home. I was going to pass on this at launch, and this did nothing to change my mind.
Luigi's Ghost Mansion
I didn't really take a lot away visually from this. It is what it is and Pac-Man Vs. is a really fun game. This seemed a bit unfair for the ghost we were chasing though, because our players were actually communicating , and it was easy to trap the ghost without getting caught. I didn't get to try the ghost myself. Batteries were not really an issue, even though I was constantly flashing my light off and on as a defensive measure.
Maybe there's more to it than the two rounds I played? Not sure. Nintendo Land is coming with my Deluxe Bundle anyway, but I'm not sure I'd pick it up for full price at launch otherwise. It'll still provide a lot of fun for everyone I'm sure; Wish I tried out the Zelda game.
NSMB U
The game I'm mostly looking forward to at launch. Four player is as fun as ever and the game looks pretty nice visually. The Sky World was a bit bare, but the other worlds were really nice to see.
Sadly, the Game Pad we had on our unit was busted. The right side of the Game Pad did not record inputs correctly and just placed a platform in the exact middle of the screen any time we tried to put one on the right. Which was really noticeable when all the players are running to the right. I asked the attendant if he could recalibrate the Game Pad, and he said he didn't know, but he knew there was an issue noting 'It's just a demo unit!'
Overall
The Game Pad is pretty comfortable to hold. I had heard people talk about it being smaller than you might think, so the size didn't really throw me. Sadly I didn't really get a chance really feel it out between playing all the games, but it seems like a solid piece of hardware.
But the game demos were a pretty big let down for me. Nothing showed me why I really needed the Game Pad. In fact the wonky bit in NSMB U showed me what could go wrong with a busted one, and Scribblenauts taught me it will take some adjusting by players to share focus between Pad and screen.
Not really less hyped than I was, but certainly not any more excited than I was for the launch next month.
played one at the local gamestop. Ended up playing rayman legends with a friend and it was awesome! did like the build quality of the controller except for the face buttons (a,b,y,x,+,-, etc), They were too mushy. However, the d-pad, analogs, and shoulder buttons felt perfect. another gripe I had about the controller is that it felt too light to me and the white made it feel like a fisher price toy (luckily I pre-ordered black). Overall I loved it and am glad I pre-ordered because this thing is definitely flying off the shelves.
DR2K
Banned
Software: The only game playable was Rayman. It sucked. Visuals were no different than Origins. I wanted to play the game with the WiiU controller, but I had to use the Wii wands and chuck.
Wii U controller: Screen is absolutely shit, very low resolution. Think low end Walmart brand LCD tvs that you would buy for a kid. Felt comfortable and light though.
Wii U hardware: It's just a long Wii. Still relativley small compared to 360 and PS3.
Not sure why Nintendo is charging so much for this, from what I've seen it's definitely something that could easily be sold at $149.99-$199 price range.
Wii U controller: Screen is absolutely shit, very low resolution. Think low end Walmart brand LCD tvs that you would buy for a kid. Felt comfortable and light though.
Wii U hardware: It's just a long Wii. Still relativley small compared to 360 and PS3.
Not sure why Nintendo is charging so much for this, from what I've seen it's definitely something that could easily be sold at $149.99-$199 price range.
KojiKnight
Member
So went to best buy today... 3 360 stations, 3 PS3 stations, 1 Wii station, 1 3DS XL station, and 1 PS Vita station.... no Wii U... Sad face.
No luck over at gamestop either.
No luck over at gamestop either.
That's very surprising, I thought it looked great! Not Vita OLED great, obviously, but the resolution and image quality seemed to be exactly what I'd expect for an LCD screen of that size.
Like I said earlier in my impressions, I felt the relative display quality on the GamePad was about matched with what I was seeing on the ~40" TV they were using, which is about right.
Mihael Mello Keehl
Banned
Damn. Sounds like you had a bad time. :/
JordanN
Banned
While far from "absolute shit", I did see a noticeable downgrade in quality going from the TV to the gamepad screen. Also, I wasn't sure if it was just the game or brightness setting, but the colors seemed "washed out".
However, it's hard to complain because asking for a higher quality screen could of easily doubled or even tripled the Wii U's price in addition to requiring more performance needed to run.
I'm ok waiting for the Wii U's successor to deliver that HD screen at an affordable price and sustainable battery life.
VivaPapaya
Banned
No.
This is my biggest concern now. I'm afraid that going from the iPad 3 which I use all day to the WiiU controller will be like a stab in the eyeballs.
Stormwatch
Member
The Best Buy and GameStop near me both have Wii U signs and branded accessories, but no demo unit yet. In the past they were really late in getting their 3DS demo units installed as well. We must be at the bottom of some list.
