When
the Wii U was first announced Nintendo showed off a series of mini
games to show off the use of the brand new tablet controller. Although
these mini games were nothing more than tech demos, as time went on
Nintendo decided to turn them into a game. By E3 2012 Nintendo had put
together a new game to be bundled with the Deluxe version of the Wii U,
that would act like the Wii U's version of Wii Sports; that game was a
collection of mini games called Nintendo Land.
By using the tech
demos, as well as some new ideas, Nintendo crafted a virtual theme park
to help players explore the different features the Wii U had to offer.
Using different series as the theme for each area, Nintendo created 12
different "attractions" for players to explore, and help ease them into
the new controller. Still, how does this game compare to the Wii's Wii
Sports? Is it worth a buy if you don't have the Deluxe Wii U?
Before
we get started though, I would like to say one thing. Since Nintendo
Land is a collection of mini games, this review will not follow my
standard review format. I will be covering each game as a game of their
own, and I will also be discussing the main features of Nintendo Land as
well. If you're only interested in certain mini games in this
collection, feel free to skip to that section of the review; however
please keep in mind that this game does in fact have 12 games, and I
wouldn't recommend buying it if you only plan on playing one or two of
them games. So now, with that being said, lets get started!
Nintendo Land Plaza:
When
you first turn on Nintendo Land you will find yourself in the middle of
the theme park, which is basically just a round circular area, with the
park guide Monita telling you the basics of the game. She will go over
camera movement, character movement, as well as show you other aspects
of the park as well. Although the main aspect of Nintendo Land is the
mini games themselves, that doesn't mean you won't be spending quite a
bit of time in the plaza as well.
While
in the plaza you can move your character with the left analog stick,
control the camera with the right analog stick, and jump by hitting the
RZ button, but that's not all. The plaza also makes use of the motion
controls on the tablet, and really, this can be a little bit annoying.
While the tablet screen shows the very same thing that's on the TV, it
also acts as a sort of window to the world, and that allows you to look
around by actually moving around in real life. By holding the LZ button
you can actually enter a first person view, and that allows you to get a
better look around the park. Really, this feature is pretty cool, and
it really does help pull you into the game. If you want to look at the
ground you're standing on, point the tablet to the ground, if you want
to look up in the sky, move it up into the air! It's really a nice
feature, but it really isn't that useful. Still that doesn't mean it
doesn't have problems of its own.
Since the game pad screen is the
same as whats on your TV, or rather, your TV is showing whats on your
game pad, you will also see black bars from time to time as well. If you
don't hold your game pad perfectly aligned with your TV screen, you
will see black bars around the picture. Really it isn't too big of a
deal, but if you're the type of person who rather be looking at the TV
instead of your game pad, it might become a little bit annoying to
always see the black bars as you move your hands around.
Although
the game pad is mostly used to control the camera angle in the plaza,
it does have other uses as well. By touching on different objects you
can actually interact with them, but I'll get into that more below.
Starting with the Mii Verse feature.
Miiverse -
Nintendo's
Miiverse is a massive social network that is built into the Wii U. You
can visit different game's group pages, make comments, reply to other
peoples comments, post pictures from the game you are playing, as well
as draw pictures for others to see. In short, it's a social network;
however Nintendo Land is one of the few games that is actually built
INTO that social network.
As you walk around the park, you'll
notice a lot of other Mii characters walking around as well. Now these
Miis are in fact real people, but they are not actually walking around
your park; instead a computer is taking control of them, with messages
they've posted lately showing up above their heads. Basically every time
you post a comment in Nintendo Land, your Mii will randomly show up on
someone elses' game, and they will see that comment you posted as they
get close to you.
By clicking on these Mii characters (by using
the game pad) you can also view that players stats in game. A menu will
come up that shows you how many badges they've gotten in each game,
which ones they play the most, and you can also add them to your friends
list or reply to their message as well. Really its a nice feature, but
it's also something parents should watch out for.
