PixlBit

The Wii U embodies the impressive culmination of Nintendo’s work/experiments over the past decade.

In many ways the Wii U represents the culmination of Nintendo’s work across the past few generations of handheld and home consoles. The concept of asymmetric gameplay was born on the GameCube with its Gameboy Advance connectivity; a multitude of control options, including motion controls and pointing was birthed with the Wii; touch-enabled, dual screen gameplay hit critical mass with the introduction of the DS; and even the system’s menu draws influence from the recently released 3DS. What’s most impressive about the Wii U is the manner in which it manages to blend all of these concepts into a functional and cohesive experience that gives players an unbelievable degree of control within their gaming environment.

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The Wii U is out and the love is free-flowing on this episode of PixlTalk.

After a short hiatus and some failed podcasts post-New York Comic Con, episode 80 has finally come to fruition. And not a moment too late, as the crew for this episode (Nick, Jason, and JD) all have their Deluxe Wii Us and are excited to talk about them.

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The PixlBit staff shares their Wii launch day memories.

Even though there’s still plenty of excitement revolving around the launch of a new console, be it handheld or otherwise, it seems as though the days of week-long lines and potential riots have been all but killed off by the widespread use of pre-orders.  Those launch line ups were quite the experience, but those early days were made even more memorable when the new hardware was unsealed and powered up for the first time.  When the Wii Launched on November 19, 2006, nobody predicted it would be snapped up just as soon as it could be stocked on store shelves.  We also weren’t sure what direction the innovative motion controls and classic Nintendo franchises would take us.  To relive the elation and anticipation of the Wii Launch experience, some of the PixlBit crew thought it would be fun to share their own launch day memories.  If you have some of your own, be sure to share them in the comments.

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A unique concept that fails in execution.

Aside from ambitious, the only other word that can be used to describe Orgarhythm is disappointing. Given that Tak Hirai of Space Channel 5, Shenmue, and Meteos fame was behind the unique blend of action, strategy, and rhythm gameplay, I couldn’t help but be excited. However, the execution of these concepts simply doesn’t match up to the ambition of the idea.

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Despite the "New" moniker, this iteration of the game suffers from all the same problems.

Little King’s Story was one of the many games to see release on Wii that went mostly unnoticed. While I didn’t have an opportunity to play it myself, I did watch quite a bit of it and had always wanted to dive into my own quest. The quasi-re-release of the game on Vita as New Little King’s Story has afforded me that opportunity, and for that, I am thankful. While the little king seems to have hit his teen years, the cutesy charm and simulation/RPG elements that defined it three years ago still ring true.

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