Comments 282

Re: Parent Trap: Amiibo Charts A Fresh Course In The Toys To Life Sector

TTGlider

This op ed does identify two of the biggest concerns about the product as we know it so far. And this article is also fairly optimistic- or at least neutral. I have big reservations that having the product activate as an AI character, and training that AI character's moves, and then taking your AI to a friend and having his AI character play your AI character, will be in any way as interesting as actually being able to play as the virtual version of your plastic toy is- ala Skylanders. The process of putting on a new Skylander, seeing it come to life on screen, then losing all health and taking it off the portal with the big 'whoosh' is very satisfying. Given some of Nintendo's other comments about the competition, I wouldn't be surprised in the least if they've never even played Skylanders to know what is satisfying about the experience. But hey, the reader is in the GamePad, and that results in certain design constraints- fine. The other big red flag is that these characters are being branded as the 'Smash' line. As the article perfectly describes, will anyone really buy a Smash Mario, an MK Mario, a third-game Mario? And if he did, would he really be happy that each character only did some limited subset of something in each different game? Because that is the whole hook of this idea- that the figurines work in multiple games. At this point, I'm having flashbacks to the eReader. Now then... team up with Activison and Disney and show us a Mushroom Kingdom themed iteration of either (or both, though I prefer Skylanders) in the same fashion as Hyrule Warriors, and prove me wrong.

Re: Review: 2048 (3DS eShop)

TTGlider

This is a ripoff of Threes, and that deserves to be repeated. It's true that lots of games riff on eachother, but this literally came out weeks after Threes hit it big. 2048 is an easier Threes, and people liked that (that it was easier) There's a fantastic write up from the makers of Threes that say they actually considered during development the ruleset that 2048 uses, but decided it was too easy and not interesting enough to play.

Re: The World's Largest Video Game Collection is Sold for $750,250

TTGlider

This didn't sell for the final price. I don't consider it sold until money and product have changed hands. There is zero chance someone will pay 750K USD for this lot. That price is too high per game, and as noted, the bidding patterns and jumps in bid increments scream fraud. He might be able to work down the list of bidders and get 80-90 K for it.

Re: Poll: What Did You Think of Nintendo's E3?

TTGlider

Devil's Third really surprised me (I had seen the rumors but didn't give them much thought). I am so happy to see it exclusive to the WiiU. I do hope it has a meaty (8 hours+ with some replay value) story mode though, as the multiplayer seemed to be the focus of the demos. Honorable mention goes to Captain Toad, which honestly was one of those games that seemed obvious to us Nintendo maniacs but you never know what fan feedback Nintendo will deliver on.

Re: Exclusive: Shantae And The Pirate's Curse Is Also Coming to Wii U

TTGlider

I'll pay attention to this, but to be honest, after playing and loving Switch Force 1 HD on the WiiU, I couldn't quite bear to buy the second one based on the pixel art. Maybe that's hypocritical as many games of the 16-bit days are still fun and worth some cash today, but it seemed more like a quick port than an artistic decision. And the art in Switch Force 1 HD is outstanding (as is the level design).

Re: Interview: Image & Form on its SteamWorld Dig Adventure and Hopes for Wii U

TTGlider

I appreciate the gentleman's candid and complete answers. I will certainly keep Steamworld Dig on my WiiU watchlist. If it is somehow the definitive version of the game (e.g. the HD graphics of the PC and PS4 with great second screen features and touchscreen elements), it will be a must buy. If it's just a crossport to prime a new platform for the sequel (ala Swords and Soldiers 1 HD, Toki Tori 1), I'll be more price sensitive.

Re: Review: Scram Kitty and his Buddy on Rails (Wii U eShop)

TTGlider

I've been absolutely loving this game. I agree that the secondary screen commentary is a bet of a gimmick so far. But the 'feel' of playing this game is very unique, and lately that's exactly what I've been looking for; something really fresh. This is a pendulum parody shoot-em-up! I'd give it an 8 and it would be a 9 if it had a more traditional tutorial and slightly prettier backgrounds.

