Wii U a win for adult gamers as well as kids

Thank goodness, Nintendo is finally stepping into the 21st century. I bet you rarely play games on your toyish Wii. But here comes the new powerhouse Wii U.

Wii U is a high-tech, high-def system designed to siphon adult gamers from Xbox 360 and PS 3.

Yet children will also want it for "Mario" games, plus they can play most old Wii games and peripherals on Wii U.

There are two versions. An 8-gigabyte system retails for $300. A 32-gigabyte system costs $350. Standard games retail for $60.

The hand controller, the GamePad, resembles a PC tablet, with 6.2-inch touch screen, a camera and traditional game buttons and thumbsticks.

That may sound clunky, but the GamePad (1 pound) is shockingly nimble and intuitive.

Impressively, Wii U can present a game on your TV, while simultaneously mirroring that game onto the GamePad's liquid-crystal display screen. And a parent or spouse could watch regular TV or movies on TV while a loved one handles a Wii U game or movie on the GamePad. Crafty.

You can also buy a secondary, traditional hand controller, similar to an Xbox 360 or PS 3 controller, but the price is exorbitant: $50!

There is Wi-Fi hookup for online gaming, plus Nintendo shopping; and such apps as Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Instant Video and Hulu Plus.

I've tested Wii U for only a few days, so a full review must wait.

But I can say this: It could satisfy adult hard-core gamers as well as young kids.

The first Wii U games are extremely cute and exceedingly violent. It's as if Nintendo wants to prove a bloody point.

In "Ninja Gaiden 3 Razor's Edge" (Tecmo Koei; rated "M"), every time I swing my blade against a rival, the TV screen splats red with blood.

In "ZombiU" (Ubisoft; rated "M"), I creep up on zombies in darkness to bash their heads in.

But in "New Super Mario Bros. U" (Nintendo; rated "E"), I frolic in Mario's typical world of jumping, platforming and dancing turtles.

This blend of high-def titles for adults and kids (and a good hand controller) is what Nintendo has lacked this entire century.

A few dozen titles were recently released, including popular sequels:

"Call of Duty: Black Ops II" (Activision, rated "M"). "Mass Effect 3" (EA, rated "M). "Assassin's Creed III" (Ubisoft, rated "M"). "Batman Arkham City: Armored Edition" (Warner Home Video Games, rated "M"). "Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two" (Disney Interactive, rated "E"). "Transformers Prime: The Game" (Activision, rated "E 10+"). "Just Dance 4" (UbiSoft, rated "E 10+"). "Madden NFL '13" (EA, rated "E"). "FIFA Soccer '13" (EA, rated "E"). "Wipeout 3" (Activision, rated "E 10+"). "Darksiders II" (THQ, rated "M"). "Rabbids Land" (UbiSoft, rated "E 10+"). And "James Bond: 007 Legends" (Activision, rated "T").

Those game names are good news, because new systems need strong launch titles. We shall see how many gamers follow these breadcrumbs and invest in a whole new system.

(Nintendo Wii U retails for $300-$350 - Plays like an Xbox 360 or PS 3, but with a tabletlike GamePad; looks high-def. Easy to challenging games; rated "E" to "M," depending on the game. N/A out of four stars, as testing is still in progress.)

Contact Doug Elfman at
delfman@reviewjournal.com.
He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.