PixlBit

Don't count these guys out...they may be some of the coolest games of the year.

The Wonderful 101

Now, on a technical level, The Wonderful 101 probably shouldn’t be on a list titled “The Underdogs”. After all, this is a Wii U exclusive game developed by fan favorite developer Platinum Games. It’s directed by Hideki Kamiya, who has been rather quiet after completing Bayonetta back in 2010, and the elevator pitch for this title would be something like Viewtiful Joe meets Pikmin. By sheer pedigree it should be a guaranteed success, right? Well, there’s the sticking point that Platinum Games has never had what you would call a smash hit, and when you factor in their games for Capcom as Clover Studios you have even more underwhelming sales figures. There’s also the fact that this game was quietly announced after the Nintendo E3 press conference, even though it was one of the most interesting Wii U games at the show. So The Wonderful 101 has some work to do if it wants to get into as many Wii U households as it can.

We already have a great hands-on preview of this quirky Wii U title thanks to our roving reporter JD, and I suggest you check that out here. The Wonderful 101 is one of the most unique titles shown so far for Nintendo’s new console, and the fact that it’s one of the only exclusive third party games for the system should give it a nice boost in notoriety.

For the uninitiated (what, you didn’t read JD’s preview? Shame!), The Wonderful 101 pits a group of superheroes against a force of invading aliens. These aliens come in all shapes and sizes, but fortunately, so do your intrepid heroes. You can recruit regular citizens, who don a mask and join in on the action. They swarm around the main character much like pikmin, but the key mechanic here is that they can band together for special attacks. Bring them together to form a massive sword, perfect for juggle combos and dicing large enemies. Form a big fist for short range power attacks, or to solve environmental puzzles. Like some of the best early Wii U games, The Wonderful 101 takes full use of the GamePad, and is sure to be a hardcore fan’s dream when it comes out, well, soonish. It was announced as part of the Wii U “launch window,” which ends in March.