Nintendo Post E3 event in London Part 2

 

This is the second part of a series of impressions from my trip to Nintendo’s Post E3 even in London. You can check out part one here. 

Following on from the experimental experience that was Project Guard, the next logical place to check out was the neighbouring demo unit for Project Giant Robot. I’ll admit I didn’t have high expectations for this one.

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Like Project Guard there is a element of play that happens before the game begins. For Project Giant Robot this takes the form of a robot creation tool. I knew of this going in, but wasn’t aware of the amount of customization the game offered. Head, body, upper arms, lower arms, hands, upper legs, lower legs and feet. Not only can you choose a different object for each but you can adjust a series of slides to change the size for any axis. My own creation is shown above, with a large springy boddy long arms and long, wide feet.

And of course a drill for a head.

When your happy with your robot as I was the game truly begins and you find your new giant robot in the middle of a modern city, a rival robot is then revealed and your objective is to knock it over.

What make this game particularly bizarre is it controls. Should buttons are used for walking back and fourth, aiming is done via motion controls, the sticks control your arms and the triggers fire your laser.

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Despite the very unorthodox setup, once the controls were explained things did in fact click. Not only does motion control where you robot viewpoint is but also controls the twist of its body, you can then combind this motion with the right swing or angle of your arm to a temp to push down your robotic opposition.

In the end my weird creation worked out very well, making smooth work of each of the different robots this demo presented.

Overall I came away from the game very impressed, It felt new, fresh and it was incredibly fun.

Next up was a game I did have high hopes for from the get go, and this was Mario Maker.

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The demo was simple giving you access to a empty, medium sized stage with tools across the top to help you fill it up with interesting Mario Bros things. Both the controls with the stylus and the user interface have been crafted with allot of thought, meaning creating stages is not only easy but quick to do.

Where Mario Maker stands out currently is the ability to make stages you wouldn’t find in an official release. I was able to fill a screen with koopa’s without warning, wedged between two pipes, in play mode you could then suspenseful jump across this sea-of-koopas if you get your timing right.

You cvan flip between classic Super Mario Bros art style and New Super Mario Bros they both play exactly the same but it is cool to see the same stage in both styles.

Mario Marker is definitely fun as it is, but the potential here is huge. With a 2015 release I think its safe to assume what were seeing here is not the full package and I eagerly await finding out Nintendo’s full plans for this title.

I then moved onto a more traditional platformer, Yoshi’s Wooly World.

The first thing you notice is how well the yarn like aesthetic works on a big HD TV. Details in stitching are crystal clear and the vibrant colors make this game really pop out.

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I was curious how the game would feel to play. Would it be more like Kirby’s Epic Yarn or Yoshi Island? I was surprised as despite the gorgeous textured visual the game did play more like classic Yoshi Island.

You can play 2 player co-op also which was fun from the get go and usual shows platformers in there best light, especially if your only getting a small play session. A fun detail in co-op is that you can eat your partner and turn them into an egg for your to throw. Not only is this pleasantly frustrating for the other player but it has practical uses also, and as long as the other play is in reach you always have an extra egg at your disposal to take down enemies or destructible environments.

Also unlike Epic Yarn is the inclusion of a health system. The stages we played though didn’t present much of a challenge but its hard to tell if this was because of the demo design or a sign of a lack of challenge in the full game. The good news however though there was simply allot more to do than in Epic Yarn, stages felt more dense, filled with things to do and was not a simple exercise of making your way from left to right.

It’s really good to see Wooly World has come into its own and is not the predictable spiritual sequel I pessimistically first though. I think the game will be more fun with 2 local players but there’s enough secret areas even in the demo to give a lone player lots to look forward too.

That all for now and there is still more to come, let me know your questions in the comments below.

 

 

Lewis Pugh is a game developer at Leuvsion (www.leuvsion.com) for mobile platforms, born and bred on Nintendo gaming. Being a developer gives Lewis a unique perspective on Nintendo news, especially relating to the eShop and Nintendo Network. Today he plays Wii U and 3DS enjoying their distinctive gameplay offerings. Looking into what the future holds for Nintendo is always tricky, even with its established heritage, but that’s exactly what makes it so fun. NNID: Leuvsion