Tag: first impressions

Zen Pinball 2 (Wii U)

Zen Pinball 2 was released today in the Wii U eShop. The game itself is free to download; but by itself, it’s really just a demo and not a game. It relies on selling the tables as DLC. There are 26 tables altogether, over half of which are based on Marvel characters such as The Avengers, X-Men, Spider-Man, and so on. From the main menu, you can see all of the tables available:

Zen Pinball 2 Menu on Wii UYou get trials of four tables included with the game (all Marvel tables). You can also download free trials of the other tables, but you have to back out of the game and go back to the eShop to do so. If you want to buy a table, it costs $2.99 for a single table, or you can buy a 4-pack for $9.99. The four-packs come with specific tables though; you can’t just choose which four you want. As for the trials, the game lets you play until you reach a certain score or time limit (about two minutes).

Here is a video showing some gameplay of four tables: Mars, Plants vs. Zombies, The Infinity Gauntlet, and Sorcerer’s Lair.

When you play, you can cycle through eight camera viewpoints, or choose a custom view. You can also play on the TV or on the GamePad itself. I’ve tried out nine of the 26 tables. My two favorites seem to be Mars and Sorcerer’s Lair. Perhaps outer space and sorcery appeal to me as pinball games, as two of my favorite pinball games of all time are Galactic Pinball (on Virtual Boy) and Devil’s Crush (on TurboGrafx-16). But Mars and Sorcerer’s Lair are fun tables that also have some pretty good music. The Plants vs. Zombies table is pretty good too. Once I try out all of the tables, I will likely buy one or two of them. I’ll keep you posted if/when I do. Until next time, here are some screenshots of Zen Pinball 2.

Zen Pinball 2: Plants vs. ZombiesZen Pinball 2: HulkZen Pinball 2: Fear ItselfZen Pinball 2: Sorcerer LairZen Pinball 2: Mars

Batman: Arkham City

After beating Earthbound, I’m now playing Batman: Arkham City: Armored Edition for Wii U. I had only played it a couple hours or so before today, so I’m still very early in the game. As you load up your game, some static screens are displayed that show what happened last time. This serves to refresh your memory of what’s going on, as well as give you a reminder of what your next objective is. I really think that’s a great idea.

batman-loadingOnce you’re out in the city, you’re free to roam around. Using Batman’s grappling hook, you can quickly scale skyscrapers for a great view. You can use your cape to glide around, and grapple back up when you need to. It’s pretty fun just exploring the city on rooftops without ever touching the ground.

Batman: Arkham City - churchOf course there are objectives for you to complete, but the game doesn’t rush you. And you can drop in on some random thugs for some action anytime.

Batman: Arkham City - FightingBut eventually, I got to the location of my next objective. I had to sneak into the steel mill through the chimney.

Batman: Arkham City - Sneaking into the steel mill.There are puzzles to solve, many of which involve the use of Batman’s gadgets. The game uses a lot of buttons, button combinations, and the GamePad screen, so the controls can be confusing at first. For example, you need to press ZR + B to open a hatch or L stick + B + B to dive through a window. Not the most intuitive controls and I’m still trying to get the hang of it all.

Batman: Arkham City - diving through a windowEven though I’m not the biggest fan of stealth in games, it is put to good use in this game. Batman can grapple up to vantage points where people on the ground/floor level can’t see him. He can then drop down behind a bad guy when the time is right and silently take him out without being spotted. Hey, if he can do it in the movies, why not in the game too? Pretty cool stuff.

Batman: Arkham City - Vantage point screenshotI will be playing more Arkham City over the coming weeks. I’m currently only 5% through the main story mode, and only 1% through the game overall. But this blog won’t be limited to just Batman. Zen Pinball 2 comes out for Wii U next week (supposedly), so I will give that a try. The game itself is free, but the tables are sold individually as DLC. They do let you sample at least some of them though, so I will definitely give them a try next week. I may also revisit some other games in the near future, so stay tuned.

Buy Batman: Arkham City: Armored Edition at Amazon.com

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate Demo

Tonight I tried out the Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate demo, available now in the Wii U eShop.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate demo title screenThe demo has two quests available: “Hunt the Lagombi” for novice hunters and “Hunt the Plesioth” for veteran hunters. Seeing as how I’ve never played any game in the series before, I chose the novice quest. You then get to choose your equipment; I went with the first option, a sword and shield. I then started out at camp. Apparently you have two little helper…things. I’m not sure what they are, really.

Monster Hunter 3 campUnfortunately, there was no tutorial to explain the controls or give you any information. The quest’s only instructions? “Hunt the Lagombi in the Tundra using the marker on the map!” I figured out that X swings my sword, Y uses potions or items of some sort, and B makes me crouch down. I started exploring and saw some beasts.

Monster Hunter 3 screenshotI took them down pretty easily. One of my helpers said “Nothing like chop-chopping up monster after hunt-hunt.” So I didn’t know if I was supposed to carve the meat off the bones and cook dinner or what. Apparently I was just beating a dead horse, so to speak, so I moved on.

I killed some more animals as I continued exploring. I eventually found what appeared to be a rodent of unusual size.

Monster Hunter 3 - lagombi - rodents of unusual sizeIt had bunny ears, but this was no Easter bunny. I waled into it as much as I could. But unlike the other animals, this one fought back hard.  This was the Lagombi I was looking for. The fight went on and on. I wondered if the thing would ever die. Was I doing something wrong? Do I have to use a finishing move? Do I have to slip poison into his coffee? I had no idea. Then, eventually…I fainted. What an awful time to have low blood sugar!

Monster Hunter 3 - I faintedMy little helpers wheeled me back to camp–I’m not sure where they got the little stretcher with wheels, but I didn’t ask. I went back to the area and resumed the fight, only to eventually faint again. Before I could get back a third time, the time limit ran out and my game was over.

mh3-thanksMaybe my mistake was my choice of weapon. Maybe I was too aggressive during the battle. Maybe I didn’t effectively use the items I had. Or maybe I was doing something really stupid. I wish the demo had given better instructions, or preferably, had a quick tutorial. I’m sure Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is a good game once you really get into it…but the demo didn’t wow me, and it certainly didn’t convince me that I should buy the game. I may or may not give it another try with a different weapon one of these days.