Nintendo has a lot running for them during their press conference…. they had the new Wii Console under their belt, which has been dragged out in the gaming media for months now about how it was going to be an actual rival to the XBox360 and Playstation 3….. but when they say “Last but not least….” in this case it was actually “Last and least” as for this two hour planned session, the conference went for an hour, if you do not include the 30 minutes of questions posed to the media in attendance. However, as I have done Microsoft and Playstation, I am obligated to report on Nintendo before I dive head first into all the upcoming games for all consoles. Read on to find out my impressions on everything Nintendo!
I will admit, out of all the pre-presentation spectacles, Nintendo did theirs perfectly, giving, at least on the live feed from GameSpot, a 3D-like feeling that the games are unfolding infront of you, especially with the Luigi’s Mansion themed one. Sadly, they limited it to two games, Kid Icarus and Luigi’s Mansion which was rather disappointing, but still nice regardless. Sadly, this video doesn’t have the pre-show entertainment which involves the discussion on Zelda and the music surrounding the series, joined by a full orchestral band.
Coming out during the Holiday season, Mario Kart 3DS is the next game in the very successful Mario Kart series, and whilst it doesn’t seem to boast much new in terms of gameplay, it is hard not to be excited about the game.
The second game previewed, to a much lesser extent is Star Fox 3D, with focus brought to their multiplayer features which allows you and up to three friends to have shootout battles in the games landscapes. Using the 3DS camera, you can see your targets reactions as you fly towards them. Also, you are able to play in two ways, with the normal controller, and by moving the 3DS console around… personally I would always go with the more accurate controls.
Tired of Mario taking another trip into deep space to rescue his dear Princess Peach? The new Super Mario game on the Nintendo 3DS brings the 3D experience to Mario, and delivering with it, some classic level designs that are not based on planets.
Kid Icarus Uprising has been teased since last year, and seems to finally have been announced for distribution starting this year. Whilst all the previous games have looked simplistic in design, the preview trailer shown shows us a much more vibrant and actively designed world, which does seem to show the capabilities of the console quite well. Also shows new features such as 4-player battles and the 3D augmented reality card battles. The voice acting really sounds bad however.
I loved the Luigi’s Mansion game on the Gamecube. Sure it was simplistic, sure it was short, but it had that extra something that really made it a fun game with boss battles that were actually pretty challenging the first time you played through them. Luigi’s Mansion 2 on the 3DS promises all the good of the previous game, only extended to offer more ghost-catching fun. I am not sure about the “Several” new mansions however, anyone up for “Your Brother is in another Mansion?”
A number of third party titles were briefly previewed which includes:
- Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D
- Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
- Ace Combat 3D
- Tetris
- Cave Story 3D (WOO! GO NISA!)
- Resident Evil Revelations
- Driver Renegade
- Pac-man & Galaga Dimensions
- Tekken 3D
- Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D
However, these titles are previewed for approximately 5 seconds each.
The new 3DS eshop is due to open this week, offering the same features as the Wii-Store such as Virtual Console and games specifically designed for the DS and 3DS. 3D Classics Excitebike is also going to be given, for a limited time, to all people who download the new update. There is also a free Pokemon Pokedex application, which gives you 16 pokemon registered, and to complete, you need to collect the remaining data using StreetPass, Scanning AR Codes or gathering data from fans. There is also a Pokemon AR Marker to superimpose the Pokemon into real life images…. and judging from the quality of the DS camera… it will be meh. However, for fans of Pokemon, it is free and it is sure to get some of you enjoying a more simpler means of trading them, but to me, the RPG system of the game is enticing.
For those who read my comments about the Wii U after the presentation will know my stance on the console. For those who have not read the article, I have included it below… and yes it is a bit tongue-in-cheek:
It is currently 3:30AM for me right now, and after watching, the surprisingly short (1 hour long) press conference for Nintendo, I feel a bit underwhelmed by how little they had to show for well…. everything. Infact, almost their entire presentation was just hype with very little gameplay footage, with the exception of the 3DS games, which totaled about 4-5 games in total. Of course, I will save that for another The Otaku’s E3 Gaming Study.