I'm always remain apprehensive in trusting overly negative/positive reviews of a product. The first thing that put me off on the review wasn't even his opinions of the hardware but the visuals of rayman. Sure, it's still a 2D platform and the art style is relatively similar but the two games don't look the same.
I agree. To me it sounded more like maybe one thing didn't live up to expectations so everything in turn is now bad.
But people all want or expect different things. I had no issue with the resolution of the Wii U screen and thought it was plenty detailed and crisp enough to play games like Rayman, NSMB, or Trine 2.
Oh man, really? Ancel must be smoking crack or something. Ha ha, new lighting engine...that crazy guy.
lol...kidtendo cheaps out again. When will they learn? amirite
You should let the guys in the hardware speculation thread know about this. They've been trying to figure out what the Wii U is for months.
I would love to see your reviews for other products, such as cell phones. Do you blog?
DR2K
Banned
I still don't understand why they're using Rayman to demo, not like there's a major Mario game coming out anytime soon, besides that it was a bunch of videos. My only experience for Rayman Origins was on Vita's phenominal OLED, which made the game look a lot better.
Yeah if you're looking at an iPad3 it'll be worse. I'm not really sure how practicle the pad will be for gaming.
Overall very unimpressed.
Right, while playing it really doesn't look all that different.
It's a very cheap low quality screen.
Phsically it's a long Wii. . .
It's not a review, it's just an impression on the demo station.
Hasn't it got a better DPI than an iPad 2?
fabricated backlash
Member
It has, but it also has some very weak black levels.
Smashing Drive
Banned
Sucks to hear about the screen it's at least better than the 3ds right?
Far better.
Mattakuevan
Member
I got to mess around with it a bit at gamestop today.
They only had rayman available and it looked/played well. It was quite pretty.
The controller itself is very light, the screen is bright and has good IQ. The touch responsiveness was perfect for me, though the missus had issues making it scroll properly (though she has no issues with smartphones and I have the opposite experience, coincidence?). It also felt very ergonomic and comfortable to hold for both of us.
The hardware was small and slick looking. Looked really long, but only because its pretty thin. Very tiny console overall.
This is great. I'm 100% convinced that preordering was the correct course of action.
They only had rayman available and it looked/played well. It was quite pretty.
The controller itself is very light, the screen is bright and has good IQ. The touch responsiveness was perfect for me, though the missus had issues making it scroll properly (though she has no issues with smartphones and I have the opposite experience, coincidence?). It also felt very ergonomic and comfortable to hold for both of us.
The hardware was small and slick looking. Looked really long, but only because its pretty thin. Very tiny console overall.
This is great. I'm 100% convinced that preordering was the correct course of action.
I guess it might be hard to be totally objective in a crowded demo station environment. Well, even if I was wrong and results are less than spectacular once I try the system at home, it should be good enough.
DR2K
Banned
One thing I didn't mention was that the WiiU pad felt no different than a traditional controller, hardcore games will play just as fine on it as any other controller. I doubt I'll have any issues playing Ninja Gaiden 3 or Bayonetta 2 on it. The pro controller seems a bit redundant.
Mattakuevan
Member
I can definitely agree with this, if anything it was a bit more comfortable than a dual shock. They likely made the pro controller so that people wouldn't complain.
this is good news. the Pro is still too pricey for my liking
JordanN
Banned
I think games that are designed around the gamepad will always look great. I had no problems looking at the throwing stars from Takamaru's Ninja Castle or the "keyboard" in Scribblenauts Unlimited.
The quality issue becomes apparent when something originally meant for a higher res get's displayed on the controller. So something like New Super Mario Bros U, where the main game is 720p, on the controller, the blurriness becomes more apparent.
But again, the gamepad does its job and the successor should [hopefully] eliminate these issues.
Mr.Squirrel
Tom
I wanna play monster hunter or Zombi U
Silent_Ocarina
Member
Hmm, I impulsively jumped on Newegg's $12-off deal for the Pro Controller, but I may have to reconsider. The funds might be better spent on Wii Remote+ and Nunchuks.
TheGreatMightyPoo
Banned
I highly doubt it's cheap if they are going to sell it for easily over 100$ separately and especially since next to no other impressions have had anything but high praise for the screen.
You must be either the most picky person on the planet or expecting it to be HD or look like Apple product screens.
AlphaTwo00
Member
What kind of FUD is this? Sure, you're not getting iPad Retina like resolution, but it's definitely above the DS/3DS screen level.
Mattakuevan
Member
Don't worry, he's probably just overreacting. It is a high quality screen. Bright colors, responsive, good resolution, etc.
Smiles and Cries
Member
tee hee awesome post
Smiles and Cries
Member
Well I think at least a few people expected Retina level here at least. Apple wins again.