08-25-2015, 04:26 PM
First impressions of the Wii-U gamepad.
It's.... interesting. So far, I have tried out the Wii U menus and NintendoLand. The gamepad shows it's strengths with NintendoLand as it's nothing more than a tech demo despite also being a good game. The two minigames I tried, Battle Quest (Zelda) and Yoshi's Fruit Cart show off what the gamepad can do and how it can be an integral part of the gameplay experience. The tablet control scheme works well for NintendoLand.
As for other applications I tried, the gamepad only serves a secondary function to the main TV screen. With Zen Pinball 2/Star Wars Pinball, you only get more detailed score progress and alternate camera views. It's a bit cumbersome to try and look at the details on the gamepad while also trying to keep an eye on your active game of pinball on the TV screen. One eShop game called Chubbins doesn't even use the gamepad... it just flashes a message "Look at the TV" and nothing more. :/
After trying out the legendary Wii U gamepad, it doesn't feel gimmicky if the developer utilizes it right, such as with NintendoLand. For Zen Pinball/Star Wars Pinball, it's rather clunky to use and it's nearly impossible to keep track of the detailed info the gamepad tries to give you as pinball is a fast paced game that requires quick reflexes and utmost attention.
At the end of the day, most gamers want to play games with a standard controller and not wanting to worry about a possibly clunky tablet-like controller thing. I can appreciate the gamepad if it's done right, but even so, Nintendo should have made the gamepad optional and packed in the Pro Controller instead.
It's.... interesting. So far, I have tried out the Wii U menus and NintendoLand. The gamepad shows it's strengths with NintendoLand as it's nothing more than a tech demo despite also being a good game. The two minigames I tried, Battle Quest (Zelda) and Yoshi's Fruit Cart show off what the gamepad can do and how it can be an integral part of the gameplay experience. The tablet control scheme works well for NintendoLand.
As for other applications I tried, the gamepad only serves a secondary function to the main TV screen. With Zen Pinball 2/Star Wars Pinball, you only get more detailed score progress and alternate camera views. It's a bit cumbersome to try and look at the details on the gamepad while also trying to keep an eye on your active game of pinball on the TV screen. One eShop game called Chubbins doesn't even use the gamepad... it just flashes a message "Look at the TV" and nothing more. :/
After trying out the legendary Wii U gamepad, it doesn't feel gimmicky if the developer utilizes it right, such as with NintendoLand. For Zen Pinball/Star Wars Pinball, it's rather clunky to use and it's nearly impossible to keep track of the detailed info the gamepad tries to give you as pinball is a fast paced game that requires quick reflexes and utmost attention.
At the end of the day, most gamers want to play games with a standard controller and not wanting to worry about a possibly clunky tablet-like controller thing. I can appreciate the gamepad if it's done right, but even so, Nintendo should have made the gamepad optional and packed in the Pro Controller instead.
I love foxes, especially the one in my avatar.