Wii U

So, here are my impressions of the system in person...

I didn't learn much in terms of specs or release date of course, they seem to have the release date and price locked down, but they are keeping quiet on it for as long as possible, as Nintendo usually does.

However, I did learn one tidbit that may be a pleasant surprise for those who had fears that the Wii U's specs will struggle compared to the current gen.

Both Batman: AA and Assassin's Creed 3 will run at 1080p natively. The main rep showing off Batman confirmed the game was running Batman at 1080 or "Full HD" with a framerate above 30FPS. Not quite sure if it was 60, but it did look nice and smooth. Another rep I was chatting with went on about how amazing AC3 looked, how it was sad they could not bring the demo there, but claimed the game ran natively in 1080p on Wii U.

So for those who had doubts, this means the Wii U will indeed have games running in 1080. All other games I asked about were currently running at 720p, but they said it could be different in the final builds.

BTW, both the gamepad and Wii U controller felt great, although neither of them have analog triggers. Outside of this, they're actually really comfortable.

Games I played...

Just Dance 4 - Eh... looked nice in HD. Not much you couldn't get with the Wii version though.

Nintendo Land - Luigi's Mansion, Donkey Kong, Candy hunting, and Zelda demo. All were actually very fun. If the game IS a packin, it'll actually offer a lot of fun party style/family gameplay. The zelda demo was my favorite. Amusingly, if you were the archer, you could actually cause team damage by shooting your teammates. There seems to be more to this one than Wii Sports at least.

Pikmin 3 - This was my first time playing a pikmin game, so I'm not the best representative for this, but I could quickly see why it's so addicting. Used the wiimote and nunchuck while the gamepad displayed a map and stayed on a stand. Running around with olimar was easy, as was using the pointer to collect and whistle at my pikmin. Visuals looked great, with beautiful textures and crystaline effects. I loved the way rock pikmin looked.

Zombi U - As a survival horror, the game is tough and you'll die a lot. You actually have to hold the L trigger to aim your weapon in order to fire it at all, but the game DOES work well and can definitely be scary at times. The reps said the 3D models and textures were all not final yet, but the single player level did look fairly nice in person, and that they'd be looking even better in the final version. Textures looked very good in the nursery level. Zombie models still needed work. Most interestingly, during multi, the player with the gamepad actually controls a horde of zombies RTS style, while the player with the pro controller does the traditional FPS style gameplay. This is a novel concept that was really fun to watch and try. Shows a great use of the gamepad.

p-100 - Definitely something Nintendo should've shown off in their press conference. Yet another Platinum Studios action game with a viewtiful joe style over the top super hero vibe, only using Pikmin style teamwork attacks. Worked and played beautifully. A worthy exclusive. Definitely one to watch for.

Rayman Legends - Played perfectly with the Wii U pro controller. The game seems like it'll be a lot tougher without the gamepad green blob guy helping you, so I'm not sure how single player AI will handle that. I played the exact same levels they showed us at E3. All were great to play in person. A must buy.

cont.