Month: April 2013

Wii U Panorama View

Today I gave the Wii U Panorama View demo a try. Panorama View is an app where you are essentially watching a video, but using the Wii U GamePad, you can turn and look in any direction. The eShop categorizes it as an “interactive video.” The demo is a short trailer (under two minutes long) that gives you a brief sample of each of the video tours available. This includes:

  • Double Decker Tour, London, UK
  • Kyoto Sightseeing, Kyoto, Japan
  • Bird’s Eye View, Ancona, Italy
  • Carnival in Rio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Wii U Panorama ViewThe concept is cool, I’ll give it that. Based on the demo, it is fun to immerse yourself in the various locations and have the freedom to look in any direction. Unfortunately, the video quality isn’t all that great. The videos are available for $2.00 each in the Wii U eShop. This leaves one question: Well how long are the videos? Curiously, the eShop doesn’t even say! A quick web search shows they range in length from 5-8 minutes. I was hoping the videos would be longer than that, but you’re really paying for the novelty.

Personally, I don’t plan on buying any of these video tours, but I may consider any future video tours. Imagine one of an astronaut going on a space walk. Now that is something I would buy. Or maybe a day at an amusement park, going on roller coasters. An undersea journey could also be impressive. This idea has potential, so I hope Nintendo will continue to provide new content for this app.

Wii U Panorama View Kyoto SightseeingWii U Panorama View Bird's Eye View

Rayman Legends – Challenges App

Ubisoft’s latest Rayman Legends demo, called the “Challenges App,” is now available on the Wii U eShop. As I started it up, I thought the level seemed familiar. And there’s a good reason. This new demo has the same three levels as the old demo! The new part consists of two new online challenges available where you can compete for the best time with players from around the world.

rl-ca1The first of those is called a Daily Challenge, so it presumably changes each day. Today’s challenge was called The Neverending Pit. The object is to collect 150 lums as quickly as possible. You’re basically falling the entire time, though you can slow your descent or grab onto rings and hang there if you wish. But you don’t want to spend too much time on any specific lums, because there are always more lums further down the pit. It shows the ghosts of other players’ previous runs as you play, so you can see what they may be doing differently. After your run is complete, it will show you your time and list some other players who you’ve beaten. Even though it’s nice to improve your best time and beat some other players, this daily challenge isn’t all that fun to play.

rl-ca2I then tried the Weekly Challenge, which was called Murfy’s Dungeon. While the object was the same (collect 150 lums as quickly as possible), the gameplay was completely different. In this challenge, you don’t control the character directly. You use the stylus and the touch screen on the GamePad to raise and lower platforms, pull levers, slice ropes, and eliminate some enemies that are in the way. This challenge is much more difficult than The Neverending Pit. It will take some repetition just to figure out what needs to be done at certain points. It also has ghosts that shows other players’ movements, but in this challenge it’s much less helpful and more distracting. Fortunately, you can disable the ghosts though. I thought this challenge was okay, but a bit annoying actually. I’m not sure a timed challenge is the best fit for a level where you don’t directly control the character and have limited interaction with him.

Overall, I have to say this Challenges App is a big disappointment. The challenges aren’t that fun and they certainly don’t make me want to buy the game when it comes out later this summer. Besides, the focus of a Rayman game should be on the main platforming levels. And the lack of any new levels in this demo is mind-boggling. Yeah, Castle Rock is still awesome, but are there going to be other levels that cool in the game? This demo makes me think they’re content spending their time and effort making falling-into-a-pit simulators instead of working on more fun, innovative levels like Castle Rock.

 

Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion Demo

Today I tried out a demo of a 3DS game, Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion. As Mickey, you journey into the Castle of Illusion, where the evil witch Mizrabel has seemingly trapped Minnie Mouse and others. The game is a side-scrolling 2D platformer, but with a twist. Mickey uses his magic paintbrush to help him out at various points. Using the stylus and the bottom screen, certain objects can be added to the main (top) screen by tracing their outlines on the bottom screen. Similarly, certain objects can be removed from the main screen by erasing their shapes on the bottom screen. For example, if a gap is too large for Mickey to jump across, you can switch focus to the bottom screen, where there may be an outline of a bridge. Trace it, and it will appear on the top screen.

epicmickey1Many Disney characters make cameos: Scrooge McDuck, Rapunzel, the Beast from Beauty and the Beast, Tinkerbell, and Peter Pan all make appearances in the demo. Each character that you rescue waits in a separate room of a fortress (where they’re safe from Mizrabel) until you complete your journey. But between levels, there are sidequests you can use to help them out further by retrieving an item for them or upgrading their rooms. For example, Rapunzel needs a comb for her long hair; you can get one from the Beast. And Scrooge is missing his “Number One Dime;” you can find it in a treasure chest in one of the levels.

epicmickey2The drawing aspect of the game is gimmicky and seems to be used far too often. The focus should be on the platforming, not tracing shapes. But having said that, the game is still moderately fun. Based on the demo, I wouldn’t recommend buying the game at full price, but it would make a good choice if you ever see it in the bargain bin for $10 or so.