Although
Miiverse does in fact have mods to remove anything that violates the
terms of use, sometimes things do get through. Just because mods are
there to take action, that doesn't mean you wont sometimes see someone
running around with the f bomb floating above their head, or hand drawn
pictures that you wouldn't want your kids to see. Still the good news is
that you CAN turn off this interaction either in game, or by using the
parental controls.
The only real issue I have with the whole
Miiverse thing is that although you can make posts and read others posts
from in game; if you go to comment on something, you actually HAVE to
load up the Miiverse app. Now this really isn't too big of a deal, but
it does take about 20-30 seconds to load, and another 20 or so seconds
to be closed out. Really not sure why Nintendo couldn't have just let us
comment in game, but oh well...
Coin Drop and Prizes -
Another
big part of the plaza is actually the Coin Drop mini game, and the
prizes you can earn from it. By going to the tall tower in the center of
the park, which can be done by either clicking on it or jumping next to
it, you can play a coin drop mini game. As you play through the parks
mini games you will earn coins, and these coins are used to earn prizes
in this mini game.
The
Coin Drop mini game in Nintendo Land is basically Nintendo's version of
Plinko, which is something you may have seen before in Japan, in a toy
store, or even on TV game shows. The basics of the game is that there
are different pegs and "walls" allover the board, with a few prize spots
as well. By dropping a coin, or disc, at the top, it will slowly make
its way down between these pegs and walls, and hopefully land on the
prize. Well in Nintendo land to earn a prize you actually have to hit
ALL of the prize spots. While a lot of the time these prize spots will
be on the bottom of the board, other times they are actually scattered
around, and sometimes there are even skull spots which will destroy all
of the coins currently on the board.
Really
there isn't too much to this mini game, and it isn't really even that
fun; it's just something extra to help you earn prizes and fill up your
park. It's no where near as addictive as Super Smash Bro's coin shooter,
and it doesn't even involve that much skill. It's just basic physics
(as in, gravity pulls stuff down), and it requires a lot of luck.
Still
if you manage to hit all of the prize spots, you'll be rewarded with a ?
Box which will shoot out of the tower and land somewhere in the park.
If you find the ? Box, and either touch it or click on it, it'll
transform into some kind of prop. These objects range from enemies and
objects that you will meet in the mini games, to objects that will
actually change the music or even change the park from day to night.
Attraction Tour -
The
Attraction Tour is a train which circles around the park, and it is
used in a sort of party style mini game mode. While on the Attraction
Tour you pick a series of mini games you would like to play, and then
the game will force you to play them in that set order where your
objective is to try and score the highest out of your group of friends.
The Attraction Tour is completely based around 2-5 players, and it
cannot be played on your own. It is pretty understandable though, since
it is designed to give you a way to compete against your friends (even
in the otherwise single player attractions).
The Nintendo Land Menu -
If
you're not a fan of walking around a hub world, there is another option
you can actually use which is much easier. By clicking the little
"menu" button at the bottom right of the screen you can open up the
Nintendo Land Menu. Here in the menu all of the attractions are listed
by groups (Team Attractions, Competitive Attractions, and Solo
Attractions), and you can just simply click on which one you want to
play. You can also access the game's options from here, which will allow
you to change how the game interacts with Miiverse, as well as camera,
microphone, and pointer settings. You can also see which version
Nintendo Land is currently running on at the bottom (at the time of this
review, it is Version 1.1.0).
Badges and Star Players:
Before
I get into each mini game, I would also like to explain one other
system which plays a major role in Nintendo Land; the Badge and Star
Player system. Every single attraction in Nintendo Land has five badges
that you can collect, and you can also become a Star Player in each one
as well. To unlock the badges you have to complete different goals (such
as catch the ghost in Luigi's Ghost Mansion without picking up a
battery power up), and once you do so they will show up on your Mii's
profile. Really badges don't add anything to the game feature wise, but
they are challenges you can work towards completing, and you can show
them off to other players. As for the Star Player status, that is a
little bit different.
Star
Player status is rewarded to you whenever you complete the overall goal
in one of the mini games. This overall goal can be anything from
"beating the main levels" to simply playing the game 30 times, and it is
always different for each game. Although Star Player status also really
doesn't add anything feature wise, it is a goal for you to work
towards, and any attraction you Star will have a star floating above it.
