Grave Gamer News & Views — wii u

THIS DAY IN RESIDENT EVIL:

RE6 Update Coming This Winter and the Wii U Might See Its Own “Unique” Entry

A short while back Capcom mentioned their flagship Fall release, Resident Evil 6, would be seeing a decent helping of free content delivered by way of a title update.  Now scheduled for mid-December, Capcom has let loose details on the update, including some fixes addressing fans’ complaints.

Already announced was the fact that Ada Wong’s single-player campaign would be unlocked from the start (instead of having to pummel through the first three campaigns on disc) in addition to the inclusion of a co-op option for those that prefer to kill in company.  Ada’s co-op partner is a no-name soldier strapped in cool gear who doesn’t affect the story in the least (a la the original Halo).  Also, if you found the Professional difficulty a breeze – even if you abstain from cheating with the unlimited ammo skill, I still felt like an overpowered wrecking ball by my second playthrough – the No Hope difficulty comes bundled in the title update specifically to wipe the smile off your face.

The game’s spotty camera is also being tackled by allowing players an option to either keep your viewpoint as is or have it zoomed out so as to provide a wider perspective on the action (as demonstrated by Captain Redfield up above).  The feature is still under development and may appear in modified form by the time the update releases.  And for those of you hoping to learn the phrase “How many men have we lost because of that bitch?!” in a different dialect, a new option to mix English audio with another language’s subtitles is being added.

In a quick aside, I have percolating news for prospective Wii U buyers who feel burned by RE6’s glaring absence from the system’s lineup.  Speaking briefly to Official Nintendo Magazine, Resident Evil Revelations’ director, Koshi Nakanishi, seems keen on bringing over the horror franchise to Nintendo’s next big thing one way or another.

“The GamePad’s separate screen enables so many possibilities, and playing on a television screen would enable sharing the experience in a way that wasn’t possible on Nintendo 3DS,” said Nakanishi.  “I feel it would let us create a very unique and fun Resident Evil game."  Goddamnit, fandom.  I guess we’re shelling out for a Wii U.

Nintendo’s Wii U is Priced, Dated, and Ready to Ship

Nintendo’s been coy when it comes to hard facts surrounding the Wii U, but their legacy of information deprivation was put to rest today as they have detailed both pricing and release dates for the HD successor to the Wii.

The console arrives in North America on November 18th, then in Europe on November 30th sans a sensor bar for (stupid) economical reasons, and finally the console makes its way back home to Japan on December 8th.

The Wii U will arrive to stores in two separate bundles:

• The Basic ($299.99): Equipped with an AC adapter, GamePad, HDMI cable, a sensor bar, and 8GB of internal memory.
• The Deluxe ($349.99): Stocks everything the basic claims stake to along with a charging cradle and stand for your GamePad, a stand for the system, a copy of Nintendo Land, a Nintendo Network Premium Subscription for discounts on digital titles, and 32GB of internalized memory.

Apparently, pricing hasn’t been locked down in European markets due to former conflicts between Nintendo and the region (presumably over the company’s multiple failed attempts to legally rename the continent Nintendo Land), thus placing the final say on price points with retailers themselves.

Some of the standout game announcements made today include Platinum Games letting loose that the long anticipated but unconfirmed Bayonetta 2 will be a Wii U exclusive, Gearbox affirming the presence of Aliens: Colonial Marines for the system’s launch window, and after being one of the deciding factors to develop a Pro Controller, Activision is bringing Call of Duty: Black Ops II to the console.

While exact release dates have yet to solidify, hit this link to see the games slated for the Wii U’s launch window (spanning from November to the end of March 2013).

So…anybody picking up a Wii U this Holiday?

The Biggest, Most Ambitious Zelda Title Ever Coming to the Wii U in 2014?

According to Wii U Daily’s anonymous source (a repeat tipster that claims to be apart of Nintendo Japan’s operations), we won’t be seeing a next-gen Legend of Zelda until sometime in 2014.  Why such a long wait for the Wii U successor, especially after that fanciful tech demo that debuted at last year’s E3?

For one – despite how impressive it was to behold – that tech demo isn’t being used; it wasn’t even crafted by Wii U Zelda’s team.  Secondly, this new title (rumored to be on the drawing board as early as 2010) is a massive undertaking, pegged as the largest production in the company’s history comprising of a team of hundreds led by Skyward Sword’s director Eiji Aonuma.  Wii U Daily’s source calls it “a huge investment in money and manpower” adding that “this is Rockstar/GTA territory” in terms of scope.

