Gaming Forums => Nintendo Gaming => Topic started by: Phil on March 07, 2014, 07:40:08 PM
Title: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: Phil on March 07, 2014, 07:40:08 PM
I did an article about this last night, but I'm interested in reading your thoughts.
I had chose:
Rayman Legends - one player interacting with the levels to assist another player or players
Wii Party U - An abundance of really cool games and modes that utilize the GamePad in some inventive ways. My favorite is probably Name That Face, a three + person mode where the GamePad player gets a description and they try to best create an expression with the controller's camera, taking a photo for the players. The players then select from four answers what the GamePad player was trying to express with his or her face/hands. Then there's the tabletop games, played solely on the GamePad.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut - puts many gameplay concepts to work on the Wii U GamePad without it feeling shoehorned in-- things like hacking, inventory management, 3D maps, etc.
Nintendo Land - pretty obvious pick; showed multiple uses for the GamePad
ZombiU - Cycling through your inventory on the GamePad screen while the game is still active is quite intense. A zombie could come creeping and infect you at any time. Then there's passwords that can be inputted into the touch screen and helpful maps.
Since I was doing a top five list (always fun to write-- no sarcasm intended), I didn't get to include LEGO City Undercover's scanning of areas to look for criminals, vehicles, and hidden goodies.
I hope I didn't just list the only games that make worthwhile use of the GamePad. Even if I did, which are your absolute favorites?
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 07, 2014, 07:47:45 PM
FIFA and Madden both made excellent use of the GamePad. Too bad we'll never see second iterations of them.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: Phil on March 07, 2014, 07:52:00 PM
Even though I'm not a big time sports fan, I'm interested in trying those games out. I know they're dirt cheap now, so I really should look into getting one of those or both.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: Mop it up on March 08, 2014, 03:56:28 PM
I was actually disappointed with the GamePad use in Nintendo Land. Most of the games would either control better with other Wii controllers (Donkey Kong Crash Course, F-Zero Twister Race, etc.) or were similar to minigames in first-year DS titles (Yoshi's Fruit Cart, Balloon Trip Breeze, etc.). That said, most of the games are still fun, I just wish they had better controls or used the GamePad better.
I tried the demo of ZombiU and I agree it uses the GamePad screen well, but it isn't the type of game that I like.
I haven't played the other games that you listed, and I haven't really played anything else that used the GamePad for more than off-TV play and/or a cheap gimmick (such as NSMBU and SM3DW). I guess Scribblenauts Unlimited works better with it, since using the keypad on the touchscreen is better than selecting letters with a D-pad. I think the "create-an-object" feature is also touch-based, but I've never tried it as that feature doesn't interest me.
Even though I'm not a big time sports fan, I'm interested in trying those games out. I know they're dirt cheap now, so I really should look into getting one of those or both.
FIFA has a demo on the eShop.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 08, 2014, 04:04:53 PM
I think my favorite games in Nintendo Land (Animal Crossing, Luigi's Mansion and Metroid) all use the GamePad really well.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: ShyGuy on March 08, 2014, 06:02:07 PM
I liked how Takamaru's Ninja Castle used the game pad. I also found it very handy in Splinter Cell.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: Nemo on March 09, 2014, 01:05:56 AM
It's nothing mind-blowing, but the Gamepad was a great match for Little Inferno.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: broodwars on March 09, 2014, 01:19:00 AM
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Smoothie. Yes, I'm at least halfway serious. ;) If I want to use the GamePad for the only thing it's good for (Off-screen play), I can use it for that. Otherwise, the thing's turned off and I never have to look at its crappy little SD screen while I'm playing DK on my new HD TV.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: MagicCow64 on March 09, 2014, 03:26:51 AM
Don't know necessarily about the "best" (did not personally care for ZombiU or Nintendo Land), but I thought Darksiders II did a pretty bang-up job of a basic feature set for any given game. Interactive map, real-time inventory management, skill trees, etc., all running seamlessly on the pad, virtually eliminating the need to pause the game aside from a few minor things like feeding possessed weapons. Made the Assassin Creed III effort look pathetic.
Edit: Also, I'm in the boat that Off Screen play singlehandedly justifies the existence of the screen, and any other benefits are gravy.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: Mop it up on March 09, 2014, 05:30:29 PM
To be fair, I haven't tried the three competitive multiplayer games in Nintendo Land yet, we've just done the co-op ones. So I can't comment on the whole package, but I was disappointed that the quality of the games is inconsistent.
I liked how Takamaru's Ninja Castle used the game pad.
I was okay with the method of tossing the ninja stars, but the aiming with the GamePad just didn't work well. It isn't nearly as accurate as the Wiimote pointer, and loses its calibration easily. I'd rather have used the Wiimote for that game.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: ejamer on March 09, 2014, 07:16:22 PM
Edit: Also, I'm in the boat that Off Screen play singlehandedly justifies the existence of the screen, and any other benefits are gravy.
