With the festive season nearly upon us, plenty of goodies are sure to make their way onto your holiday wish list. If you’re looking for help in deciding on what to get for yourself or others, we’re here for you. We recently did a Holiday Gift Guide Preview of the Nintendo Wii U. Now we’re going to get into some of the games we’re looking forward to for the console. The games we think look cool will be broken into Games for Everyone, Games for Teens and Up and the mature titles will be listed in Games for Adults. We’ll start with Games for Everyone.
Be sure to keep an eye out on Toonzone for other holiday gift recommendations and let us know what your thoughts are on the Wii U and it’s launch titles.
Games for Everyone
DISNEY EPIC MICKEY 2: THE POWER OF TWO (DISNEY INTERACTIVE)
Release Date: 11/18/2012
ESRB: E for Everyone
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two returns Mickey and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to Wasteland, an alternate world filled with 80 years of forgotten Disney characters and theme park attractions. This time around, Mickey and Oswald will join forces. Mickey will have his magical paint brush with both paint and thinner, and Oswald will have a powerful remote control that allows him to manipulate electricity. Players will be able to meet Disney’s forgotten characters and attractions in new levels and further explore levels from the last game that were impacted by world-changing events that have shaken Wasteland apart. New 2D levels based on classic Disney animated shorts and films will also be available.
Players can play as Oswald in drop-in, drop-out 2-player co-op mode. Wii U system players will enjoy their own screen in 2-player co-op mode via the TV and GamePad and gameplay can be transferred solely to the GamePad.
One of the appreciated upgrades from the previous game is the addition of voices to all in-game characters, which are fully voiced by the official voice actors of those characters. Yay! Filed under, “This is something I need to see.”, there will be various points during the game where characters will express themselves and advance the plot by bursting into song. The songs will feature original, Disney-inspired music and lyrics. The tunes and instrumentation players hear will change based on their personal choices and will ultimately allow each individual to “conduct” their own unique soundtrack. The game was co-written by award-winning comic book writer, Marv Wolfman and Junction Point.
Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two will be available for the Wii U at retail for $54.99.
NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. U (NINTENDO)
Release Date: 11/18/2012
ESRB: E for Everyone
New Super Mario Bros. U is the latest side-scrolling adventure featuring Mario, Luigi, Toad and your Mii character. Princess Peach has been kidnapped and it’s up to you to save her! Some of the power ups available in the game will allow Mario to transform into Flying Squirrel Mario, or float through the air while hanging onto Balloon Baby Yoshi. Also cool, single player games will be able to switch from the TV to the GamePad at any time to continue playing even when others are using the TV.
The game will feature different gameplay modes. Challenge Mode will feature various single-player and multi-player challenges. Players will be able to try and achieve the best score and unlock new challenges. One of the multi-player modes, Boost Rush, will encourage teamwork. The player using the GamePad will be able to create Boost Blocks out of thin air to help the other players navigate stages and access hidden or hard-to-reach items. They’ll also be able to distract on-screen enemies with the tap of a finger or stylus. Up to five players can join, with up to four people using the Wiimotes and one on the Wii U GamePad.
Provided you have an internet connection, you’ll be able to see other players’ comments and accomplishments while you play and then leave your own feedback for others to see when they are connected to the Nintendo Network.
New Super Mario Bros. U will be available for the Wii U at the retail price of $59.99.
NINTENDO LAND (NINTENDO)
Release Date: 11/18/2018
ESRB: E for Everyone
Nintendo Land will come with the Deluxe version of the Wii U. If you’re buying the Basic system, this might still be on your “Want” list. Nintendo Land features 12 mini-games that are built to fully showcase the Wii U’s capabilities. The games are featured as attractions at an amusement park might be and they’re split into team, competitive and solo games.
We had some hands on time with Takamaru’s Ninja Castle and Mario Chase during a demo of the system. Takamaru’s Ninja Castle is a single-player game in which the gamer uses the GamePad to flick ninja stars at on-screen attackers. The touch screen on the GamePad was very responsive and the projectiles hit their targets.
