Wii U Misc Games Round-Up

We’ve covered plenty of Wii U games you’ve heard of, but now Lee takes a look at some of the lesser known ones, which are no less exciting.

This is it! The last batch of games I have to write about. I thought I’d save some of my favourite titles until last, plus a short run-down of one of the weirder Wii U applications available.

We’ve got Platinum Games’ Project P-100 (which will surely be renamed at some point) as well as a personal favourite in Game & Wario, then finally the Panoramic View app that Nintendo have shown off previously.

Project P-100

All you need to know, is that Project P-100 is developed by Platinum Games (Bayonetta, MadWorld, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance), one of the greatest action game developers in the world.

Project P-100 feels like a grand departure from the majority of their previous titles, and while it could easily be compared to Pikmin; to do so would be a great disservice to both games. Project P-100 is its own entity, and is a bloody good one at that.

You play as a literal crowd of superheroes, roaming the streets of a vibrant city in order to save it from invading aliens. Using various functions of the Wii U GamePad, you order your band of misfit heroes to attack the hordes of mechanic monstrosities you meet on your travels. A simple press of the X button will order your party to throw themselves at the nearest enemy. This standard attack is the bread and butter method of offense, and attacks will fill a battery meter in the top left side of the screen.

When enough batteries are full, you can use something called a Unite Attack to add a little bite to your attacks. These attacks are activated by swiping a gesture on the touch screen or manipulating the right analog stick, and result in your crowd becoming gigantic swords, fists and guns. Other than simple block (the ZL button) and evade (ZR) buttons, controlling your costumed army is deceptively simplistic.

The use of Unite Attacks also opens up the prospect of a few puzzles, as you need to use these abilities to get past objects that won’t be passed by simply hitting them a lot. As one point, the fist was required to rotate some sort of lock to open a door.

Your crowd of heroes can be increased to up to 150 people, by recruiting civilians on the street and using the touch screen to draw a “lasso” over them – Having more people in your crowd makes for a stronger party.

P-100 is typical Platinum, as gameplay is incredibly fast and insanely chaotic – Before playing the game it looks like there is too much going on to make sense of things, but when you actually pick up a GamePad, everything feels so right.

This is a game of insane cartoon action, and it’s a game that Nintendo really should be making a fuss about as it is easily the best third-party title revealed for the system so far – This should be on your wishlist, simple as that.

Game & Wario

Game & Wario is, by all intents and purposes, WarioWare Wii U. Quite frankly, that automatically makes it my most anticipated Wii U title ever. It’s a good thing that the four mini-games I’ve played so far are bloody brilliant.

Once again, Wario presents a range of mini-games along with familiar WarioWare faces such as Jimmy and Mona (after each game you get a message with some sort of trivia, one of these messages revealed that there would be an appearance by 8-Volt, which means there will be some mini-games based on old Nintendo titles).

Shutter (Single Player)

Playing as Mona, you are a photographer that is on the lookout for a few specific people to snap (five in total). On the television screen you are given full view of a city and its street, but the GamePad gives a camera’s eye view, from which you must find your targets and try and take the best picture you can (as in, try to make sure they are facing you and their faces are in the centre as much as possible). There is also a bonus creature that can occasionally be found, which gives you bonus points when snapped.

Simple and, in true WarioWare style, incredibly wacky.

Ski (Single Player)

In this mini-game you assume the role of Disco-holic Jimmy. Holding the GamePad vertically, you traverse a typical ski slope by tilting left and right to navigate curves. On the GamePad screen you can see a top-down view, making it easier to see where you are, but on the television you can see a view from behind Jimmy – It was explained to me that the intention with Game & Wario was to create a game that could be played by some people in the room, while others watch and still have a great time. There is definitely potential in that with Ski, as you take turns to get the fastest time down the slope.

Arrow (Single Player)

Arrow plays similarly to Nintendoland’s Takamaru’s Ninja Castle, in that you hold the GamePad vertically, and use it to fire at oncoming enemies. This time around, you are firing arrows at waves of clockwork Warios by pointing the GamePad at them, and then pulling back a bow on the GamePad touchscreen to let loose an arrow, that just happens to have Wario’s nose as an arrowhead. Rubbing the nosey arrowhead will create a sneezy arrow that will cause an explosive damage radius, suitable for dispatching multiple enemies.

Should you miss an enemy, and they reach in front of you; they will actually invade your GamePad screen, where you will need to  squash them with your finger. Beat all the waves and you’ll come up against a suitably insane boss, which involves the act of shooting arrows up its nostrils. What is it with Nintendo and noses?

Fruit (Multiple Players)

Fruit was my favourite of the minigames. One player uses the GamePad to control the Thief (a player-selected avatar), and must steal four pieces of fruit, lying on the pavements and roads of a busy city (hygienic!). However, that player must hide their actions from the other players by hiding in crowds, sneaking behind vehicles and buildings, and climbing in and out of manholes.

This is all while other players are watching the television screen to see if they can spot the Thief. Once he/she has stolen all of the apples (within a time limit), the other players take turns with the GamePad to try and guess the identity of the Thief, from a lineup. It is as simplistic as games get, but it was the most compelling use of the Wii U hardware I saw so far.

Personally, Game & Wario was my favourite game shown so far. The WarioWare titles are always a creative and addictive collection of mini-games that really show the benefits of a system’s technology. Game & Wario upholds this tradition well, and really shows that Nintendo still know how to create intuitive and, above all, fun games that can be enjoyed by everyone.

Wii U Panoramic View

Panoramic View is not so much of a game, as it is a video viewer (albeit a very clever one). You are given a selection of videos to watch, but all are presented in a full 360 degree view. By moving the Wii U GamePad around, you can look all around you. For example, one video was a tour around London on the top-floor of a double-decker bus, by turning the GamePad around and moving it up and down you could get a full view of everything.

At the end of the video, it would point out the things you looked at the most, which was pretty funny as it recognised that the person in front of me gave a dancing woman in a Rio Carnival video a large amount of attention, much to their embarrassment.

It was nothing more than an example of what could be done with the GamePad, but it was a cool little demonstration regardless.

That is it for my look at all of the Wii U games I have played so far, but it’s not the end of our Wii U Preview coverage. The final article will be talking about the Wii U hardware in general, so keep your browser locked onto GodisaGeek.com