Playing with my Wii U quite a bit more lately. Lots of gaming in bed, while others are using TV, etc. Really coming around on this opinion, although ideally the "best" experience would use dual screens in a more essential way.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: Phil on March 09, 2014, 11:35:56 PM
It's fun to play a game on the GamePad screen while watching TV, or rather, listening to TV.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: rlse9 on March 10, 2014, 12:35:42 AM
Agree on Fifa, it uses the GamePad well. And it's dirt cheap on Amazon and there's the demo to test out the game. I'm not a soccer fan but it is fun.
It doesn't do anything revolutionary or anything but Wii Fit U does use the GamePad well for the handful of activities that use it.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: RedBlue on March 10, 2014, 01:53:44 AM
Spin the bottle is the game with the best use of the game pad. The first thing it tells you to do is turn off the TV and the use the game pad for the mini games
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: Thunderbird Starkiller on March 15, 2014, 01:27:49 AM
I loved the way it was used in ZombiU, it really defined how that game played in general.
But on another note I love seeing it used to streamline games. Both Darksiders II and Wind Waker HD did a great job of just making the game more convenient. Being able to choose to have a nice big map or manage your character without pausing is a feature I feel a lot of people overlook. Games like that get called lazy but I view it as a huge improvement to the UI.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: Mop it up on March 15, 2014, 04:04:47 PM
I've never really understood the appeal of off-TV play. Just get a second TV if you have just one. I have three TVs myself, now four counting my roomie's.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: Stratos on March 15, 2014, 04:19:40 PM
Well, 1-percent-er, us 99% do not have the luxury of such a high TV-to-Person ratio. ;)
Why get a second TV when the gamepad does the job just fine? Plus do you really want to have to hot-swap your system depending on who is on what TV?
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: Mop it up on March 15, 2014, 04:22:33 PM
Couldn't you set up one TV for gaming and one TV for watching TV? Then no switching systems required. The GamePad isn't HD, so, that would be the main difference.
Or do what I did with the N64 and buy multiples. ;)
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: Phil on March 15, 2014, 06:15:55 PM
I've never really understood the appeal of off-TV play. Just get a second TV if you have just one. I have three TVs myself, now four counting my roomie's.
I love it because you can have a console experience in your hands while watching a program on TV or lying in your bed.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: Stratos on March 15, 2014, 06:18:18 PM
I've actually gotten pampered with the Game + TV show experience it feels wrong to not have a TV show playing. I guess I've grown fond of background noise.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: greybrick on March 15, 2014, 09:39:10 PM
I've never really understood the appeal of off-TV play. Just get a second TV if you have just one. I have three TVs myself, now four counting my roomie's.
I like being able to sit by my wife as she watches a movie, and I play a Wii U game on the gamepad. I have another TV with the rest of my consoles hooked up to it in another room, but the gamepad lets me enjoy my wife's company AND play some Nintendo games.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: ejamer on March 16, 2014, 11:10:27 AM
We actually have an extra TV sitting around at home, not even hooked up. That doesn't solve the problem of sharing space and screen time, though. We like being in the same room together, but do we really want to set up multiple TVs in our living room? (Answer: no, not really. The reason that TV isn't hooked up is because we don't have anywhere really useful to put it.)
Additionally, it's nice to be able to move about the house or switch screen mid-game. If a show that my wife wants to watch starts while I'm in the middle of a game, no problem. The game can switch to a different screen (and back again later) without interruption simply by pressing a button. If I want to wander into the kitchen while playing, or go lie in bed or whatever, no problem - the game comes with me.
This isn't a make-or-break feature. It's not really even that big of a deal. But it is convenient.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: pokepal148 on March 16, 2014, 12:27:24 PM
Monster Hunter has gone up there pretty well, the 3ds touchscreen uses along with the gamepad mic being able to be used for voicechat and off tv play really show how to make the gamepad shine without relying on it.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: Stratos on March 16, 2014, 12:47:38 PM
I really liked how you could customize what goes on the gamepad for Monster Hunter. It is a pity my TV has a terrible resolution and the color is fading. I cannot read the text in the game so I am forced to use off-TV play exclusively.
Still hoping for a Wii U port of HM4U. It is a year out an maybe Nintendo will work out a deal with Capcom to help shore up console support.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: rlse9 on March 16, 2014, 01:44:16 PM
We don't have space in our living room even if we wanted to have a second TV. I'd like to use the gamepad more but the range on it is not good. It's maybe 25 feet from where the system is setup to my bed and it doesn't work there. The other problem is that games look so good on the TV, that a lot of times I just decide to wait until playing a game instead of playing on the gamepad, it doesn't look bad but it's not very good either compared to an HDTV.
I just started Monster Hunter and having the map and health bars down on the gamepad instead of up on the TV is great, I think it makes the game look better not having that stuff displayed on the TV.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: Mop it up on March 16, 2014, 02:44:24 PM
I used to have two TVs set up next to each other, but now, I just use the computer for a TV show if I want that.
Problem solved!