So
anyway, with that, let's get into the actual games! Please note that I
will be starting with the Single Player games, work my way to the Team
Attractions, and then finish off with the Competitive Attractions.
Although the games can be played whenever you want from the very start,
for the sake of this review I will be working my way from left to right
off of the Nintendo Land Menu.
Yoshi's Fruit Cart (Solo):
Yoshi's
Fruit Cart is a very simple game that makes use of both the TV screen
as well as your game pad. The goal of the game is to lead your Yoshi
Cart down a path to eat every piece of fruit on the map, and then exit
though the door to the next area; however there is a catch!
On the
TV screen you have a view of the entire map. You can see the fruit, the
traps, walls, etc; however on the touch screen you cannot. By using the
touch screen, and by looking at the TV screen, you have to draw a path
for the Yoshi Cart to follow. While earlier levels have checkered
colored pieces of ground to help you judge where the pieces of fruit
are, later levels become quite a bit more challenging where all you have
to go on is the shadows of moving clouds. As the game goes on more and
more hazards and challenges are added in, such as fruit which must be
eaten in a set order and fruit that moves, and you are also limited on
how big of a path you can actually draw. As the game goes on you can
also unlock markers you can place to help you tell where you're at, but
they are very limited.
If
you mess up three times, the game ends, and you have to start all over
from the beginning; however sometimes warp gates do open up which will
allow you to advance faster. Even so, the game does become pretty
addicting, and it is actually a lot more challenging than it first may
seem. Although this game also is in fact a single player only game, you
can challenge your friends to shoot for the high score by using the
train I discussed earlier.
OCTOPUS DANCE (Solo):
This
is another single player attraction, and it is based on the Game and
Watch. In this game players must preform the dance moves the computer
player does, but you also have to make sure you stay keep up with the
beat. The game uses both the game pad and the TV screen, and it
basically requires you to switch off every round. While one screen shows
the front view of the characters, the other screen will show the back
view which is basically the screen you will want to be looking at.
By
shaking the tablet, and by using the left and right analog sticks, you
must copy the moves the computer player makes, and dance to them. Yep,
that's basically it. As the game goes on it will try to confuse you,
such as by blocking off the back view screen with ink so you'll have to
look at the front view screen where the controls will be reverse, but
other than that it is pretty simple. This one is also a single player
game, but by using wii remotes the other players can actually interact
with the game to try and confuse you by clicking on different objects
which will then get in your way.
DONKEY KONG'S CRASH COURSE (Solo):
Donkey
Kong's Crash Course is a mini game based off of the original Donkey
Kong arcade game. In this game you must make your way through a crazy
crash course where you must steer your roller car by tilting the game
pad. The crash course is basically set up like a maze using different
objects found in Donkey Kong, and you've got to figure out how to get
from beginning to end as fast as possible.
Sometimes
you'll come across parts of the maze which will move with your game
pad, and other times you'll have to blow into the mic to move platforms.
The game is a tricky one to figure out, and it is very easy to flip
your car over and die. Mess up a few times, and then you are out! This
game is also one of the Solo Attractions, and like many others, it has
unlockable levels to complete once you finish the main course.
TAKAMARU'S Ninja Castle (Solo):
Takamaru's
Ninja Castle is based off of a series of game which have never been
released outside of Japan, but that doesn't really matter here. While
the actual games are a lot like The Legend of Zelda, Takamaru's Ninja
Castle is actually a rail shooter that uses shurikens (throwing stars),
bombs, swords, and other ninja weapons.
In this game you hold the
game pad in a vertical position, take aim at the TV screen, and then use
the touch screen to throw stars at ninja targets. Although this may
seem easy at first, it's actually pretty challenging! Not only do you
have to hold the game pad steady with your left or right hand, you have
to use your free hand to press down on the touch screen, and then fling
the shuriken with quite a bit of force! It's not as simple as pointing
and shooting, and it takes quite a bit of practice if you want to master
the game and land a high score.
