Wii U Game Reviews

Reviewed by Jason Venter (December 29, 2012)

You might not realize it, but even simple repetitive motions like lifting your arm and then lowering it can start to take a toll on a person—most particularly someone who spends his days sitting in an office chair and typing words about video games—and that’s even before you start lifting your legs up high, or twirling in circles like a rose petal caught in a whirlwind.

Reviewed by Jason Venter (December 29, 2012)

Properly equipped, your warriors have amazing range and can cleave through hordes of enemy soldiers, even on the Normal difficulty setting. Special moves are also available and they can inflict even more damage, but in general you can save those moves for the more challenging bosses that sometimes storm the field. Those more gifted foes mostly block your slower special attacks unless you wait until they’re open, so you’ll be forced to also block attacks and wait for a limited opening if you want to unleash some real pain.

Reviewed by Leroux (December 29, 2012)

New Super Mario Bros. U isn't just a bad title for a game but a misnomer as well.

Reviewed by Jason Venter (December 23, 2012)

Unfortunately, the only objective you’re ever given is to kill everything that moves. That’s not entirely bad, since mayhem can be a lot of fun, but there aren’t enough enemy types available to keep things interesting across so many stages. You’ll wind up fighting most of the same monster waves three or four times over the course of the campaign, and the last 20 stages or so are mostly just battles against the same few giant enemies.

Reviewed by Jason Venter (December 16, 2012)

The game changes up who faces who during each event, which keeps things relatively even and ensures that no single player is always stuck going up against a computer opponent. Still, the whole process is definitely the most fun if you are competing with at least two human friends… even though that means you’ll be passing the gamepad and any other controllers around the room as if they’re participants in a game of musical chairs.

Reviewed by Jason Venter (December 15, 2012)

However, the game is more challenging for newcomers than the developers likely intended, mostly due to the control scheme. The game simply requires more precision from the touch pad than it allows. For instance, the Basketball attraction features three hoops that move toward the screen, then recede or spin. You have to move the gamepad to affect the direction your arrow points, and then you have to swipe the stylus just the right amount so that you throw the ball hard enough but not too hard.