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on March 16, 2014, 03:38:05 PM
I wondered this myself, with all the fuss about the Gamepad are there any games that make it worth owning or is it something people defend just because it's there and Nintendo told them to like it so they do? I remember people bitching about it before launch and the faithful clamoring how great it was and they had to try it before they judge it, now it's out and people tried it they have mixed views on it those same people are saying just try it or that it isn't being used correctly, if they can't find good ways to make use of it in every game than it should not have been mandatory because if even Nintendo is running out of ideas it was a mistake period.If Off TV play is the best they can do that could have been an Android/iOS app.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: Stratos on March 16, 2014, 04:02:01 PM
The DS/3DS have a touch screen and a lot of the best titles for it either limit touch controls or dispense with them entirely. I think a bigger problem is that it is too similar to being a giant DS/3DS. I think it is a great component of the system, and it is doing fine for me, but Nintendo needed something a bit more new and innovative to catch people's eyes and drive them to invest in the system.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 16, 2014, 08:43:16 PM
There are plenty of games that use the GamePad well, but very few for which it's really essential. Nintendo and other developers are kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place, where people complain if games force the use of the unique inputs where they don't really make sense, but also complain if games don't use them at all. There's also the fact that using he GamePad in a major way either eliminates or gimps off-TV play, which is a selling point for a lot of people. I know I'm a lot less likely to buy a Wii U game if it doesn't have off-TV play.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: Phil on March 27, 2014, 07:10:21 PM
I'm really interested in what Nintendo has in store in the realm of NFC. The possibilities are endless, and if anyone can make a novel use of it, Nintendo can. Then again, that's what a lot of us said about the GamePad... :Q
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on March 27, 2014, 07:41:50 PM
I think Nintendo Land wins hands down because, so far, it is the only title that has given truly unique game experiences with the asynchronous multi-player games like Mario Chase, Metroid, Luigi's Ghost House, Zelda, etc. The person on the gamepad plays with everyone else but is doing something different. It is unique and fun as hell. Also, some of the games use the gamepad camera to put a real-time image of the gamepad holder's face on the T.V. and that is some unexpectedly hilarious **** for the other players.
Other notables are Sonic and All Star Racing Transformed where two folks can race without having to use split-screen and, similarly, Call Of Duty Black Ops 2, where two folks can do local or online multiplayer, again without having to use split-screen. This is excellent.
Zelda Windwaker also does a good job with inventory management.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: terribledeli on March 27, 2014, 10:36:51 PM
Pokemon Rumble U. If only for the NFC functionality. Wii Fit U for the connectivity between the Fit Meter and the Gamepad.
Barring those two, I'd go with Game and Wario. I felt they were a better use of the gamepad than NintendoLand, even if the game wasn't as strong as NintendoLand.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: PSap29 on March 29, 2014, 03:21:33 PM
In Lego City Undercover, the GamePad feels like a tablet. You have your map, objectives, phone, and even "apps" on it, and everything works really well.
In Batman Arkham Asylum, it's used for your map, as well as for viewing and getting Wayne Tech upgrades. It can also be used to steer the remote control batarangs, but I prefer using the joystick for that.
The inventory management in Wind Waker HD is amazing. I know Ocarina of Time 3D did it first, but this perfects it. Being able to just drag and drop items to equip them or switch to the map by just tapping the screen is so fluid, unlike having to pause the game for those same functions. Zelda games from here on out should be designed with a second screen in mind.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: azeke on March 30, 2014, 01:00:09 AM
In Lego City Undercover, the GamePad feels like a tablet. You have your map, objectives, phone, and even "apps" on it, and everything works really well.
I wished it went further than that. Off TV play is much more convenient, my nephew loves that game, but when he's playing it that means TV is occupied.
At least with Mario, i can give him gamepad, sit him in the corner with headphones and myself play whatever on my other consoles on TV.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: PSap29 on March 30, 2014, 01:22:26 PM
I'm pretty sure Lego City has off screen play. I just don't remember how to do it off the top of my head. I think it's the minus button, but I'm not 100% sure.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: azeke on March 30, 2014, 01:25:50 PM
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: ResettisCousin on March 30, 2014, 03:56:19 PM
I'll give my opinion on the original question without stealth derision of the two-screen concept or class warfare. My favorite so far is Wonderful 101. Although the "on pad" camera control is sometimes flakey, the idea of solving a puzzle with your characters inside the pad while seeing the effect or feedback on the TV was really neat. My honorable mention is to Deus Ex HR DC, since the map is critical in that game and the WiiU gamepad map is _MUCH_ better than the normal game's on-screen, in-corner map. In fact I just ordered Mass Effect 3 for cheap because it was ported by the same team and has a similar 'super mini map' on the pad.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: Khushrenada on April 01, 2014, 02:39:10 PM
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze! I can see myself reflected in the black screen of the gamepad and it makes me ponder aging and how much time I have spent playing games. Playing DKC:TR is a very somber and existential questioning affair. It is brilliant!
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: nickmitch on April 04, 2014, 12:06:50 PM
There's an interesting feature: having games where the gamepad is just running the camera so that you can watch yourself play.
Title: Re: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on April 04, 2014, 05:21:35 PM