As
you go through the game you'll also unlock the ability to use other
items, and these items will require you to draw different shapes on the
touch screen to use. For example if you want to use a bomb, you'll have
to draw a circle.
Just like the past few games I explained, this
is a Solo Attraction, but, once again, it does have a score board so you
can compete against your friends.
CAPTAIN FALCON'S TWISTER RACE (Solo):
Captain
Falcon's Twister Race is an attraction based off of the F-Zero games,
and it also plays a lot like them! In this mode you once again hold the
game pad in a vertical position, and you can then either look at the
game pad, or the TV screen to actually play the game.
In
this game your objective is to race down the track, dodge hazards, and
hopefully make it to the end without wrecking your futuristic car. While
the game pad shows a top view of the track, the TV screen shows it from
a behind view 3D perspective. By tilting the game pad left and right
you can turn your racer, and by touching the screen you can slow down.
Although
Twister Race isn't as fast and crazy as the actual F-Zero games, it is
still a really fun mini game, that a lot of F-Zero fans will enjoy. Too
bad this one is single player only as well.
BALLOON TRIP BREEZE (Solo):
Balloon
Trip Breeze is the final Solo Attraction, and it is based off of the
NES game Balloon Fight. In Balloon Trip Breeze you play as a Balloon
Fighter as they sail across the sky from island to island. By using the
touch screen on the game pad, you can create gusts of wind by sliding
the stylus to help guide your character around hazards, kill enemies,
and pick up items to help increase your score. Each day in Balloon Trip
Breeze has a daylight, sunset, and night round, and the object of the
game is to make it to the final island on the final day.
Just
like in the original Balloon Fight game, enemies will attack you, which
you can kill by popping their balloons, there is a fish which will try
to eat you when you get too close to the water, and you will fall if all
of your balloons pop. Like Captain Falcon's Twister Race, this
attraction is actually quite a bit like the original game, and it can be
pretty addicting.
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA BATTLE QUEST (Team):
The
Legend of Zelda Battle Quest is the first Team Attraction, and it can
be played with 1-4 players. Unlike the single player attractions, Battle
Quest also features two different modes of play: there's the quest
mode, and the time attack mode.
Quest Mode -
In the Quest
Mode you can either go at it solo, or team up with your friends as you
battle through an on rail Zelda themed level. Before you start the game
you can actually pick between using the game gad and a Wii Motion Plus
controller (yes it HAS to be a Motion Plus controller, or a Wii Remote
with the Motion Plus add on to work). While the game pad user has a bow,
and will be looking at the game pad during play, Wii Motion Plus
players will have a sword and shield and use the TV screen.
After
you have selected your players you can then begin to work your way
through a series of on rail levels. While your characters are always
moving forward, you must shoot (if you're on the game pad) and slash (if
you're using a Wii Remote) your way through mobs of enemies. While the
player with the game pad can stand back with the bow as they take aim,
the sword users can only stop in place if they are to put up their
shield, and they can only change the way their characters move by
changing the target they are locked onto.
Although
this on rail set up might seem strange at first, it actually works
really well, and it controls great! With the game pad you have dead on
aiming thanks to the motion control (although you can also use the left
analog stick to move the camera, since the right analog stick is used
for pulling back your bow, but it isn't as spot on as aiming with motion
control), and with the Wii Motion Plus you actually have full control
over your sword with 1:1 sword slashes. The controls really do look
great, and they really help show off both the game pad and the Motion
Plus features.
Time Attack -
Time Attack mode is a single
player only mode in Battle Quest, where you use the bow to take down
enemies as fast as possible. In this mode your character always stands
in a single spot, and waves of enemies charge at them as you try to
protect yourself, as well as stop them as soon as possible. Once you've
cleared the wave of enemies your time is recorded, and you can then try
to beat your record. There's a few different maps to play in Time
Attack, and it is good practice if you like to use the bow, but it isn't
anywhere as deep as the Quest Mode.