Mario Chase is a competitive, group game in which up to four players must work together to find a fifth player that’s hidden somewhere on the playing field. If you’ve ever played tag, then you’ll be good on this game. The playing field is split into quadrants of different colors. The person using the GamePad is it. Through the GamePad, that player is allowed a perspective that is unique from the others, hopefully allowing them to continue to evade the others. The other players must help one another locate the person who is using the GamePad by calling out to one another. They play along using their Wiimotes. If the group you’re playing with is good, then you’ll have a fun time with this.
Nintendo Land will come with the following mini-game attractions:
The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest, Pikmin Adventure, Metroid Blast, Mario Chase, Luigi’s Ghost Mansion, Animal Crossing: Sweet Day, Yoshi’s Fruit Cart, Octopus Dance, Donkey King’s Crash Course, Takamaru’s Ninja Castle, Captain Falcon’s Twister Race, Balloon Trip Breeze
Nintendo Land will be available for $59.99 at retail.
SKYLANDERS GIANTS (ACTIVISION)
Release Date: 11/18/2012
ESRB: E for Everyone
Skylanders Giants is the sequel to the enjoyable Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure, which integrates physical collectible toy elements into gameplay seamlessly. Players, known as Portal Masters in the game, use the Portal of Power peripheral to “send” their Skylanders characters into the Skylands to explore, encounter new enemies, solve puzzles and collect rewards and treasures. Skylanders Giants introduces sixteen new characters, including the Giants and LightCore Skylanders that light up both in the game and real-world as players send them to the Skylands using the Portal of Power. There will also be new Hero Challenges, more Battle Mode gameplay and more integration across console, handheld and mobile. Figures and peripherals from the previous game will work in Skylanders Giants.
The Starter Pack for the Wii U, and all other systems, is $74.99 at retail. This will include the new game, one Giant, one new Skylander, one Series 2 Skylander, three trading cards and a poster. The Portal Owners Pack, for those who purchased the previous game and will purchase the figures on their own, is $59.99. This will include the new game and one Giant. Individual Giant Figures will cost $14.99. LightCore Skylander Figures will cost $11.99. New Skylander figures will retail at $9.99.
SONIC & ALL-STARS RACING TRANSFORMED (SEGA)
Release Date: 11/18/2012
ESRB: E for Everyone
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is the sequel to Sonic & SEGA All-Star’s Racing. It features Sonic the Hedgehog and the cast of SEGA All-Stars competing across land, sea and air in vehicles that transform from cars, to boats, to planes. The characters now have their own unique transforming vehicles designed to take advantage of the changing terrain. New character additions to the game include Gilius Thunderhead of Golden Axe and Vyse of Skies of Arcadia.
The game features environments and tracks inspired by SEGA’s gaming history, including Dragon Canyon from Panzer Dragoon and Super Monkey Ball’s Temple Trouble. All-Star moves return in this installment, with a mechanic that powers up the more aggressively you race. These special moves are individual to each character and can be used to strategically get ahead in the race. The game includes an all-new Fair Weapon System, which allows players to block or evade weapons once they gain the skills to do so. Players will now be able to play with up to eight people in online multiplayer modes. Multiplayer game modes will include Grand Prix and Battle Arenas.
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed will be available on the Wii U for $39.99 at retail.
TRANSFORMERS PRIME (ACTIVISION)
Release Date: 11/18/2012
ESRB: E for Everyone
Based on the animated television show, Transformers Prime lets fans play as their favorite Autobot characters and adventure to save the Earth from Megatron and his new secret weapon. Gamers will be able to use the GamePad controller to do things such as tilting to steer a character or using the touchscreen to perform combat upgrades. Characters models from Polygon Pictures, Inc., the Japanese CG animation studio for the television show were used for the game.
In the single player campaign, players may take on the roles of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Arcee, Autobot Ratchet and Bulkhead. They’ll be able to explore unique vistas and engage in brawler-style combat and in driving sequences. Players will be able to interact with the human characters from the show, Jack, Miko and Raf. The game also features multiplayer modes such as Brawl, Battle for Energon and Emblem Match to allow fans to play as 11 Transformers from both factions.
Transformer Prime will be available on the Wii U for $49.99 at retail.
