Topic: What games do you think best use the Wii U GamePad and why?

[Phil]

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?

[NWR_insanolord]

FIFA and Madden both made excellent use of the GamePad. Too bad we'll never see second iterations of them.

[Phil]

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.

[Mop it up]

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.

[NWR_insanolord]

I think my favorite games in Nintendo Land (Animal Crossing, Luigi's Mansion and Metroid) all use the GamePad really well.

[ShyGuy]

I liked how Takamaru's Ninja Castle used the game pad. I also found it very handy in Splinter Cell.

[Nemo]

It's nothing mind-blowing, but the Gamepad was a great match for Little Inferno.

[broodwars]

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.

[MagicCow64]

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.

[Mop it up]

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.

[ejamer]

...

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.

[Phil]

It's fun to play a game on the GamePad screen while watching TV, or rather, listening to TV.

[rlse9]

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.

[RedBlue]

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

[Thunderbird Starkiller]

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.

[Mop it up]

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.

[Stratos]

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?

[Mop it up]

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.

[Phil]

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.

[Stratos]

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.

[greybrick]

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.

[ejamer]

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.

[pokepal148]

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.

[Stratos]

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.

[rlse9]

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.