Nintendo E3 2012 Press Conference, Nintendo E3 All-Access

Nintendo E3 All-Access, first thing to note is that the black WiiU and the WiiU GamePad (note the capitalization, that's the official name for it) looks kind of slick. The console supports two GamePads, as expected but now it's confirmed. Some reiteration of the Miiverse stuff from the Direct Access stream, will eventually be accessible from just about any modern browser.

First game they showed was Pikmin 3, apparently a game that everyone's been waiting for. New rock Pikmin, breaks hard objects. Basic controls use the Wiimote+ and the Nunchuck combo, WiiU GamePad will always show the map. Miyamoto carries spare Pikmins in his pocket.

New Super Mario Bros U, looks a whole lot like all the other New Super Mario Bros games, some kind of flying squirrel suit confirmed. That might have actually been in the earlier games too, I haven't played them.

Batman Arkham City - Armored Edition, starts with a little soundbite from the Harley Quinn (well, the actress, Tara Strong, obviously) talking back at Reggie and stuff, that's kind of neat little touch to have in the conference. Armored Edition comes bundled with armored costumes for both Batman and Catwoman, and uses the GamePad for gadget interaction it seems. Maybe worth mention is that it's not being done at Rocksteady, but is outsourced to some other developer whose name I didn't catch.

Scribblenauts: Unlimited, Jeremiah Slaczka (the creator of Scribblenauts) is wearing great shoes. WiiU version will have some kind of all new multiplayer mode.

Third party montage, showing Darksiders 2, Mass Effect 3, Tank! Tank! Tank!, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Trine 2 Director's Cut (Yay! Finland! Represent!), Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge and Aliens: Colonial Marines.

WiiFitU, lots of fitness minigames. Reggie's body is ready.

Sing (working title), performance game where everyone sings. Isn't that true for all of those karaoke games? Anyways, GamePad used to display lyrics so you are not facing the TV, but instead can face your audience/friends.

Lego City: Undercover, not really sure what this game is supposed to be. Grand Theft Auto in Lego city, with the familiar Lego mechanics from the other Lego games? Maybe? Probably not, but I just can't tell.

Ubisoft pimped out some of the same games they already showed on their own conference earlier, ZombiU, Rayman Legends, Just Dance 4, Rabbids Land, Assassin's Creed 3, Yourshape sequel, Sports Connection and Avengers. Looks like you can use the GamePad as a scanner, sonar, sniper rifle, hacking minigame and inventory in ZombiU.

NintendoLand, a virtual theme park. That's what they call the minigame collection they ended the show with. It seems destined to be the bundle game for this system when it launches. A lot of the tech demos from last year's E3 probably transformed into this.

Some minor 3DS news was sprinkled here and there, I'll just put them here at the end because the conference was really all about the WiiU. Firstly, there's going to be an hour long Nintendo Direct stream specifically directed for 3DS owners at 6pm PDT on Wednesday. They are calling it Software Showcase, so I guess you can expect them to showcase some software for you. Other than that tidbit of info, they showed some footage of New Super Mario Bros 2, which is all about GOLD! And raccoon tails. Paper Mario: Sticker Star was also shown, in which you collect stickers and apparently use them as battle items. More info on Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, multiple mansions, mission based challenges, arrives this holiday. Lego City: Undercover is also on its way to 3DS. And to close the short 3DS segment they had a third party montage trailer, featuring short clips of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate, Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion, Scribblenauts: Unlimited and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (horrible horrible name).

Still no clear idea of what this machine can or can't do. Arkham City looked pretty much the same from the short clips they showed, and considering it's an outsourced port, it's probably not going to get any kind of special treatment.

In conclusion, oh god oh god I hate these kind simulated social event trailers that Nintendo started with the Wii. It just looks so incredibly dumb. Hey look at us, just friends having a lot of fun with this console in the most annoying way possible. Anyways, now that the conferences are behind us, I'll try to compile some good trailers and gameplay clips in the coming days.

Posted in Gaming by Kilu on June 05th 2012 at 1:27pm