Music Games
After the implosion of the Guitar Hero/Rock Band mega-franchises, the world of music games has endured by virtue to two old standbys: dance and karaoke titles. The Wii U, as it happens, launched with a solid enough offering in each camp. Just Dance 4 is… well, Just Dance. The series is crazy-popular, and this entry will follow suit for fans of pop music and virtual booty-shaking. Like Nintendo’s previous entries you’ll use the Wii Remote to score your gesticulations as you follow the choreographed moves of the on-screen dancers. Accuracy is awarded with additional content, but, just as with Your Shape, it’s easy enough to fake your way through the routines with calculated Wii-mote waggling. The GamePad, consequently, is relegated to second banana status; you can play with the visuals, cue up the next song and eventually torture you fellow players by controlling movements via the much talked-about Puppet Master Mode. The game looks, sounds and plays exactly like you’d expect, which I reckon means true innovation is its only failing.
Sing Party likewise tends to skirt the edges rather than push the envelope, but that hasn’t stopped it from becoming a favorite in my household. Tethered by a USB mic to the Wii U, players can either challenge selections from its well-rounded songbook for accuracy or instead attempt to pump up the living room crowd in its more free-form Party Mode. During standard gameplay the GamePad itself mostly just allows you and your fellow singers to plan a set list, follow track length or adjust music volume, but in Party Mode it displays both the lyrics and instructions to help vocalists hype the room.
The Bottom Line
Though a wired mic and only occasionally helpful secondary handheld lyric sheet may seem distinctly underwhelming, I cannot overstate how much we have enjoyed Sing Party. Being able to segue from The Darkness to The Jackson Five to Bieber to Huey Lewis has managed to make for many a memorable evening of family gaming.
Downloadables
With the 3DS eShop only now coming into its own with truly engaging content, I really didn’t expect much from the Wii U downloadable catalog at launch aside from digital versions of its retail releases. I instead discovered a number of interesting games that quickly challenged that preconception. Broken Rules’ Chasing Aurora, for example, is a meditative bird-based 2D racer with a definite multiplayer slant. Navigating its maps by a combination of wing-flaps and strategically-placed air currents requires a definite, deliberate rhythm that’s uniquely satisfying but perhaps lacks mass appeal. Sadly its $15 price tag doesn’t exactly help matters.
Weighing in at a scant five dollars more is a more expansive version of critical darling Trine 2 dubbed Trine 2: Director’s Cut. This gorgeous Lost Vikings-style puzzle-platformer arrives on the Wii U with both its Goblin Menace expansion and additional exclusive content. The title looks amazing on both screens and controls smoothly via the GamePad. Obviously the touchscreen interface isn’t as effortless as we may have come to expect on multi-touch interfaces, but given that it’s primarily used for character selection and special moves – the buttons handle all other aspects – it never feels bothersome.
Speaking of the GamePad as a solid controller, Nano Assault Neo is a microscopic twin-stick shooter that combines the dizzying perspective of Super Mario Galaxy‘s smaller planetoids with a healthy dose of bullet hell combat. The distinctly organic look of the cells that serve as the game’s levels looks phenomenal, which contrasts nicely against the space-shooter feel of your firefights against encroaching organisms. At only $10 it hits a financial sweet spot, but the very nature of its gameplay (not to mention its sometimes ridiculous difficulty) may limit mass appeal.
Little Inferno also come across as a niche title, yet it’s one that continues to devour my free time. In a surreal snow-swept dystopia reminiscent of the work of Angus Oblong or Jhonen Vasquez, the player whiles away a near-solitary existence by, well, burning things. This weirdo non-game works in the same way that similar titles, like Doodle Devil, by rewarding experimentation – burning certain items together scores bonus points for themed combos – and always helping gamers eke out just enough money to buy that one more item to toss into the fireplace. Minimal but masterfully implemented music and sound effects help to flesh out this singular world, as does a constant stream of strange letters from a sociopathic neighbor and the makers of your Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace themselves. Perfectly peculiar and wonderfully weird, but it’s still a hard sell at $15.
Cautious language and qualified recommendation aside, Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition from WayForward Technologies is surely my pick for must-have downloadable. Those who have experienced the series’ handheld iteration already know of the fun to be had thanks to its deceptively deep cops-and-robbers gameplay, but even they shouldn’t be dissuaded from checking out this beautiful console representation. Capturing escaped convicts by running, jumping, shooting and, most importantly switching across the title’s 21 stages is a pleasure to experience, and it’s all thanks to that odd defining gameplay element. A simple button press toggles colored blocks on or off to suit your specific needs as you traverse these futuristic landscapes, but accidentally switch one on while standing in the wrong place and you’ll be brutally sandwiched against the screen. Of course this same trick works on enemies, so its cutesy brutality serves a purpose. MSF! looks, sounds and plays perfectly on your TV or the smaller GamePad, so it’s quickly become my personal go-to title. For gamers looking for a rewarding challenge in the eShop, it’s definitely ten dollars well spent.
The Bottom Line
Like the Wii U’s retail releases its eShop games rely heavily on upgraded ports of existing titles, but with quality versions like Trine 2 and Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive EditionI simply can’t complain.
Review materials provided by: Nintendo of America, Ubisoft, Namco, Warner Bros. and Electronic Arts
