Okay, I've now had plenty of time to mess around with some features and a few games. I should have taken notes, but I'll try and remember all the key points that stood out.
CONSOLE:
I never really care what a console looks like, and have no opinion of the console itself (shape, size, color, etc) other than appreciation for the location of the sync button now being available right on the face of the console. I also have 2 Wii's that get fairly regular usage, so there will be plenty of remote-syncing going on any time I corral enough players together for a 4 or 5-player game on the WiiU. The option to change order of controllers on the WiiU is much more comfortable than on the Wii, or even PS3 or 360. There's no resyncing involved this time around; just go to the menu option, change the order (the order of all controllers can be change at one time), and they are set.
GAMEPAD:
The Gamepad is the star of the show, and has all the features one would expect from a pseudo-handheld. Aside from the button layout and dual-sticks, it's basically the bottom half of a 3DS with a much bigger screen. By that, I mean it has a mic, speakers, stylus slot, volume slide, camera, headphone jack, touch screen, gyro senser. On top of all that, it rumbles.
I make the comparison to 3DS, because that's where I first experienced gyro controls (Face Raiders, AR Cards game), and Nintendland is experienced the same way on the gamepad. Turning/looking left or right can be accomplished by using the right analog stick, but randy gamers with plenty of room to roam may also view left/right by rotating their head/body/arms around 360 degrees. The same is true for the vertical axis.
For the sake of this blog, I whipped out the ol' tape measure and measured the distance of the wireless range from the 3 spots outside of my living room where I expect to do the most 'remote' gaming. In all the cases there is only 1 wall seperating me and the WiiU.
The Studio room of our house is set a little below the living room, and I had fidelity issues at around 21-feet.
My bedroom, at the end of a hall which leads directly into the living room, is level with my living room, and there's direct obstruction-free airspace between the WiiU and my bedroom door. I was able to play the WiiU on my side of the bed (the far side) from a whopping 40-feet with intermittent fidelity issues.
There is also a bathroom located directly between the living and the bedroom, and again, at around 27-feet, I was able to play, and there were intermittent fidelity issues.
When the gamepad begins to lag, a screen appears announcing the issue and it can take from 1 - 10 seconds for it to resolve. If it doesn't resolve, a second screen appears requesting you reposition yourself. During a game, everything stops and picks up where it left off, so it's not like you are vulnerable during the resync process. In my honest opinion, there is no buffering notifications or anything like that, but I think there's is a little of that happening unannounced behind the scenes. I also think that explains why switching between certain apps and games takes longer than expected -- I think data is being shipped to the gamepad. This is just a complete guess on my part.
One last note about the fidelity: yes, it does stop the action, but it was infrequent enough for it to be an issue with me, and I happily look forward to playing WiiU from those areas of my house.
WiiU SYSTEM MENU
The WiiU system menu is very similar to that of the Wii, but with improvements in almost every way. The main reason for this is that it now fits in the palm of your hands. Wii remotes behave the same as they would on a Wii and can access everything the gamepad can. It's the difference of ease of use between using a finger or full hand and arm that is measurably different, and the gamepad is indeed much easier.
Far and away the best improvement is in the in-game system menu. This time, instead of just being able to return to the Wii Menu, reset the game and other limited options from the Wii in-game system menu, with Wii U we are now able to check our friends list, surf the web, visit the eShop, and more.
The web browser takes a huge step forward in terms of quality and comes already installed (it's not its own channel like on Wii). I haven't tested too many sites out, but most "tube" sites work, although I haven't gotten any live streams to work (perhaps to prevent competition with the Nintendo Video Chat feature). With Facebook, I was able to use the mobile version of the site pretty well, but the standard PC version wasn't available.
The main "Channel" system menu is just like the Wii's, with added features like the web browser also available (not as channels). It comes with Hulu, Netflix, and Youtube channels, but as of now the Youtube channel (the only one I tried) isn't yet online. Other channels include the Disc Channel (main game channel), Wii Channel, Mii Maker, Daily Log, Wii U Chat, Parental Controls, Health and Safety, System Menu, and also a profile settings tab.
Like PS3 and 360, WiiU now incorporates user accounts, so before a user accesses any games or menus they must first select their account.
MIIVERSE:
Miiverse is a social media app best described as a cross between Twitter and Facebook for Mii's. Users can send text or stylus-drawn images, and can view various forums respective to the different games available for WiiU, or view the main forum area where public messages are being posted from all around the world. From there, users can send messages or friend invites.
