Ive had the Wii U for nearly 2 weeks now and I think its AMAZING! the ability to play separate roles in one game is so much fun when you're playing in a group.
Anyways I decided to buy a Wii U basic pack (Recommended by Mii if you already own a Wii and you don't plan to be downloading full games from the store as it's cheaper as it does not include a sensor bar, Wiimotes (as you already have these) or game pad charging stand or the large internal memory which are nice add ons but unnecessary)
I decided on Nintendo Land for my first game because I thought it would be a great way to get acquainted with all of the features the Wii U has to offer and it would be a great game for me and my friends to mess around with as we are big Party gamers!
From the get go I noticed the one thing about the Wii U that slightly put me off, and that was loading time. The initial set up of the console required a 45 minuet update (*yawns*) and a hefty amount of set up text, this I was okay with but then I noticed the time it took to get between applications (especially between the home menu and the main menu). Once a game has been chosen or a channel has been selected you will be greeted by a friendly loading screen displaying the title of the application, this screen is displayed for at least 15 seconds longer than on Wii. This is due to the HD graphics the Wii U provides so its more for the console to configure but hey im happy to wait a few seconds of my life for the stunning graphics!
But ive found after the system has been used a few times the loading speeds up so Moan Over!
The Game Pad controller itself offers really detailed graphics and the effect is stunning compared to the Wii's. The pad has its own speakers and volume control so you can achieve the "surround sound" feel by having the two systems blaring out at you.
At first I was surprised at how large the game pad was yet how light it is to hold, your hands fit snugly (yes its a word) under your hand and the controls are set to fall right beneath your fingers, eliminating any awkward thumb stretching. The touch screen provides a much easier to use interface than the Wii allowing you to effectively navigate the Wii u and have fun with the games. The controller comes with its own stylus hidden in a neat little pocket (much like on a DS) situated to the left of the R shoulder button, the stylus is more accurate than a finger and keeps the screen a little less smudged.
The Applications included within the Wii U console are as follows. The Internet Browser allows you to freely view the Internet (shock horror) on your game pad or on the TV or both, you can search for pretty much anything using your proffered search engine and you can use the pre-set favourites to navigate between search engines and the Nintendo website (you can add any website to these favourites as you browse). The MiiVerse is a cool social network fro Wii U users. It uses your consoles registered Mii (you can change accounts by clicking the mii in the top left of the game pad on the menu) and you can send posts and comments to the MiiVerse much like Facebook or twitter. The site is split into communities, one for each title, and you can invite players to become friends, post screenshots, doodle and show your liking for a post by giving it a YEAH! along with Nintendo eshop (featuring dowloadable content including, for the first time ever, downloadable game titles), Nintendo TVii (yet to be released), Friends list and Download management these can all be accessed via the menu or by bringing up the Home menu, pausing gameplay and allowing you to find game hints or ask friends to play without quitting your game.
Another cool feature is the Wii U allows you to transfer over you Wii save data allowing you to play all of your wii games on your new console. just click the Wii icon on the menu to be taken to the Wii menu (where you can access all of your downloaded channels from Wii and access your Wii save games) and click "system transfer" to get started. WARNING: the transfer will WIPE the Wii saved data but all of the items will be safely stored on your Wii U. An SD card of at least 512MB is required for the transfer.
Well thats about it, ill be reviewing the games as I get them and I don't want to tell you everything about Wii U so that way you can find out for yourself. I highly recommend the Wii U it adds so much to the game play that i am willing to put up with a few extra seconds loading time, the console gets a full 5 out of 5 Clix points from me.
See you soon :)
