Wii U Demos

Tonight, I completed Scribblenauts Unlimited.

Scribblenauts Unlimited completeSome of the “object shards” are a bit obscure. If you don’t know the literary reference, pop culture reference, or specific name of an item you may have only seen on TV, you’ll likely need some help to fully complete the game. Not everyone is an expert on topics such as Don Quixote, types of badgers, and very specific types of boats. Some of the “puzzles” are really just trivia.

But since I have now completed the game, you can expect a review soon. Despite a few minor annoyances, the game has been a lot of fun, so expect a high score.

The Wii U eShop now has two new demos, for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed and Rayman Legends. I downloaded and tried them both. Wii U demos are different from Wii demos, in that you can only play the demos a certain number of times. The Sonic Racing demo allows 15 plays and the Rayman Legends gives you 30.

I first tried out the Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed demo. I played the only race available at the start, a Panzer Dragoon themed course. It felt like pretty standard kart racing at first. But even within a single race, each lap is different. Very different, in fact. At various points, your car changes into a boat or a plane. It reminded me of Diddy Kong Racing, which had car, hovercraft, and plane races. But DKR didn’t change vehicles mid-race like Sonic does. So that’s pretty cool.

sonictransformedThe only other thing available from the start was a boost challenge. You have to get a certain distance by hitting all the boost areas in a course. I failed at it twice and didn’t feel like trying any more. It seems like a decent game, but I don’t plan on buying it. Especially since only one person in a race can be any given character (such as when racing online). So if someone else is already using your character, you have to choose a different character. That’s one thing I hated about the Wii game, and unfortunately they didn’t change it in the sequel. It seems so stupid. More than anything, that is the main reason I won’t be buying this game.

I then tried out the Rayman Legends demo. Three levels are available; I started with the Teensies Trouble level. After starting out as Rayman, the game soon prompted me to call in Murphy. So the focus shifted from the TV to the gamepad. Using the touch screen, you have to manipulate objects (pull platforms, cut ropes, tickle enemies) to allow Murphy to advance. It’s moderately fun, but the constant change (going from TV to gamepad and back and forth) made it seem not only gimmicky, but a bit annoying.

raymanlegends1The second level, Toad Story, was all Rayman. The level is reminiscent of Rayman 2, where the big gusts of wind can carry you upwards if you glide. This level was also fairly enjoyable.

raymanlegends2The third level was called Castle Rock. And it really caught me by surprise. A fire is on the left side of the screen, moving towards you, so you have to constantly run. This forces the action along, but it’s for a good reason. The entire level is set to music, much like in Bit Trip Runner. Every sound effect of hitting enemies, things blowing up, everything goes along with the song. It’s freaking awesome. This is one of the coolest levels I’ve seen in a platformer in years. I don’t know if the final game will have many levels like this, but I sure hope so. Rayman Legends wasn’t really on my radar before this, but it sure is now.

Rayman Legends - Castle Rock

Scribblenauts Unlimited

Time for a little update on the games I’ve been playing.

As for Superfly DX, I have recently completed the game. Here is a gameplay video and my review of the game.

I have not been playing New Super Mario Bros. U a whole lot. I did record a gameplay video of one level, and that will be uploaded to my Youtube channel soon. But the main thing I’ve been playing lately is Scribblenauts Unlimited. In fact, I beat the game. You only need 60 out of 106 starites to beat the game, and I currently have 67. I will continue playing until I get them all.

The game has some pop culture references. In an underwater level, I spotted a pineapple. When I “used” the pineapple, a sponge came out (a reference to SpongeBob SquarePants). And here, I competed in a reality show, which is obviously based on Survivor. Each contestant gets their torch snuffed out when they are eliminated.

Scribblenauts Unlimited - SurvivorIn that same level, there are a couple of volleyball players. They want to play the game differently though; they want to play with something other than a ball. The first time, I gave them an orange, and that did the trick. They bounced the orange back and forth, and I got credit for helping them. But then I wondered…what else would work? So I gave them an axe…

Scribblenauts Unlimited - Axe VolleyballIt also worked. That’s what I like about this game: You can often be creative with how you solve tasks, and the results can be pretty funny. I gave them a dead bunny, and sure enough, they bounced it back and forth. A giant watermelon also worked.

Scribblenauts Unlimited - Watermelon VolleyballI’m still having a lot of fun with this game, so I think I’ll be playing it for a while.

New Super Mario Bros. U First Impressions

I got New Super Mario Bros. U a couple days ago, and I’m now most of the way through the third world. A lot of people are talking about the map screen and how it’s a lot like the map in Super Mario World. And that’s true…the worlds run together and you can see the full map as opposed to separate maps for each world. It also has mushroom houses, which give you items you can store for later use. That’s straight out of Super Mario Bros. 3.

nsmbu-1The graphics look better than New Super Mario Bros. Wii, but not by much. As for the gameplay, it really seems equivalent to the Wii game. It has good platforming, but nothing has really wowed me so far. Up to this point, I’d have to say it’s in the good-but-not-great range. But I am only in the third world, and I’ve heard the game gets better later on, so I’m not ready to make a final determination just yet.

New Super Mario Bros. U screenshotAs for the new flying squirrel power-up, it’s just alright. It doesn’t really allow you to fly, it just lets you glide. It’s helpful, but I don’t like it as much as I liked the penguin suit and propeller hat from New Super Mario Bros. Wii. On a more positive note, I am glad to see the ghost houses return.New Super Mario Bros. U screenshot - ghost houseI will have a review and a gameplay video in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.