PIKMIN ADVENTURE (Team):
Pikmin
Adventure is the second Team Attraction in Nintendo Land, but it also
has two different modes of play. While the main game can be found in
Challenge Mode, there is also a Versus mode as well.
Challenge Mode -
Pikmin
Adventure's Challenge Mode is basically a dungeon crawling action RPG.
It can be played with anywhere from 1-5 players, with one player on the
game pad, and up to 4 players on Wii Remotes (standard Wii Remotes work
for this one). While the player on the game pad plays as Captain Olimar,
the players on the Wii Remotes get to play as Pikmin.
As Captain
Olimar your job is to command your pikmin by throwing them at enemies
and objects to break, as well as to assist the other players (which will
be playing as large pikmin). Captain Olimar's gameplay completely takes
place on the touch screen, where you can move with the analog stick,
tap the touch screen to throw pikmin, and hit either LZ or RZ to call
and pick up the other players. Since both the left and right analog
sticks move Olimar, he can be easily controlled by both left and right
handed players.
When
playing as a pikmin in Pikmin Adventure, things are a little bit
different. The Wii Remote is held on its side, and you basically use
only three buttons. There's the D-Pad which allows you to move, and then
the 1 and 2 buttons are used to jump, and to attack. It's simple
standard classic action RPG dungeon crawling action, but there is a bit
more too it.
The objective in Challenge Mode is to make your way
through different stages, kill enemies in your way, break boxes, find
coins, and then make it to Captain Olimar's ship in order to escape.
Throughout the levels you'll find nectar which allows you to level up
your characters, which will increase their attack power as well as how
many pikmin that follow Olimar, and you'll also be able to find power up
items as well. There are quite a few different power ups to pick up,
and each one of them will give your characters different types of
attacks. From a hammer which allows you to break stuff faster, to a fist
which allows you to punch hard and shoot charged up fireballs, there's a
wide verity, and they are all very helpful.
Although most levels
just have you running from start to finish as you destroy everything in
your path, some levels do include extra challenges (such as timed stages
where you have to collect clocks to increase your remaining time), as
well as big boss battles.
Even
though this mode can be played on your own, it really is much better
when you play with a group of friends... Just don't let your pikmin
friends know that they can escape you by shaking their Wii Remotes...
When you reach a button which requires all players to be standing on,
and you've got a rebel pikmin who won't come when you call him,
advancing through the levels might become be a bit harder than they
should be... Just say'in...
Versus Mode -
Although Challenge
Mode can be played solo or with friends, Versus Mode can only be played
with 2 or more players. In this mode all players are thrown into a
battle arena, where enemies, boxes, and candy will randomly fall from
the sky. The object of the game is to fight the other players to collect
as much candy as possible, and whoever has the most in the end, well,
they win. Candy can be found in boxes, from killing enemies, and from
attacking other players. In short, the Versus Mode is a chaotic battle
mode, which is better with a large group of friends, and there are quite
a few maps to play on to help change things up.
METROID BLAST (Team):
The
third and final Team Attraction is one called "Metroid Blast," and just
like the name sounds, it is based on the Metroid series. Just like in
Pikmin Adventure, Metroid Blast also features a 1-5 player mode, as well
as a versus mode; however there are actually two types of versus modes
this time. One for Surface-Air Combat, and one for Ground Battle.
Assault Mission -
Assault
Mission is the 1-5 player mode in Metroid Blast, but once again, it is
better with friends. When playing this mode you can have one person on
the tablet and up to four people using Wii Remotes, with the Nun chuk
attachment.
When playing with the game pad you will be in control
of Samus' ship. By using the left analog stick to strafe, the right
analog stick to climb/dive/turn around, the ZL to zoom in, and ZR to
attack, game pad players get to fly around the sky, and shoot enemies
with complete control over the ship. With aiming controlled by motion
controls like in Zelda Battle Quest, you can also easily target in on
your enemies, and snipe them from afar. In short, the controls work
great, and they are very easy to use.
