Nintendo Wii U Review
'Asymmetric gameplay', anyone?
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Six years ago Nintendo brought gaming to the masses with the Wii, now it’s hoping to repeat the trick. The Wii U signals not only Nintendo’s first foray into HD, but the arrival of a new peripheral for us to get to grips with in the shape of the Wii U GamePad and its ‘asymmetric’ gameplay.
Playing the field: Nintendo's Wii U console
The Wii U comes in two flavours: Basic and Premium. The Basic pack includes the console with 8GB internal storage, a Wii U GamePad and HDMI cable. The Premium contains the same, but with an increased 32GB of storage, a stand and charging cradle for the GamePad, a Wii U sensor bar and a copy of launch title Nintendo Land.
Firing up the console prompts the Wii U to ask you to create your Mii avatar (which can be imported from your 3DS), set up your GamePad so it can change your TV’s channels and connect your system online.
Once you’re up and running you’ll be greeted by an interface very similar to that of the Wii. You’ll navigate through channels – eShop, Netflix, YouTube, Settings and the like. Wii owners can even use the Wii Transfer Facility to copy all of their Wii’s data to the new console – accessible by rebooting the Wii U in the non-HD Wii compatibility mode.
With so much content copying going on it’s perhaps good to start with the issue of onboard storage. My 32GB system, for example, tells me I’ve only got 25GB free – and that’s before downloading anything. Indeed, it seems it’s impossible to fit a game like Nintendo Land (3.44GB) on the 8GB system at all.
Take me apart
Source: iFixit
If you’ve pre-ordered a Basic model it’s time to look into an external HDD then. Wii U supports USB 2.0 drives up to 2TB, and Nintendo suggests a drive which has its own power. Considering the 32GB model is £50 more than the 8GB one, it makes business sense to grab the cheaper version and find a HDD with 500GB+ for not too much over that £50 deficit.
Next page: Paddle out
COMMENTS
Re: 80% ???
It's not about the number of points, it's about their weighting.
This is not a hardcore gaming machine - to 99% of this console's target market the lack of 5.1 surround on 2D Mario is not going to be an equal negative to, say, the positive of playing on the pad while the TV is in use.
I've had almost every console since the Megadrive, and the Wii has been a storming success with various members of my family who have never even uttered the word 'graphics'. This is the target market, and I know they will love the gamepad, the ergonomics, the style of games, etc.
Er
I think I missed half of the review. This seems to basically be a rundown of the hardware features, which you could've done the day it came out, or even from a hardware preview. Any experiences of actually playing asymmetrically (quotation marks not needed)? Or really of playing anything at all? Other than the sound technology the games use?
Moving backwards
"I brought the WII for its innovative controls, at the time it was the only way to really get off the sofa and enjoy a game, and it is great fun with a few mates and beers, or with the kids.. this seems to be moving back towards sitting on the sofa playing games..."
That was, pretty much, my first thoughts on the WiiU.
I had considered one as an "upgrade" to the Wii, but as it appears that the thing has to be rebooted in some kind of low resolution compatibility mode to play legacy Wii Games there seems little point, and I see little attraction with the Game Pad.
The original Wii offered something different to the siiting-on-your-arse-twiddling-your-thumbs "traditional" gameplay, which is why people bought into it. This does seem a step backwards and while the Game Pad is different, it doesn't have that "Hey, Wow, want one!!" appeal I felt when I first saw the original Wii in action.
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