There’s a bevvy of information on this unnamed Wii U Zelda to be had hereabouts, but I’ll laundry list the most prominent details:

• Wii U’s Zelda is humungous.  The source claims the game wouldn’t be possible if not for the console’s optical discs and their 25GB storage capacity.
• The game will feature roughly the same amount of dungeons as previous entries, but their size is awe inspiring.  One dungeon is described as literally a forest greater in length than Ocarina’s Hyrule Field.
• Taking into account the increased girth, some dungeons have been segmented.  These uber dungeons are said to take hours to complete.
• The title will of course play host to HD graphics “with the most advanced visual features Nintendo has ever made."  The game’s engine is being built from the ground up and actually utilizes a lot of third party tech for physics effects and rendering.
• However, it’s imperative to note that the designers are not going for realism in their visuals (like the "Just a Tech Demo” tech demo).  At Nintendo’s behest, Wii U Zelda will have a visual art style on par with Skyward Sword so as to stay true to the “core values of Zelda.”
• It may be dangerous, but you’re going to have to go it alone.  No form of multiplayer will be present in the game nor is the notion even being toyed around with.  There may be online functionality with Miiverse, but only as far as exchanging hints with friends.  The online component “is not a big priority” for the development staff at this point.
• Rather than being created with the Wii U’s GamePad in mind, the GamePad may have actually been molded with this particular Zelda in mind.  At least one major feature was brought to the controller only because the development team “figured out they could do something cool with it.”
• As such, the entire game revolves around the GamePad’s use, each dungeon supposedly offering a unique gameplay experience with the tablet controller.  “Every single feature in the controller is used to its full potential.”

The anonymous source goes on to promise Wii U Daily that this new Zelda packs one fantastic feature after another, predicting that its innovations will be copied for years to come.

It all sounds too good to be true, and what with rumors being rumors, that could exactly be the case here.  A magnificent, well told lie if nothing else.  But if this really is our first sneak peek at Nintendo’s grandest, most ambitious Legend of Zelda to date…It’s a crying shame for the Wii U that it’ll be another two years before this game makes the console an absolute must-have.

This Day in Nintendo: Wii U Press Event Next Month and the End of Nintendo Power

Your memory of a Wii U information blowout may still be firm because Nintendo devoted an entire pre-E3 conference merely a couple of months ago focusing solely on the machine.  You’ll find your recollections a little less firm when it comes to a set price point and a solid release date for the console, however, because Nintendo – despite having repeatedly stated Wii U will see an international launch in 2012 – has yet to trust us with those details.

The educated guess of the day has it that Nintendo, one-third of the Big Three, will finally bare all during a Wii U preview event being held for gaming outlets in New York on September 13th, 10:00 A.M. EST.  Reggie Fils-Aime is set to host the event, potentially threatening the internet with another meme your parents will catch on to and subsequently make profoundly uncool.

While we usher in another era of Nintendo’s home entertainment dominance, we’re also forced to see the end of a published dynasty that has lasted since 1988.  Yes, Nintendo Power is soon to shut its doors after 24 long years in publication.  Once owned and printed by the games company itself, Future Publishing took over the magazine’s reins in 1989, distributing it monthly until…well, now.

Readers’ ever-growing reliance on digital media has severely impacted physical publications for years now, causing publishers to either restructure their distribution into online-friendly formats or simply shutter and close (one of the most famous examples being the closure of GamePro magazine last year).  Rumblings have it that Nintendo was disinterested in evolving Nintendo Power’s format when Future Publishing addressed them with their concerns about the magazine’s relevancy in the market.  Their noncommittal attitude may not have been so unprecedented, however, with one source admitting to Ars Technica that the company has always been “difficult to work with."  It hasn’t been announced which issue of the magazine will be the last.

The Red Herb sends its condolences to the writers and staff behind Nintendo Power and wishes you luck in all your future endeavors.  Be diligent, assertive, and when in doubt, jump on your enemies’ heads.

Zelda Needs to ‘Evolve’ Before Coming to the Wii U

“We’re seeing how the way that tastes are broadening in video games and you have some people who prefer more casual experiences, and you have some people who prefer sort of those more in-depth experiences. Obviously, as a company that’s been making games for a very long time, we tend to be more on the deeper, longer game side of things. But really what we continue to ask ourselves as we have over the years is, 'What is the most important element of Zelda if we were to try to make a Zelda game that a lot of people can play?’”

Shigeru Miyamoto musing on what would make a Wii U Zelda serviceable to every kind of gamer.

While Miyamoto applauds Skyward Sword’s ingenuity with the utilization of motion controls, Nintendo’s longtime game designer and company adviser understands the title didn’t match all tastes – especially those uninterested in waving plastic around in order to interact with the game.

“There were some people who weren’t able to do that or didn’t like it as much and stopped playing partway through it,” says Miyamoto; addressing a game developer’s deepest fear – people not playing your game.  Shigeru has stated an evolution in accessibility is required before Nintendo is comfortable announcing an HD Zelda successor on the Wii U.  And even when it is announced, it’ll be quite awhile yet before Link dons his tunic once more.