Although
the game pad controls are pretty unique, players using the Wii Motion
Plus Remote use controls most will be familiar with. While on the ground
the game plays just like a standard 3rd person shooter, with the Wii
Remote being used to aim, and the Nun Chuck being used to move. You can
also transform into a morph ball, use a graphing beam to hang from
Samus' ship, and zoom in on your targets as well.
As for the
actual game, it too plays like a 3rd person shooter. Each level has you
in a map with many different enemies, as well as bosses, to fight, and
the whole goal is to survive and kill them all. Throughout the level you
can different power ups, including health power ups, and sometimes you
are given different goals to complete as well (for example one mission
requires you to find all of the hidden items in the stage). As time goes
on each level becomes more and more challenging, and the bosses become
harder as well.
Even though this can be played on your own, I
strongly recommend playing it with a group of friends if you can. It's
really too bad Nintendo Land doesn't have any online multiplayer.
Surface to Air Combat -
In
the Surface-Air Combat mode one player takes control of Samus' ship,
while the others play as Samus on the ground in a death match style
game. At the start of each round players can pick how much health they
would like to have (Ship's max is 12, while ground player's max is 6),
and then they are thrown into combat. While in this mode ground players
must work together to bring down the ship, while the ship must do
everything it can to take out the ground players before time runs out.
Just like in the Assault Mission Mode, there are power ups to find, and
different maps to play on as well.
Ground Battle -
Ground
Battle is just what you might it expect to be; a versus battle mode
that takes place on the ground. Just like with the Surface-Air mode,
players are thrown into a battle arena, and the whole objective of the
game is to defeat the other players. Really the only difference is
there's no ship in this mode, and it is a complete free for all. The
only other difference is this mode can only be played with 2-4 players
instead of 2-5 like with Surface-Air, and the main Assault Mission Mode.
MARIO CHASE (Competitive):
Although
Pikmin Adventure and Metroid Blast included Competitive modes, there
are also a few games based around competition, and Mario Chase is the
first of these.
Unlike the other multiplayer attractions,
Competitive Attractions can ONLY be played with 2 or more players (in
this case 2-5), and there is no way around it. No computer players to
take the other players spots, and no extra modes to be played. It's
local multiplayer, or nothing.
In Mario Chase one player plays as
Mario on the game pad (where they can see a map of the arena), and the
other players play as toads. The whole objective of this game is for
Mario to run away, and for the toads to chase him down... Yep, that is
it. Sure Yoshi Carts are controlled by the computer, and they do help
chase Mario down, but they don't do anything more than just knock him
down.
Really
there isn't much to this game at all, and all the toads can really do
is run around as Monita ties to give them hints on where Mario is
hiding, and all they can do is try and tackle Mario to the ground when
they get close enough. It's nothing more than a game of tag where
everyone is it besides one person. Truthfully, this one won't be a game
you'll want to return to after you've collected all of the stamps and
played it 30 times for Star Status. While younger kids may enjoy it a
lot, older gamers won't have much of a reason to even play it.
Luigi's GHOST MANSION (Competitive):
Luigi's
Ghost Mansion is the second Competitive game, and it can be played with
2-5 players. Luigi's Ghost Mansion is basically Nintendo Land's version
of the GameCube game "Pac-Man VS." While in Pac-Man VS Pac-Man was on
the bottom screen with a full view of the map, the ghosts were on the
top screen with a limited view as they tried to catch him. Well, things
really aren't that much different here.
In Ghost Mansion the game
pad player plays as the ghost, while the other players walk around the
dark mansion on the TV screen with a flash light. Since the ghost is
invisible while in the shadows, players must work together to hunt him
down, and then drain his life by shining a light on him; however the
ghost has a goal as well.
As
the ghost, your mission in life is to scare everyone until they pass
out. Sneak up on them, or use a magic attack to keep them from moving
for a few seconds, really it's up to you how you want to about scaring
them, but either way it won't be easy.
The thing about Ghost
Mansion is, it does in fact become "funner" as more players join in. Not
only does the ghost have more people to worry about, but the maps
actually scale based on how many people are playing. While with two or
three players the map is pretty small, with four or five players it'll
actually be pretty large and provide quite the challenge for all
players.
