In which Zach discovers the benefits of Off-TV Play.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/blog/34478
If you had asked me even a few weeks ago, what the least exciting benefit of having a Wii U was, I would’ve answered “Off-TV Play,” because I didn’t use it, didn’t have any reason to use it and couldn’t imagine playing a big-screen game on a small screen. Amazing Spider-Man just looks so damn good on my TV—why would I ever relocate to a screen smaller than my wife’s tablet? As it turns out, the key phrase there is “my wife,” who I hadn’t lived with in any normal capacity in eight months. See, she was off in Fairbanks going to graduate school while I was left to my own devices and complete television domination. You know what I didn’t have to watch while she was gone? New Girl* or The Mindy Project. Those were some good times. But now she’s back, times have changed, and I’ve embraced that which I’d previously ignored.
It’s not like Off-TV Play was never there. In fact, I used it once in a while when reviewing Wii U games, just to make sure that feature was present and accounted for. I much preferred a dual setup—some information displayed on the TV and some displayed on the GamePad. It’s one of the reasons I like Resident Evil: Revelations so much and why, I imagine, Zelda U will be a compelling product (no more pressing pause to switch into the Iron Boots). My wife came back from school to a DVR full of terrible, terrible female-oriented shows that I had no business watching. Not to disparage my wife’s taste in television more than necessary, but Zooey Deschanel and Mindy Kaling can both spontaneously combust, to say nothing of Fashion Police or The Real Housewives of Who Gives a ****. These shows couldn’t just be deleted, no sir, so the television was suddenly the near-exclusive property of my wife.
During this “Dark Period,” as I call it, I was forced to subsist on DS and 3DS games because Off-TV Play hadn’t even entered my compromised mind. Then, as if by the hand (hoof?) of Arceus, Super Metroid solved my dilemma.
Remember when they were selling Super Metroid for 30 cents? I don’t care if you own that game five different ways (that would actually not be possible); it is one of the few games you need to own on as many platforms as possible so you can play whenever the mood strikes you. I jumped down that deal’s throat faster than an Apple apologist responds to a complete stranger’s Twitter criticism of Steve Jobs (it’s like their calling or something). I did not want to wait for my wife to finish her marathon of “Gossip Girl” so that I could play my precious Super Metroid. No sir, my aim was to delve into the trenches of Zebes that very night, and so, almost reluctantly, I made serious use of Off-TV Play.
As it turns out, Off-TV Play might be the best way to play Super Metroid. When blown up on a 36” flat screen TV, the 19-year-old Super Nintendo game doesn’t actually look that great, because you can see individual pixels. On the GamePad however, the smaller screen makes everything blend together pretty well. I daresay this has always been the way Super Metroid was meant to be played. It took longer than I’d like to admit, but I did beat the game for the hundredth time on the GamePad while my wife watched petty rich people blackmail each other on the TV.
Because Gossip Girl was on longer than a single season (meanwhile, Firefly was not), the GamePad has become my go-to device for gaming. I’ve been playing all the SNES Kirby games on the thing, as well as the majority of my time with Resident Evil: Revelations. The other night, I tried to play The Amazing Spider-Man on the GamePad, and it works alright, but that’s really a big-screen game with big-screen action, especially when swinging around Manhattan. The situation with Darksiders 2 is similar—that’s another grand adventure game that’s ill-suited to the GamePad. I also prefer playing it and Spider-Man with the Pro Controller. The GamePad, however, is ideal for playing VC games and most downloadable games, like Mighty Switch Force HD and Nano Assault Neo. Oddly enough, I find it difficult to play Runner 2 on the GamePad, though there’s nothing inherently “big screen” about it.
So the point, ultimately, is that Off-TV Play is great, and if you live with somebody—even part-time—it should become your go-to gaming alternative. I’m surprised Nintendo of America isn’t promoting this aspect of the system more. Wait, what am I saying? They don’t promote the Wii U at all right now. But if they did, Off-TV Play would be a great platform.
“Is your wife or girlfriend addicted to a glorified prime-time soap opera and lording over your TV? No problem! Just use the Wii U’s patented GamePad to get your gaming fix. You can even plug in your headphones so that you aren’t distracted by obnoxious phrases like: ’GUUUUURL,’ ’NO HE DI’N’T,’ and ‘I'm not here to make friends.’ Wii U—buy one today!”
*Yeah, half of you are probably defending New Girl right now. Here's your assignment: defend that show without apologizing for Zooey Deschanel. Go on, try. As I mentioned to fellow staffer Andy Goergen, the three male leads are funny but then Zooey wanders on-camera in some kind of anachronistic 1930's flapper outfit and basically starts yelling "LOOK AT HOW QUIRKY I AM! TEE-HEE!" Utter goddamn rubbish.
Off TV play has become one of my most used features, which is surprising. I often use when my son is watching TV and I feel like playing something. I am ashamed to admit that more than once I have used it simply because I did not feel like getting up and setting up the tv to play.I've done that too. Often times I turn on my WiiU and then decide whether I want the full screen or not.
The problem with advertising the feature is that ...