Re: LostWinds Now Available For Wii to Wii U Transfer

TTGlider

This is great news, if it works. I think of it as karmic payback for buying (and enjoying) Coaster Crazy Deluxe.. a darn cool game. But I have the same question as those above: how does this impact all the other data I've already transferred. But maybe I'll give it a shot and hope it works as it should (additive to the data already transferred).

Re: Review: Flowerworks HD: Follie's Adventure (Wii U eShop)

TTGlider

After buying this and Blok Drop U, I'm not buying another game on release day out of "goodwill" or "showing support for WiiU". The mention of the gnomes is funny. They are indeed "photorealistic" which is completely bizarre set against the extremely primitive, grid based overworld. And how such a simple overworld isn't able to scroll smoothly very perplexing.

Re: Nintendo Download: 17th April (North America)

TTGlider

I just bought Flowerworks. Absolutely terrible tutorial that doesn't even say what buttons for some of the instructions. No way to use the wiimote for single player (unless it unlocks after the tutorial). And no way to 'b out' or press start to get back to the main menu?? Really?

Re: Unepic Gets a Fresh Update for Wii U

TTGlider

D Pad and zoom in on screen… two small but good updates to a solid game. I picked it up last week and other than some humor which I have a feeling is lost in translation, it's a darn solid wacky wacky uncover the map style game.

Re: New La-Mulana Trailer Compares Old With New

TTGlider

This is a nice idea for a trailer and they executed it effectively, especially when the old version was inset over the new. La Mulana is an instant buy-- I can't wait to add this to my small buy high calibre WiiWare collection!

Re: Review: Johnny Kung Fu (3DS eShop)

TTGlider

The game has a great look and idea. I'd like to try it for myself still. I've bought a couple UFO retail Wii games (Domino Rally, Geon Cube, and Ultimate Shooting Collection) that I thought were OK.

Re: Review: Pandora's Tower (Wii)

TTGlider

Really want this to come to the US. Xenoblade was great but a bit much for me to chew through. Last Story is already pre-ordered, but I see merit here, too, and would like to experience it. 14 hours is FAR preferable to me than 40, 60, or 100.

Re: Review: The Kore Gang (Wii)

TTGlider

About half way through this game on a leisurely play through. It's janky but charming. If you found fun in Mushroom Men or Death Jr on Wii, you'll probably enjoy this. Some really nice art in Kore Gang. And a really bad (completely manual) camera. But eh... still glad I bought it.

Re: Review: Super Hang-On (Wii Virtual Console / Virtual Console Arcade)

TTGlider

Bought this when it came out. Motion controls and the nunchuck control are quite nice. The graphics are sharp and even stretch well to widescreen if you don't mind your rider getting a little fat. Branching paths would be nice, I suppose, but the game still conveys a great sense of speed and danger. Of course I wonder if it really earns its nine bucks compared to other channels of digital games, but aside from that (and it's a framework imposed on Sega), am totally happy with my purchase.

Re: Review: Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii)

TTGlider

I'm late to the party, but hey...

I personally wouldn't detract from the game because of the difficulty. It took me a good while to get gold scores on every last level. The 'do not die' is only an issue if you aren't interested in "S-ranking" all the levels, which - as a gamer that would seem to care about difficulty - you probably are interested in. Losing gems in this game rather than dying actually makes MORE sense to me than running out of lives in the Mario Galaxy games.

Where I would ding the game is the insipid story. And I'm tempted to say the item buying is a dull aspect.

But really, it's the levels, which while they have their moments (all related to the "yarn" analog and finding semi-hidden chutes and passages), they are a bit blah. Kind of like their previous game, Warioland Shake. Ignore the awesome yarn graphics (similarly, try and imagine Warioland Shake's levels without the hand-drawn quality), and just see the shape, flow, and enemy patterns of the levels. They are mostly blocky and straight forward. Compare to Kirby Return to Dreamland, which has much stronger level design, IMHO.

