Game

[bork]

http://www.destructoid.com/review-batman-arkham-city-armored-edition-238794.phtml

Barkham up the wrong tree

At least for one year, a Nintendo system now stands on equal footing with other leading consoles, and Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition exists to hammer that point home. One of the most critically acclaimed action titles on PC, Xbox 360, and PS3, Arkham City is now available on the Wii U, and it looks right at home.

That's all it needed to do, really. What it didn't need was GamePad-specific features shoehorned into itself with no benefit granted to the end user. Sadly, it seems not even the Dark Knight can resist the lure of tech demo chicanery.

The Armored Edition gets its name from new combat suits worn by both Batman and Catwoman, suits that build kinetic energy as either playable protagonist successfully lands attacks on the mooks of Gotham. When the energy icon is full, tapping it on the touchscreen grants the player faster reflexes and extra attack power to finish fights more quickly.

It's strange that this feature was not only added, but had the game named after it, since it really isn't a unique or interesting addition. It's not a bad addition, but I can't say I'm grateful for it either. It's just there, and tapping the icon to get a bit of a boost is no different from pretty much any action game with any sort of special power meter. I'm confused as to why this is seen as such a big deal, but at the very least, I can say that it's inoffensive.

The other new changes, however, are a bit less subtle and much less welcome as far as this reviewer's concerned. Outside of general gameplay and combat, Armored Edition makes heavy use of the GamePad's touchscreen to the point of saturation. All in-game menu items, from map usage to leveling up to selecting gadgets, are done on the GamePad itself, and much of it feels like an unnecessary hassle. Leveling up Batman's gear is particularly irritating, as you now have to swipe your way through unresponsive rows of tiny icons and unintuitive screens. Unlike with my previous playthroughs of the game, I've found myself not immediately going into the WayneTech menu to upgrade, because I simply can't be bothered to fiddle with the menus.

Gadgets themselves also insist on using the touchscreen, with the biggest offender being the hacking device. Whereas before, you'd rotated the analog sticks (or press keyboard keys) to solve puzzles, you now have to open up a whole new hacking minigame where you trace your finger on the touchscreen to find the right hotspot while avoiding a red line that intermittently sweeps past. I used to like how quick and efficient hacking was in Arkham City, bypassing the flow-breakage of dreary door-opening minigames found in other titles, but Armored Edition has spoiled that.

Another issue is the gyroscope being used to aim Batarangs and the Batclaw. You can use the right stick to aim, but the gyroscope still registers and can throw the reticule off slightly. The remote Batarangs are also controlled via the GamePad screen, and again can be steered using motion or stick input, with similar conflicts. These issues are tiny, never really getting too much in the way, but they help hammer home just how much was changed simply for the sake of change, regardless of whether or not it improved the game.

NEXT-GEN

[pilonv1]

Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition fails to ruin what still is an admirable game, but there's no skipping around the issue of elements being forced in and serving only to render it inferior, making previously simple functions more complicated than they should be and dragging down the game's pace. While still a very good game at its core, this is not as good as the original, purer release. There's no shame in a Wii U title that doesn't shoehorn Wii U features into itself, and if the game would be better off without them, I'd really rather that be the route taken.
Read more at http://www.destructoid.com/review-batman-arkham-city-armored-edition-238794.phtml#0yssoZMAqRYUA6tX.99

welp

edit: beaten

[Great Rumbler]

Is this Black Excellence?

[MrAngryFace]

POWER GLOOOOOVE

[pilonv1]

IGN didn't even review it, just added this to their original review

For those who played through Batman: Arkham City in 2011, the Armored Edition doesn't offer much in the way of incentives -- by and large, this is the same top-notch action/adventure game Rocksteady released last year. The new BAT mode gives you an additional combat option, but it's both unoriginal and ineffective. You'll charge a meter, activate BAT mode, and become mildly stronger in a fight. The inclusion of the Harley Quinn's Revenge expansion, Robin and Nightwing's challenge rooms, and character skins goes a long way to lengthen the experience, but the Wii U Game Pad functionality is clearly a consequence of launch-title experimentation. Arkham City looks and plays just as excellent as always on the Game Pad screen, but when it's used for touch-screen weapon selection, or as an in-game gadget, the Game Pad is just awkward. Moving the real-world object to look for in-game objects is a chore, and better left to the analog sticks. Glancing at the Game Pad to see your sonar radar is the best usage, really, but even then it's unexciting and not as helpful as simply absorbing yourself in the game proper.

[bork]

Not even Sandy could stop Triforce from camping out for (almost) a month to get his Wii U "first!"

[pilonv1]

He's not even the first, so he failed his quest.

Also ZombiU reviews are embargoed until 12pm EDT. Now, would a company do this for a good game? I wonder...

