During our coverage of the 2014 San Diego Comic Con, I got the chance to
meet up with representatives of Nintendo for an up close look at some of
their pending games.
Up first was Yoshi’s Woolly World. Set in a world made of yarn, Yoshi must
climb, jump, dig, and battle his way to the ends of many brightly colored
levels. The game is due in 2015 and can be played in both solo and co-op
mode. I was not able to learn if the game will allow online matchmaking,
but I loved the back to basics approach of the game.
While it did remind me of Little Big Planet, the ability for Yoshi to
consume then launch objects and players brought a nice touch to the
platform game as did the friendly family theme that makes it ideal for all
ages.
I found the game very responsive when I played and filled with many
Nintendo standards like hidden areas, power ups, and more.
Super Smash Brothers was next and I got to see more of the game than just
the taste I had at E3. In a battle royal, I mixed it up with 3 other
characters and used a mixture of jumping, fighting, and special moves to
battle to victory.
The controls were easier to use than most fighting games as things like
jumping and kicking were assigned to one button with special moves being
assigned to another.
While my time was limited to one match I did enjoy what I saw from the game.
The action was intense but remained family friendly. Playing as Mario I
learned that the characters personalities are in game as are moves and
powers appropriate to their history.
I was also shown a line of character figures that much like Skylander or
Disney Infinity would be launched and working with 8 Nintendo titles to
bring a new level of customization to the games.
Nintendo would not disclose the full list of games but it is something to
look forward to.
My final game was Hyrule Warriors which combined the combat of Ninja Gaiden and Dynasty Warriors with the beloved characters from the Zelda series. The action was fast and intense and the graphics set a new standard for Nintendo games.
The Wii U has had it’s share of detractors but with their recent releases
and interesting pending titles, the Wii U may find itself a new life in
the next generation of gaming.