I'd still give the game an 8. And oddly, I have probably not felt as "happy" from games I would give a 9 or more, but the point is, for as much personality and joy Epic Yarn has, it's a little short on the bread and butter game design.

Re: Review: Rhythm Heaven Fever (Wii)

TTGlider

A couple comments need the usual reality check. "Game has no flaws-- therefore it deserves a 10!" Well, I'm a bit of a review junky, and almost all reviewers have a score policy that starts from 0 and increases based on merit. None if any pro reviewers start a score at 10 and then deduct for flaws. As for my impressions, I'm over half way through the game and don't find the music as quite or fun as the DS version. However, Fever's music is higher fidelity and more varied, which is nice. I also like the humorous ways they obstruct your view. Speaking of view, I'm not sure I understand how some are worried about input lag with this game. As I understand it, that is usually a function of picture processing - not audio - and if you rely on the picture to advance through this game, you're toast. Easier to play with eyes closed, actually. Though I think some of the graphics (e.g. the intro "title cards") are very pleasant, others (the tiny little image with black around it and a caption cut scene after a game) are just too primitive for the big screen. And weak multiplayer that you have to unlock rather than making it the focus of this game. And lack of realtime feedback on where you're pressing in relation to the beat. And lack of quick retry option. 8/10

Re: Review: Rhythm Heaven Fever (Wii)

TTGlider

8 seems about right. I wanted this to be awesome but my play time since buying it has been more of the 'yeah, this is pretty good' variety rather than 'wow'. Seems like some of the charm from GBA and DS is lost. And it seems like this one was a touch lazy. All the black bordering the pictures in the 'cut scenes' is one example of an artstyle that, imho, regularly crosses from 'streamlined' (to use the review's word) to 'underdeveloped'. And multiplayer should have been a huge part of this edition, but instead it was an afterthought.

Re: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles NES Pulled from Virtual Console

TTGlider

Well-- disappointing!

The comment in the news article about 'no great loss' is missing the point. I appreciate NL's VC reviews and that they generally put the game in today's context. But surely a big draw, which every gamer will evaluate for himself, of the VC is nostalgia. This game was one of the few I had strong memories of playing when new and yes of throwing a controller in the under water level. It is/was worth six bucks to revisit some of those memories.

Moves like this and R Type have me very troubled about the possibility of transferring VC to WiiU!

Re: Crystal Dynamics Explains Tomb Raider Wii U No-Show

TTGlider

Eh, this is understandable of them to state and I think it's going to take a couple years of the WiiU on the market for gamers, developers, and Nintendo to feel out the balance of cross-porting vs tablet use. I read gamefaqs userreviews frequently and I have seen almost as many people complain that a Wii title doesn't make use of "The Wii's unique capabilities" as I have people complain about tacked-on waggle. Crystal Dynamics probably could have pulled the life bar, inventory and map down to the tablet and kept the game exactly the same with some graphical enhancements. But they, frankly, picked the harder and nobler route.

Re: Wahoo, It's a Mario Party 9 Trailer

TTGlider

The graphics look excellent. Will this be any fun with just two players rather than four? Will the game AI fill out the other to slots to keep a four player party or can it work with just two people in the party?

Re: Review: The Kore Gang (Wii)

TTGlider

I was hoping the reviews for this would turn out stronger. The opening comment about it being decisive is true based on reviews which range, if not from good to bad, from mediocre to bad. A part of me thinks this had the potential to be a cult classic but I think between Mushroom Men and Epic Mickey, I have the "good but not great, Wii exclusive platformer" slot covered. At least the publisher had the good judgment to release this at $20 MSRP in the US.

Re: Fishing Resort

TTGlider

Been playing this a few days. Love it. Much "deeper" than you'd expect at first. An awesome addition and Wii exclusive.

Re: Roll Up For An Exciting Fortune Street Trailer

TTGlider

Any chance this will have decent AI? I'm not sure I have real life friends that would be in to this, but if the computer puts up a challenge, I think I will want this in my collection! By comparison, the Mario Parties have decent fan service but absolutely do not cater to a single player experience.