There's already some out aren't there?

[bork]

He's the official "first" person to get one...from Reggie himself.  Dude is crazy and this is not the first Ninty system he's done this for.

There are also ZombiU reviews already up.  Gamespot gave it a FANTASTIC 4.5/10!

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=500295

[bork]

[maxy]

System reviews are up

[Eel O'Brian]

$150

That's when I bite.

[bork]

http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/18/3658130/nintendo-wii-u-review

The Verge review is up.  Video review also in the link.  They were not impressed.

[Eel O'Brian]

System reviews are up

Holy shit at the awful responsiveness of the touch screen. I knew that single-point resistive screen was a terrible idea. The big selling point of their system and they fuck it up by going cheap.

[bork]

$150

That's when I bite.

Why?   Why even bother?

I like the Gamepad idea, but it doesn't look like they did a very good job with it...and even the positive reviews complain about problems with the touch screen and three hour battery life (which means it fails at being used as a TV "remote").   I just see this system being another dust-magnet once the actual next-gen starts.

[Human Snorenado]

$150

That's when I bite.

When there's 3 games I want to play, I'll steal my nephew's for a week or two, gamefly the games and then be done with it.

[Eel O'Brian]

By the time it hits 150 there might be enough of a cheap back catalog to get some enjoyment out of it.

Also, I was joking earlier on when I said there'd be a Game Pad + coming, but after seeing how awful the touch screen is (in every single video I have seen people are stabbing at it several times to get it to register simple input), I am certain of it. Game Pad + with capacitive touch, larger battery, etc. by the end of 2014, I'd lay money on it.

[cool breeze]

Guessing I'll have one of these in ~9 hours.  Figure I'll pay someone to kick me in the balls before I come home.  Maybe get lunch at Arby's.  Round out the day by buying some THQ stock.  In for the full experience.

[ToxicAdam]

I want to change my 5 year sales prediction to 7 million.

[cool breeze]

yikes zombiu  ()

yikes at reviewers calling the wii u ports of old 360/PS3 games inferior

yikes at day one patch for super mario bros

yikes at the day one firmware upgrade weighing in at 5 gigs

edit: yikes at bricking the wii u if you lose power during the firmware upgrade

[Eel O'Brian]

Guessing I'll have one of these in ~9 hours.  Figure I'll pay someone to kick me in the balls before I come home.  Maybe get lunch at Arby's.  Round out the day by buying some THQ stock.  In for the full experience.

flip that shit on ebay and use the profit to buy THQ assets instead

[bork]

LOL.  Why would you unplug anything during a system update?

[Eel O'Brian]

#nintend'oh

[bork]

 :geoff :geoff :geoff

[pilonv1]

Analogue triggers too. And it will also play the roms that the current one can't.

[Eel O'Brian]

So how much usable space does that leave the 8GB owners?

[Purple Filth]

yikes zombiu  ()

yikes at reviewers calling the wii u ports of old 360/PS3 games inferior

yikes at day one patch for super mario bros

yikes at the day one firmware upgrade weighing in at 5 gigs

edit: yikes at bricking the wii u if you lose power during the firmware upgrade

wait WAT?

[bork]

Wait a minute...doesn't the basic set console only have 8GB of memory?  And the first update alone is 5GB?   

EDIT: Missed Eel's post!

[Tasty]

Got mine!

There were 40+ people in the line at Best Buy tonight. They had 29 Deluxe systems and 14 Basic ones by our count, which might not be completely accurate. They had one black Pro Controller and like 10 white ones, first dude in line got it. (I was number four.) So I'll just wait, I don't think I need it for any games in the immediate future, especially with Wii U VC being a big question mark right now.

[huckleberry]

i guess i haven't been following the Wii U enough to realize that they are still pushing waggle.  I'm going to flip mine and be done with Nintendo forever....i don't have the patience for these fuckers.

[Eel O'Brian]

"Please connect external hard drive unit with at least 6GB free space to proceed with Wii U Firmware Update 1.02"

[Oblivion]

$150

That's when I bite.

Surprised you still wanna buy it, but I agree. At that point it'll be tolerable.


I do really wanna play NSMBU though. And none of my friends are gonna buy a Wii-U any time soon to use at their place.  :'(

[Purple Filth]

(Image removed from quote.)

 :geoff :geoff :geoff

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME

 


whoever buys the 8gb is even more of a fucking distinguished mentally-challenged fellow

[bachikarn]

this thing is such a cluster fuck

[Eel O'Brian]

In that Verge review it says that games can't be run from external storage. Is that true? That sounds incorrect. If it is true, then what's the point of even hooking up an external HDD?

