Will Wind Waker HD Help to Sell Wii U's?

Wind Waker HD is a highly anticipated title hitting the Wii U, and although it is a remake of a near-10 year old game it's still something that many people want to play. Technically it has already come out, being released digitally on this past Friday on the Wii U eshop and included with the new limited edition Wii U Zelda bundle. However it won't be available in stores for another week and a half (which is when I am getting my copy of this classic).

Many are speculating if this title, alongside some of the other fall Wii U releases will finally help Nintendo move some Wii U's and Nintendo believes that Wind Waker HD in particular will be a system seller. Roger Langford, Product Manager for Nintendo UK recently stated that, "It is the perfect time for Zelda fans to discover Wii U... For many Zelda fans, this is the first time that they'll discover Wind Waker and we're treating the game as a triple-A new release." He also goes on to point out that "Ocarina of Time 3D performed very positively on Nintendo 3DS and we're looking to replicate this success with The Wind Waker HD."

While many bemoan the fact that Nintendo is releasing another remake of a Zelda classic, it has been noted that it will be a while before a full on Wii U Zelda is released, and rumors have been rampant that the team on the new Zelda is the biggest Nintendo production yet. It may be a while until that Zelda comes out, but until then I will gladly spend some quality time with Wind Waker HD.

Wonderful 101 Review

I have put a good chunk of time into Wonderful 101 thus far and have been enjoying it immensely. There's already so much to do in this game and I'm about a quarter of the way through my first playthrough. I've been a fan of Platinum Games for as long as they've been Platinum Games (and a bit before that) and this was one of the titles that originally sold me on the Wii U. Sadly I have had to wait a good half year for it to come out, but it's definitely been worth the wait.

The basis of the game is that you control a group of superheroes that span the world over called the Centinels, though they are often referred to as Wonderful Ones. That is where the title of the game comes from, the Wonderful 101 (there's actually only 100 of them, the 101st is you of course) and they are quite the handful of hilarious stereotypes and bizarre heroes, Wonder Toilet being my favorite so far. They have banded together to stop the evil GEATHJERK who want to take over the world, destroy the world, or just do the usual bad guy thing. The story is fairly nonsensical but the dialogue is extremely comical and I did enjoy the cutscenes just as I couldn't wait to hear what pretty much anyone was going to say next.

The combat of course is the meat of it, as is the case with games from Platinum and early on it seems pretty simple, but as you add more of the core heroes, more combat options open up. Once you have more combat options like Wonder Green's gun or Wonder Pink's whip, you can start to chain even more combos together and things start to get pretty crazy. You can use the touch screen on the gamepad to make the shapes to transform your heroes, or you can use the right thumbstick to morph your group of crime fighters. I found that the thumbstick was pretty good for the most part and a bit faster than using the touch screen, especially when you are fighting dozens of baddies. Things got a bit frustrating from time to time when things didn't respond the way I had hoped but all in all it handles things pretty well. There are also times when you go into locations and use the gamepad as a second screen, which is pretty keen, and there are a number of moments where the game turns into a shooter or some other mini-game or quick time event occurs, which helps to break up the combo mashing.

All in all the style of the game, the controls, and the ridiculous but hilarious story have made me enjoy this game quite a bit. I'm definitely looking forward to my next playthrough on the next difficulty setting and this is a must own for Wii U owners.

Score: B+

Wonderful 101 Soon

Wonderful 101 should be waiting for me at home, and I can't wait to dig in to it. In general the scores have been pretty fair on it, and lots of people complaining about how short it is. On the other hand though many have mentioned that you need to play through it multiple times to really "get it."

I am definitely down for multiple playthroughs of a hopefully soon-to-be Platinum Games classic. I'll let everyone know what I think about it within the next few days!

Monster Hunter 4 plus Cats plus Mario

Monster Hunter 4 is shaping up to be a huge hit for Capcom as it readies it's release in Japan (and hopefully sooner than later here in the west) but one of the biggest treats is the Nintendo cameos in the game. I saw pictures earlier of the Link armour and weapon set that you can attain in the game, making your hero look like Nintendo's icon, with the trusty Master Sword and even boomerang in tow, but as well the feylnes, the little cat type creatures in the Monster Hunter series are able to be set in Mario and Luigi garb. It's cute, and ridiculous and can be seen here.

It's pretty ridiculous but I enjoy it. It's nice to see once again Nintendo branching out and letting other companies play around with their IP's, such as Tekken Tag Tournament 2 on the Wii U. I think that it helps Nintendo keep in the gamer's eye, especially for the more hardcore gamers and that there is nothing wrong with this, although I am certain there will be some that think this is a little ridiculous. Regardless, it's something fun to add to a game that is a little more intense than Super Mario Bros, I approve.

New Watch Dogs Gameplay

Ubisoft posted a new gameplay trailer showing off the open world maneuverings of the upcoming release Watch Dogs, and my oh my does it ever look good. The video covers a variety of different situations such as breaking into a facility and showing off more of the hacking aspects, and more of the driving around of Chicago which definitely appeals to me. Still not super sold on this new anti-hero but an open world Chicago is definitely something that interests me. Excited for this one to hit this fall, how about you?

Fall Gaming Preview

It's official, Xbox One is now launching on November 22, a week after Sony launches the PS4, and the week before Black Friday in the US; it's about to get crazy.

I've been reading tons of articles and previews and trying to get a good grasp on what are going to be the games that I most want to play this fall. I'm excited for my PS4, though the game I want the most is definitely inFamous: Second Son, which won't be out until February. Until then, here are the games that I will definitely be playing most on PS4 this fall as well as Wii U and whatever else I happen to come across.

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

Madden 25

Transistor

Octodad

Resogun

Wonderful 101

Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD

Pokemon X & Y

That's all for me, what are you planning on playing this fall?

SNES Revisited

This past week I was able to go with my family back to Edmonton to attend my brother's wedding. It was a wonderful time and there was lots of great chats, crazy adventures, and of course a lot of Magic the Gathering. One thing that did happen though was I was able to see some of my favorite old roommates and get back some of my old Super Nintendo games that they've had for quite some time (7 years or so I think). Of course the highlights of these are Final Fantasy 3, Super Metroid, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Secret of Mana, and of course, Chrono Trigger. I am so excited to have these gems back as I have previously mentioned building a key collection of the best games that I will be able to enjoy with my son (and any other children we have) and the fact that I have back some of the best games ever made is too good.

I've also hooked up my SNES and made sure they're all good to go, and my old saves are still on most of them; fantastic. Time to enjoy some gems of the past!