They also named the new console / controller from Nintendo, Wii U, as they claimed that once we all got over the giggles that Wii = Wee (Good ol’ toilet humor) and associated Wii with We, it would be justifiable to add “U” to the end to make it You (So the console is We and the Controller is You). Now, as it is late and I am very tired, I am suddenly feeling in the mood to associated Wii with Wee, so then would it be justifiable to add a few letters onto the end of U (You) to make Urine (You-ri-n). I jest of course, and whilst I do hesitate a bit about how much use that the controller will have to me, considering I have a sort of gaming room for uninterrupted gameplay, I do see the benefit in multiplayer gaming at the very least.
My only concerns about this console are:
- Cost per controller + cost of new console
- Comfortability – After all, you are holding up something that is most probably wider then an XBox Controller
- As they dont seem to have released an actual console for the controller however, it makes me question what they will name the console if it is just the controller named Wii You.
I look forward to seeing what the Wii U offers. Whilst I primarily focus on the other two consoles in this current generation, I grew up playing all the Nintendo consoles… SNES, Nintendo 64, Gamecube etc, and in the end, it is the console I do most of my family gaming on (Fact about me: I own every Mario Party game from 1-8)
Now, for an update on that article, they try to show off many other features in the videos, such as how you can do drawing on it and play board games with others, which seem like a good casual way to enjoy it, and can be used with what I suppose will be the Wii-mote and do things like sports games and turn it into a scope during shooting games. However, I advise you to watch the actual trailer for it above to see all the things it can do. It does look like a very nifty controller to have, however its actual viability to play more hardcore games is questionable, as it does look extremely big in terms of dimensions. However, many current controllers (Wii-mote, Balance Board) and accessories such as the Whiil and the Wii-gun will be compatible with this.
The following is a button layout of the new controller (Click the image to enlarge), whilst there are the L and R buttons on the top of it, where you would expect them to be, just not in the image. They promote features such as the internet and many other features currently available on the Wii, which can be taken off the television and into the palm of your hand. During this time, they also announced their plans to release Super Smash Brothers on both Wii U and 3DS with interoperability between the two.
Alongside announcing the first game for the console, which is a Lego City Stories game, they also had a rather pretty Tech Demo featuring a bird flying around a picturesque Japanese landscape, which was rather creative. After this, the next considerable while of the presentation is directed at the media actually at the event, discussing 6 other tech demos they have available at the event and shows off the abilities of both the Wii U and the Wiimotes. They then proceeded to do more hype without any actual gameplay footage by presenting statements by CEO’s of various game studios and their thoughts on the Wii U. However, I take their word as grains of salt until I actually see how good, or how bad their titles are for a console. They did announce however to release Darksiders II, Tekken, Batman: Arkham City, Assassin’s Creed and Ghost Recon Online. Of course, how well it will be? Time will only see. They proceed with trailers of games, however it is all scripted and I am not even sure if it is on the Wii U console or just a trailer from another consoles version.
They have EA come out to the stage to discuss their plans to capitalize on this new gaming console market, and they release their intentions to release titles on it. Of course, with absolutely no proper gameplay trailers from the Wii U specifically, I still remain skeptical until I see them in action with my own eyes.
Also, I just realized that the Gamespot preview cut out all information on the new Zelda Titles, so I shall say now that there was a new Skyward Sword trailer, which whilst lacking in quality when it came to cinematic sequences, had the same Zelda charm when it came to battle, and is no doubt a title I will be picking up and the Zelda: 25th Anniversary Collection, which includes orchestra concerts around the world, the release of Links Awakening as the first title on the 3DS store, soundtrack releases, Four Sword Adventures being released for DSiWare in September and a limited edition Gold Wii-mote. Not to shabby eh?
Personal Opinion
There was definitely content present in this keynote, however it all went to waste by focusing more on industry figures promoting their new console Wii U instead of actually showing something from the console other then one title announcement and a bunch of “possible” titles. As well, the Wii was completely absent from this presentation, with not a single new first party title being announced. Also would have liked more DS titles, and heck, even more 3DS titles announced then what they showed, and have more then brief trailers. I was under the impression that this presentation was supposed to go for something like two hours, however only went for an hour…. losing time that could have been spent doing more promotion.
Now that all three keynotes have been focused on, check back later today for more coverage on the actual First and Third Party games shown at the expo! There are a lot of interesting titles!