Aside from setting up my account, sending one friend invite and posting a couple messages, just from browsing through a few forums I had access to hundreds of different WiiU users, all of which are potential friends list candidates.
Once users become friends it is then possible to video chat with them directly using WiiU Chat. I haven't yet established a chat connection, but once a user is setup and logged on the process seems fairly striaghtforward. Basically, what I'm getting at, is that it now seems very practical to connect with anyone online, befriend them, and start video chatting with them, a feat that is leaps and bounds ahead of all previous Nintendo systems.
WII CHANNEL:
In order to play Wii games on WiiU, one must first access the Wii Channel. Accessing the Wii Channel takes the user to a near exact replica of the original Wii "Channel" system menu. Even the now-classic Wii Shop channel is there.
Some things are missing, though, and I will now veer this blog in a direction that might not concern most folks, but may very well affect a concerned few who try to transfer their Mii's like I did...
TRANSFERRING MII'S FROM A WII TO A WIIU WITHOUT DOING A FULL SYSTEM DATA TRANSFER
Despite having the option of transferring my Wii system data to the WiiU, I have no intention of doing so. My Wii is fine where it is, and I plan on reserving every bit of my 32G internal hard drive for WiiU applications. I did, however, have about a dozen Mii's I wanted to transfer to the WiiU, and I set out on that task.
Mii's can be transferred via 2 options: 3DS or Wii Channel. Miis cannot be directly transfered from a seperate Wii. The only direct way is to transfer the entire system data, and then transfer the Mii from the Wii Cahnnel to WiiU's Mii Maker.
Also, as I found out, Miis cannot be transferred from a Wii to a WiiU via Wii Remote Storage Memory! Although remotes themselves can be synced to either a Wii or WiiU, the WiiU Mii Maker app does not recognize remotes as a transfer source.
So I tried one more approach and discovered that Mii's cannot be transfered to an SD card on the Wii! If there is a way, I'm not aware of it. Obviously, this meant I couldn't swap the SD card from Wii to WiiU and do it that way.
After exhausting all other avenues and trying one last approach, I realized that the Wii "Channel" system menu that is accessed on WiiU via the Wii Channel has been stripped of all friend codes and messaging capabilites. Therefore, I couldn't exchange a FC between my WiiU and the original Wii, and couldn't "message" a Mii from one to the other. With the WiiU geared to obliterate FC's altogether, it makes perfect sense to retire that method and rely entirely upon each Wii game's own friend system to support online play.
At any rate, here's how I eventually managed to transfer the Mii's:
1 - Transfer the Mii's from the Wii to a 3DS. This in itself can be tricky, but the 3DS gives instructions that help walk you through.
2 - This step is very important once the Mii's are transferred to the 3DS. Go into Mii Maker, view and edit each me and change the "Copying" setting to "Allow". Mii's transferred from a Wii are automatically set to "Don't Allow". Mii's set at "Don't Allow" cannot be edited in any way on a WiiU after they are transferred.
3 - Transfer the Mii to the WiiU. This part is fairly straightforward. I did a direct transfer link, but they can also be swap via QR codes
It's worth noting that the Mii's look noticably superior on a WiiU.
CONCLUSION:
The verdict is still out on some of the more intricate details, but overall the WiiU's been a lot of fun to mess around with and experience. In my spare time it's been with me every where I go: to bed, to the bathroom. It's really a neat experience.
I'll be back to write more, but I want to leave with a couple intersting observations I made.
The first was when my buddy and I were playing Nintendoland. The overall feel of one player having his sole focus, eyes and everything, on the gamepad and the other using solely the TV is that of a LAN connection. The actual comment was that it felt like we were playing online multiplayer on 2 consoles in one room. It was like having 2 consoles in 1, and the $350 I spent suddenly seemed like a greater value.
The second observation was made after I transferred the Mii's. I was sitting in the Studio and had everything still laying out in front of me: 3DS, Wii Remote, WiiU Gamepad. I had the Gamepad sitting upright in it's stand, and keep in mind that the TV that the WiiU console was connected to is in the living room behind a closed door, and, for impact, was actually turned off at the time. In fact, the whole Mii transfer process took place without the TV being on.
So, anyway, I was sitting there playing New Super Mario U, was messing around with the options and found how to switch the controls between the Gamepad or Wii Remote. Since I still had the Wii Remote there I switched control over to the Wii Remote, set the Gamepad up in it's cradle and used it simply as a monitor while the TV and console were in the other room. It was a discovery I appreciate as one only Nintendo could deliver, as they have done for me since I was a kid. Nintendo Holidays Rock!
No comments:
Post a Comment