Pikmin 3 Wii U

Released on 26-Jul-2013

• Mario, Mass Effect and Batman: Nintendo reveals Wii U line up

  Nintendo has rolled out details on the games planned for its upcoming Wii U console, and it seems there'll be something for everyone when the machine launches later this year.

  With comparable graphics and power to the current Xbox and PlayStation models, and with an iPad-style tablet controller, the Wii U has attracted a lot of interest from developers who avoided its less muscular predecessor. That'll be why Mass Effect 3 will debut on the system when it launches, alongside other hardcore treats such as a new "Armoured Edition" of Batman: Arkham City. Cult Japanese developer Platinum, responsible for games like Bayonetta and Vanquish, is working on an action-packed cartoon strategy game called P-100.

  The Nintendo faithful will be well served by the return of many beloved franchises, including the long awaited Pikmin 3, in which players control a crowd of cute miniature aliens in a puzzle-based adventure. There'll also be New Super Mario Bros U as well as Paper Mario: Sticker Star, which promises an innovative sticker-based combat system. There's also Game & Wario, a minigame compilation in the style of the awesome WarioWare.

  Nintendo Land, which has been dubbed the Wii U equivalent of Wii Sports, features numerous solo and multiplayer challenges based on classic Nintendo series. The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest, Luigi's Ghost Mansion, Animal Crossing: Sweet Days, Donkey Kong's Crash Course and Takamaru's Ninja Castle are just some of the titles revealed.

  The Wii U is scheduled for launch at the end of 2012, with the aim of getting it on UK shelves in time for Christmas.

• Miyamoto would like to make a first-person shooter

  Cheery Nintendo man Shigeru Miyamoto is best known as the creator behind bright, family-friendly games such as Mario, Legend of Zelda and Nintendogs, but he's admitted that, if he had the time, he'd quite like to try his hand at a first-person shooter.

  "I actually do kind of want to make a first-person shooter but I don't have time," Miyamoto revealed in an interview with Kotaku. "Having that 3D space that in theory you are in and being able to look around and explore that, particularly being able to do that in conjunction with another person, is very interesting."

  He's even given some thought as to how the genre could work on the upcoming Wii U to create a fully immersive 360 degree experience using the console's touchscreen game pad controller. "If you're playing a first-person shooter and you have the game up on the television screen and you have your subscreen below, within that game world you're able to turn in all directions around you. Obviously that would be very fun," Miyamoto explained. "If you have two people doing that in the same room, that could create a very fun and unique gameplay experience."

  The Wii U launches later this year in Japan, with Miyamoto's Pikmin 3 slated to be one of the leading launch titles.
  

• Pikmin 3 - Preview

  
  

  

  Whether it's podgy Italian plumbers or space-travelling foxes, few developers can match Nintendo when it comes to creating unique and loveable characters. Yet even by the developer's quirky standards, the Pikmin are positively quirky. A race of walking, plant-like creatures, the ultra-cute Pikmin first appeared in a pair of intriguing strategy games for the Nintendo GameCube way back in 2001 and 2004. It may have taken an entire generation of consoles for them to return in Pikmin 3 for the Wii U, but you know how the saying goes - it's better later than never!

  Despite the franchise spending years in the wilderness, Nintendo has stuck to the gameplay that won its predecessors legions of fans first time round. Sure, the excellent Wii U controllers provide you with a few cool new moves, but ultimately the tasks remain relatively and pleasingly familiar. You star as the leader of the small alien (possibly original hero Captain Olimar this time, but possibly not, as he's not shown in the demo) and it's your task to use different coloured variations of Pikmin as they overcome obstacles, collect goodies, and trick their way through a host of monster-infested levels. Think Lemmings meets Mario in that unmistakeable Nintendo style.

  

  Rock Hard

  At this year's E3, Nintendo were proudly showing off two different stages - a 'Trial Course' set in a gorgeous summery garden, and a 'Boss Level' against a big blue centipede. In the former, you command your Pikmin armies as you retrieve pieces of fruit, which then need to be returned to your spaceship within a strict time limit. While you begin the level armed with Red Pikmin, you'll soon encounter the game's new addition - the rock hard (literally!) 'Rock' Pikmin, who emerge with typical Nintendo quirkiness from inside a floating jellyfish.

