Wii U Review - Telegraph

Read this review for the Wii U earlier on The Telegraph, a UK newspaper site, as the console is releasing in the UK today. Thought I'd drop it in here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/video-game-reviews/9713229/Wii-U-review.html

I've considered purchasing it but don't know all that much about it. Reading the review, I now understand the premise behind the display in the console's controller which I had just assumed was meant to emulate hand-held playability. Using it as a secondary display for inventory management, showing game maps, etc. though sounds very interesting. It does look a bit cumbersome, although the review offsets that:

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Despite its size, the Gamepad is surprisingly comfortable to hold, even for long periods of time. At 500g it's lighter than an iPad, and the contoured back helps.

This sounds a little more disappointing though:

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One potential drawback, however, is that the Gamepad battery lasts between 3-5 hours depending on settings, with my own benchtests clocking in closer to the lower end.

The day one patch doesn't sound too appealing either:

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The sticking point here is that the online features --such as YouTube and video messaging-- aren't enabled until you download a mammoth day one patch

I guess you can chalk that up to a minor, one-time inconvenience but it allegedly consumes quite a bit of space.

The performance issues that the review reports also seem worrying:

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However, the CPU is reportedly slower and initial testing bears that out. The main hub-screen of the Wii U is slow to load, and stuttering on a playtest of the Wii U version of FIFA 13 does cause concern.

I'm still fairly open minded about buying it but I think I'll hold off a little to see how things play out. It seems to have potential though and the Mario titles are appealing to me.

I've already been chatting with you about this, but it's useful to post here as well:

The charge on the controller can be assisted with the volume or screen brightness adjusters. Also, similar to the 3DS you can unplug the docking station's cable and plug it into the controller directly. The cord is suitably long enough.

The gamepad screen is used differently depending on context. In the home menues the gamepad can swap views with the TV, or copies it. In games like Super Mario Bros U or Little Inferno both screens show the same thing; you don't need the TV at all and could play it off the gamepad in another room. Seems silly, but you'll end up finding reasons to do so.
Other times games will use the bottom screen like they might use the bottom screen of a DS or 3DS game; as a menu or inventory; perhaps a map or radar. In ZombiU when you use your scanner the TV switches to a 3rd person view of your character looking at the scanner, and the gamepad screen shows a lit up version of the first person view that reveals items or zombies lurking in the shadows that you wouldn't have noticed. You can move the gamepad about to change the view and tag things that show up when you return to normal view. Something similar happens when you go to loot something, where the TV view switches to a 3rd person view of them searching through something while your gaze is down on the pad, dragging items into your inventory. There's a sense of urgency, as you can't see your surroundings while you're involved in this.

There's enourmous potential in what the console can do. Miiverse is a largely understated addition. It's like a persistent message baord that integrates within the games themselves. If you get all three star coins in a Mario level you can leave a message post for it that other players see in their worlds. It can be a tip or a drawing, and you can even label it as a spoiler. Unsure store patrons can visit the Miiverse for that game and see what people are saying about it.

A LOT of potential with this console.

quote Dynamite

Yeah, in actual fact I went ahead and bought one today in the end. The stores were sold out here though so I won't actually have it until it's delivered in a week or so. Naturally they're prioritizing the pre-order purchases. I bought the black one with the most memory and Mario U and ZombiU to go with it!

I've mostly been a fan of Nintendo systems in the past. It's what I grew up with. Skipped new gens like the Wii though; my last Nintendo console was the N64. I'm sure playing Mario U will be pretty nostalgic! I'm pleased there seems to be good interest from 3rd party devs too with Black Ops 2, etc. making the release line-up. Hoping we'll see GTA 5 on the Wii U in addition to PS3/360 when it comes.

Pretty stoked for when I get it to see where this goes.

One of us! One of us! One of us!

I still need to buy my Wii U, actually. lol