Really Ghost Mansion isn't a bad attraction, but it is
just another hide and go seek/tag game. It's fun to play with large
groups of friends, but it can get a bit boring when it's only two...
Animal Crossing SWEET DAY (Competitive):
The
final attraction in Nintendo Land, and it too is basically a game of
tag. In this one, one player plays on the game pad where they control
two gate keepers (one with the left analog stick, and one with the right
analog stick), as they try to catch the other players who are animals
running around eating candy.
As
an animal your goal in life is to run around the town, eat candy, shake
trees to get more candy, and then spit the candy out in specially
marked places. If you can manage to get the required amount of candy in
the goal before you are caught three times, you win; however if you (or
the other animal players) get caught a total of three times, you lose.
Really the game is quite simple, and in a lot of ways will remind you of
the old children's game Hungry Hungry Hippos. Not only do the animals
eat little round balls that are "candy," but their heads flop open just
the same.
Although this game is just another game of tag, it does
add its own spin on things, and it can be fun with a large group of
friends. Really though, it isn't anything too special...
The Art Style of Nintendo Land:
Although
I normally don't talk about the graphics of a game in one of my
reviews, I felt that this was something important to discuss this time.
Since Nintendo Land is going to be the first game a lot of players will
see in HD on a Nintendo system, I thought it would only be fair to warn
you; this game does NOT show off the power of the Wii U.
Nintendo
Land uses a cartoony graphic style very much like Wii Sports, and just
about every other game that uses Miis as characters. The park
attractions are made up of metal and cloth, and everything just has that
theme park feel to it. Nothing looks realistic, and nothing comes from
the games themselves. Everything is either a costume, or made out of
metal, and it really shows. Still this isn't a bad thing, and it really
does help give the game character! However, it doesn't show off what the
Wii U can do like some people may have hoped.
Although
the image is nice and sharp, there is one thing that did bother me
about it all, and that is the draw distance. For some reason Nintendo
thought it was a good idea to only how whats around you load, while
everything else just pops in as you get close. Mii characters,
attraction gates, and even prizes you've earned from the coin drop just
pop in and out of view as you walk around. Really there's no excuse for
this to be happening, and I really don't know why Nintendo chose to make
it like this.
Other than that, the game does look nice and sharp,
there's a wide range of colors, and it is all easy on the eyes. No more
blurry edges!
The Good and the Bad:
Nintendo
Land, for the most part, does everything right; however that doesn't
mean it is perfect. The truth is that the game itself is standing on the
border of being good, and of being bad. The thing is, everyone will
like something different about this game, and chances are no one will
like everything about it. Some people will love some attractions and
hate others, some will like the art style, others will wish it was more
realistic, and some people will like the use of the game pad, while
others would rather stay away from it. Really, this game won't make
everyone happy, because that is impossible. EVERYONE likes different
things, and in a game with 12 "mini" games that is especially true.
When
it comes down to it, Nintendo Land is a great collection of mini games,
and it is a great party game. The co-op attractions are amazingly deep
and filled with content, and the single player attractions give you a
nice challenge; however the competitive attractions just seem a bit
lazy. All three of them are hide and go seek/tag based, and Luigi's
Ghost Mansion is really the only one worth playing (it was one of the
first games they showed off at E3 after all; it just seems like they
spent a lot more time working on it compared to the others). Although
the game does use the Mii verse feature very well, it does lack online
play (which is kind of a let down considering the Wii U is the start of
the 8th Generation of gaming), and truthfully, Nintendo Land doesn't
really bring anything new to the table.
While the game is a lot of
fun to play, everything in it is actually something we have seen
before. The touch screen controls really aren't too much different from
the DS and 3DS, and the Wii Remote is still the Wii Remote (although it
now uses Motion Plus a lot more). Now I'm not saying that this holds the
game back, but if you were looking for something new, you won't really
find it here.
Anyway, Nintendo Land is in fact a great game, and I
would recommend picking it up if you already haven't. I give Nintendo
Land for the Wii U a 9/10! It's a great game, with a few minor problems
holding it back.