[cool breeze]

Nintendo removed this message for "Violent Content"

http://www.destructoid.com/how-moderated-is-miiverse-it-s-a-damn-police-state--238871.phtml

[pilonv1]

In that Verge review it says that games can't be run from external storage. Is that true? That sounds incorrect. If it is true, then what's the point of even hooking up an external HDD?

It's wrong, Green Man is right

[Tasty]

In that Verge review it says that games can't be run from external storage. Is that true? That sounds incorrect. If it is true, then what's the point of even hooking up an external HDD?

I think they can't run from SD cards.

They cannot.

[pilonv1]

Nintendo removed this message for "Violent Content"
(Image removed from quote.)
http://www.destructoid.com/how-moderated-is-miiverse-it-s-a-damn-police-state--238871.phtml

[bork]

That's no patch... it's a Space Station!

[Eel O'Brian]

Yeah, I can see that, too confusing with the varying transfer speeds of different cards. Surely they'll let you run games off an external HDD, though. I used to run PC games off one all the time.

[Purple Filth]

I refuse to believe that size is real holy shit.

In that Verge review it says that games can't be run from external storage. Is that true? That sounds incorrect. If it is true, then what's the point of even hooking up an external HDD?

Apparently HDDs can work (max 2TB) and usb flash drives but SD cards are a no, plus the HDD can only be used with the WiiU after its added (format is need to revert it to a PC drive).

[Eel O'Brian]

Ah, I see. Fair enough.

[cool breeze]

The download size is real but it deletes itself afterwards.  It's not unlike how you need double the size of an app free to install it on iOS.  You need 5 gigs free to download and install it, but afterwards it's gone...until the update.

[Eel O'Brian]

WHO DO YOU VOODOO, CHAV

[Purple Filth]

Now the defense force are claiming the size is 1gb something lol due to speedtest calulations LOL

I assume the subsequent ones won't be as big (1 or 5)...

[pilonv1]

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two does nothing to improve itself over its predecessor, repeating old ideas while refusing to fix problems that are glaringly obvious to even the least tasteful of dolts. Anything added in the sequel has been done so to the its overall detriment -- the voice acting grates, the musical pretensions are vapid, and the cooperative schtick is corny, strained, and a total intrusion for solo play that slows progress, causes trouble, and does not bloody work.

At least Epic Mickey felt fresh enough that some of its faults could be overlooked by the more forgiving of players. The Power of Two has no such charm to hide behind. It's a gormless, chafing, unquestionably horrid little waste of time. Only the hardcore Disney obsessive need look into this one, and I don't advice they look too deeply.
Read more at http://www.destructoid.com/review-disney-epic-mickey-2-the-power-of-two-238026.phtml#IgbQT4xLOPVWL0Uy.99

2/10 (360 verison tested, but one of the Wii U launch titles)

[pilonv1]

Wii Teardown

http://www.twitch.tv/pcper

[Oblivion]

Wii Teardown

http://www.twitch.tv/pcper

Are they revealing the specs?

[Himu]

omg this system deserves to bomb

[pilonv1]

Wii Teardown

http://www.twitch.tv/pcper

Are they revealing the specs?

Only just got the optical drive off.

edit: They're going to do the gamepad after the console

[pilonv1]

That is a tiny ass fan

edit: holy shit stream went down just as they removed the PCB

[pilonv1]

Nevermind, their thing crashed. Will be back up soon.

[Tasty]

Update has crashed twice on me but it resumes from where it left off when you restart it, so that's nice at least. It's also going a bit faster than the dude who first livestreamed it whatever, seems like it should be done for me after about 50-60 minutes, and I have kinda crappy internet.

[pilonv1]

http://www.pcper.com/live/

Alternate teardown stream

[MCD]

Odd that Panasonic is making the drive and the disc tech. I thought they were a dead company.

Edit: As a cost-cutting measure, wouldn't it be funny if Nintendo was having users seed the update after they downloaded it?

Not surprising, really.

Panasonic made that Gamecube DVD console plus who will Nintendo go with? Sony drives? No chance. Toshiba drives = Samsung and I doubt Nintendo gonna use some Korean tech.

It's all about dat national pride, son.

Panasonic and Pioneer are the only ones that I can think of right now that fits that pride and since Panasonic worked with Nintendo before, they continued with them here.

I think the Gamecube discs were custom mini dvds made by Panasonic as well.

[pilonv1]

Thermal Tape on the heatsink

[MCD]

It's a gimped 360, guys.

No need to watch the stream to figure that out.

[Purple Filth]

its raining Wii U Quicklooks on Giantbomb right now

[Oblivion]

[Purple Filth]

i was just gonna post those.


Lol at the hanging one (more likely a texture loading problem but still)