Possibly the biggest piece
of news to comes out of E3 was Nintendo revealing what their mysterious new
console would be. What
materialized was the mutant offspring of a Dreamcast controller and an
iPad. Will this new Wii U usher
Nintendo into the modern age? Did
the new line up of 3DS games make up for the lackluster launch titles? Player Affinity’s Charles Battersby,
Joe Button and Fergus Halliday discuss.
What was the most
interesting Wii game?
Fergus: Rhythm Heaven, yes I know it’s not an entirely new game but the
Wii version of Rhythm Heaven can
only bring gamers more of the fantastic beat-based gameplay of the previous
games.
Charles: Not a single one of the games announced
at E3 really interests me. The
best looking one is Zelda Skyward Sword, but I’ve never gotten in to the Zelda series, despite trying several
of them.
Joe: As far as mechanics
go, I'm really interested in playing Metroid: Other M.
And the most interesting
3DS game?
Charles: I got a little
hands on with Resident Evil The Mercenaries before the 3DS was released, and it’s why I bought
the thing. After seeing some of Resident
Evil Revelations, THAT’S the game I
can’t wait for.
Joe: I gotta be honest, the 3DS doesn't
interest me at all. But I do want to play the Resident Evil Mercenaries title that it has, but that's more out of my love
for Mercenaries mode than the 3DS platform.
Fergus: This has to be a
toss up between Metal Gear Solid 3D
and the two Resident Evil games coming for the 3DS. Its a bit early in the 3DS
life to expect the really innovative titles that we've seen in the last few
years with the DS but the games that Capcom is bringing to the 3DS are
definitely catching my eye.
What do you think of this
Wii U thing?
Joe: It has potential, no
doubt. But I can't see any developers of third party content utilizing the
controller’s capability, for example the hacking in Bioshock being done on that
screen could be cool, or a constant mini map in a sandbox game that updated
real-time. I really hope developers other than Nintendo take advantage of
it.
Charles: It looks, big heavy and clumsy. Whatever merits the touch screen has
are going to have to be balanced against a player’s ability to use the thing
comfortably.
Fergus: Underwhelmed. A lot of hype was
building behind Nintendo's new console and it felt a lot more like an add-on
than a full new console to me. I'm not saying that its terrible (There are
parts of it that I really like) but I think I just expected a bit more from
Nintendo. On the other hand, a lot of games that were previously 360/PS3 games
are coming to the Wii-U so it seems that Nintendo have put themselves back on
even footing in terms of graphical power with Microsoft and Sony.
Is the Wii U controller
going to compete with the DS series?
Charles: Call me crazy, but this harkens back to
the days of connecting your Game Boy Advance with your Gamecube. I think in the near future we’re going
see your Nintendo portable and your Nintendo console sold together as one
package. Maybe not the Wii U and
3DS, but the definitely the next generation. Of course I might just be hoping that someone will get the
old Dreamcast VMU idea running on a modern console.
Fergus: I don't think so,
regardless of the portability of the controller, the Wii-U is still a home
console and developers will put together home console-style games, whereas
I think that the 3DS and DS are handhelds and are better suited for more
portable experience.
Joe: No, but I imagine
they will incorporate its uses somehow.
Most underwhelming
announcement at E3
Fergus: Super Mario 3DS. Seriously Nintendo? Seriously? I'm not exactly
surprised at a new Mario game and maybe I was a little naive to expect some kind
of new IP from Nintendo. Perhaps it’s not too late to hope for something new on
the Wii-U?
Charles: Mario Kart 3D?!?
Inconceivable! Seriously
though, it looks great, but I knew this game was coming as soon as they
announced the 3DS and I knew it was going to look just like this too. I hereby predict Super Mario Kart 4D
Advance will hit shelves in five
years!
Joe: I didn't find any
announcement underwhelming to be honest, but the lack of any specs for the Wii
U certainly took something away from its reveal.
Did Nintendo Win E3?
Fergus: No, I would not say that Nintendo “Won”
this years E3 nor would I say they lost it. The revealing of the Wii-U may have
not met my expectations but it certainly got them a lot of press
attention.
Joe: No. I wouldn't really say either of the
three really "won" it, but Sony certainly impressed me the most with
the Sony Vita demos and pricing, I'm really interested in the potential for the
mix of controls it has.
Charles: I think they
did. We knew everything that
Microsoft was going to say, and Sony’s biggest news was specifics on the Vita,
but we already knew a lot about it to begin with. The Wii U and its odd controller was the one thing I didn’t
see coming a mile away.
See our other E3 wrap ups
for our views on the Xbox 360, PC and Kinect.