  Suddenly, new types of puzzles expand the joy. In one example, a golden strawberry is trapped inside ice that your standard Red Pikmin can't break, so you use your Rock Pikmin to hammer through the ice instead. Likewise, your granite-skinned newcomers can also be used to defeat any baddies that are shielded behind what once seemed to be impenetrable shells.

  

  Boss Battle

  This is very much the case with the end-of-the-level boss battles, which require oodles of thought and strategy as well as controller-wielding dexterity. The blue centipede nasty we saw was ably protected by glass armour that only your Rock Pikmin can break. So you lob your little hard buddies at it, before sending in your Red Pikmin to finish off the job. It's easier said than done, of course...

  Pikmin remains one of the most innovative, distinctive and deliciously cute series around, which is of little surprise considering it was created by the genius mind of Shigeru Miyamoto, the same man who gave us Mario, Donkey Kong and Legend Of Zelda.

  While there doesn't appear to be anything especially groundbreaking with Pikmin 3 compared to its predecessors, as the other saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". This game looks to be a whole bag of fun, which will appeal to both new generations of Nintendo gamers who prefer brain over brawn, as well as those that were hooked to the franchise a whole decade ago.

  Published: 19/06/2012

• Editor's Choice - Best of Wii U at E3

  
  

  

  

  Wii U - Best of E3 2012

  More details were revealed at this year's E3 about the innovative Wii U package - that revised GamePad, those, err, 'asymmetric gameplay' opportunities - but really all we wanted to know was were its games looking any good?

  In a word (well, two) - yes actually...
  

  

  ZombiU

  Just when you thought the zombie genre was ready for a rusty shovel through its maggot-infested brains, Ubisoft unveiled its fascinating first-person take on said shuffling man-munchers with this Wii U exclusive. Set in London after an outbreak of flesh-eating freaks, head off on missions to help you make it through another day, harvesting vital supplies from a variety of locations ("Oh look, it's Big Ben! And oh look there, it's a Queen's Guard here to make a right royal Jubilee out of my internal organs..."). Using the Wii U'sGamePad screen as a 'Bug-Out Bag' containing maps, med kits and more, the focus is on a refreshingly hardcore survival experience with some genuine multiplayer innovations lurking, slobbering, in the shadows...
  When's It Out? TBA 2012

  

  Pikmin 3

  Noted for its exceptional graphics (best-in-show for the Wii U, we reckon), this charming sequel to the hit real-time strategy series will make its exclusive debut on the HD-powered console. As before, head out into an alien garden and make like an astronautical Alan Titchmarsh, dishing out orders to your band of cute critters, the plant-like Pikmin, and collecting fruit, bashing garden grizzlies and building bridges to explore a mysterious planet. With lush scenery, reassuringly familiar gameplay and some all-new characters, this is already shaping up to be a potential classic.
  When's It Out? TBA 2012

  

  NintendoLand

  Hoping to emulate the astonishing success of the all-conquering Wii Sports on Wii, NintendoLand moves out of the sports arena and into the theme park by packing in 12 mini-games that show off the diverse and eclectic skills of the GamePad and its screen. Five out of the mini-games were previewed at E3; for simple delights, Takamaru's Ninja Castle sees players hurling shurikens at onscreen ninjas by 'flicking' them virtually off the GamePad's screen. For multiplayer mayhem, Luigi's Ghost Mansion lets up to four Mii-sporting players armed with Wii Remotes, hunt (and be hunted by) a ghost in an overhead maze; said ghost being operated by a GamePad-wielding gamer.

  The catch? The ghost is invisible to the other players who can only 'feel' its presence through the rumble of their controllers. And the predictable result? Yep, panicked, hysterical gameplay as gamers wildly wield their torches about, trying to destroy the ghost with their lights - or more often than not, ending up fainting onscreen when the spectre spooks them from behind. A perfect example then of that 'asymmetric gameplay' Nintendo has been so busy banging on about - where the same game is a different experience for each player, see? We're sold on it and so will you be.
  When's It Out? TBA 2012

  Published: 21/06/2012

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