Mario Vs. Donkey Kong
Adam:
I’m mad that I didn’t even see this there. I love Mario Vs. Donkey Kong. I am a real sucker for adorable aesthetics, and Mario Vs. Donkey Kong’s looks fantastic rendered at the higher definition granted by the Wii U. Of particular note is the incredibly cute wind-up Donkey Kong that tosses the Mini-Marios through the air.
Gameplay appears to be your typical Mario Vs. Donkey Kong. A bunch of other Minis join Mario this time including Peach, Toad, and Luigi, and I may be a little too optimistic in hoping that Bowser shows up, too.
Seán:
It has the stylings of previous games in the series but lacks the quickness that the Minis on the Move had. I found myself waiting for the minis to finish the level; and the wait was sometimes tedious, and sometimes frustrating, as the speed couldn’t be increased sufficiently to make it bearable for me to keep watching the minis waddle along.
The puzzles are reasonably easy early on but the difficulty for grabbing the medals and completing the level sufficiently fast is where the real challenge will lie – or at least, until the later levels. I didn’t see anything particularly new looking but I got frustrated with the speed after a few levels, and moved on to other games. The game seems good and it’ll probably be a lot of fun, but a PR event wasn’t the best environment for me to play it in.
Mario Party 10
Adam:
Apparently you can play as Bowser on the gamepad now. That’s new, right? I don’t have any friends since I live under a bridge and have exceptionally hairy toes, so I’ll never have the opportunity to play one of these games the way they’re intended.
Seán:
The standard four player mode seems to be just as you’d expect from a Mario Party game, but the 1v4 game mode with Bowser isn’t really a 1v4 – its more of a 1v(1v1v1v1) game. Basically Bowser always wins because he is Bowser, and only serves to make the other players miserable. The other players however are still fighting each other to see who comes out on top.
So if you are a parent and have two or more family members that want to play this (I suppose you could just harass AI opponents but consider family first), then buy it. Buy it. Always play as Bowser. Make their game a living hell. Then enjoy their sweet, sweet tears as you make them all fail, over and over again. Remember, playing as Bowser is better than abusing your child both ethically and in the eyes of the law.
There is a panda in this screenshot.
Just Dance
Adam:
I saw someone dancing around to this and she at least appeared to be having fun. Alas, I’m no Kevin Bacon, and my feet are just not that loose. Man, what a great movie that was. It had drama, powerful messages that remain relevant today, a great soundtrack (though what 80s movie didn’t?) and one of the best montages in cinema history. It also helped propel John Lithgow into a pretty great and diverse career, cementing it as one of the most influential movies in history, and probably my second favourite movie right behind Top Gun.
I don’t know if there are any Footloose songs in Just Dance 2014, though. If there was a Just Dance composed entirely of Footloose songs, I might have looked at it more. Or Just Dance: 80s Movie Soundtrack Edition: Danger Zone!
Seán:
Alas, I decided not to make a fool of myself by playing this, but I know full well that once it releases, I am more than willing to shake my booty to whatever tunes they have in store – in the comfort of my own home with all the curtains drawn and under the veil of darkness. Personally, I’m more interested in the Kinect version, but lacking an Xbox One means that this will likely be the next best platform for me.
5 Best
Adam:
5. Swords & Soldiers 2
4. Project Guard
3. Splatoon
2. Bayonetta 2
1. Hyrule Warriors
Seán:
5. Splatoon
4. Swords and Soldiers 2
3. Hyrule Warriors
2. Siesta Fiesta
1. Smash Bros Wii U
Editor’s Note: For all of Adam and Seán’s hands-on Nintendo game coverage (and that’s a lot), hover over the ‘Featured Articles’ tab at the top, and click ye on ‘Hands-On’.
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