Out of all the game demos available for Wii U at this week’s E3, I hope that Shield Pose is the one to become a retail release because of it’s unique rhythm based gameplay. The basic premise of the title was a simple one; you must use the Wii U tablet controller as a shield to block incoming suction-cup  arrows from the onscreen pirate characters. To achieve the highest possible score, you must block the arrows in tune with the beat and audio cues. The E3 build of Shield Pose had the player listening to audio ques from both the television speakers and the built in speakers of the Wii U tablet controller.
Where the Wii U controller really shines is it’s ability to give the player a window into the game world while leaving the main action on the television screen. Pirates fire arrows at you from all angles in Shield Pose, and with the magic of the Wii U controller, the player can look left and right from the main television screen and see those arrows coming at them on the Wii U tablet. If the arrows are blocked in rhythm to the music and in the order in which they were fired (left, right, center, or up), the end game score will be much higher. As I have no rhythm, the best score I manged was a ‘C.’
Shield Pose reminded me of rhythm games that came before it such as Parappa the Rapper, but with a unique Wii U twist. No word as to if the demo will become a full fledged game in the future, but I sure had a lot of fun and hope that it does.
