Pro
Controller
The Pro Controller is a hybrid between the
Xbox 360 controller and the PlayStation's DualShock 3 that Nintendo manufactured.
It has a good weight, but not too heavy, but unfortunately it has cheap buttons
and the shiny plastic coating similar to what we complained about. It looks
like Nintendo wants the panel and their accessories often look dirty, right? It
produces loud rumbling noise, as you would expect and runs admirably in time-sensitive
situations (such as Ninja Gaiden 3). It is also as expected: its battery lasts
longer than the GamePad, with our battery lasting 6 to 10 hours before you need
to plug it. Unlike the GamePad, which requires directly a wall charge, you can
plug the controller into game console through USB and continues to play while
charging.
The
Pro controller
Charging
dock
Surprisingly, there is much to be said
about the convenience of the Wii U’s Gamepad charging dock. Instead of being entangled
with bunches of wires connected to a wireless control panel, you just put the
gamepad in a comfortable dock, with no to connect it (3DS charging dock). It
comes with its own adapter and really does not need the physical plug into the
GamePad – the charging controller through the touch contacts instead of the
plug (about 2.5 hours). If the reduced price of Nintendo Land and bigger
storage cannot persuade potential customers to purchase the Wii U deluxe
version, the dock (sold separately at $20) will definitely be able to do it. It
is the convenience of a small, but pretty good convenience.
The
charging dock
Software
We cannot share the same optimism about the
UI that has not changed much – it is a simplified version of the user interface
we have seen in the original Wii. Round square bricks can move (5 horizontally
and 3 vertically) represent most experiences, in addition to the ability to
swap between your user Mii wandering around WaraWare Plaza and the tiles. Logging
in with Mii is very fast, and you can set up one special Mii as the default
login at startup. Logging out and user change is quite simple; just tap the
user icon in the upper left corner of the UI and select other users simple,
intuitive and fast.
Some
games on the Wii U
Currently, the updates before release in terms
of non-game software load surprisingly slowly for a brand-new game console.
Opening the Mii Maker, System Settings, Daily Log or Parental Controls requires
that you wait about 15 seconds while the application loads (yes, we timed it)
and getting back also takes a long time like that. When you load any application,
there are many things to do – the Mii Maker works quite similar to that of its 3DS
equivalent, comparing your face scanned with the camera or allowing you to import
from other Nintendo consoles (including the 3DS). You can also create your own
from scratch, if you like.
The Daily Log presents a summary of the
daily activities on the Wii U, as well as every game, so you can find out
exactly how much you have spent time in your life trying to find different
versions of the Triforce. Parental Controls mainly allow you to enable or disable
many features of the Wii U access to non-game entertainment, or Miiverse, or
eShop as well as an ESRB-based blocking system for games. System Setitngs is
where you will go to find data management (such as transferring old Wii data),
which is also where you will come to change the settings you have arranged in
the initial setup (wireless network, date / time, etc. – the basic system
things). Most importantly, it is where you can tweak your GamePad and sensor
bar if there is any problem happening.
Firmware
update on the launch day
Downloading
data for update
We hope you have a strong internet
connection, because the first thing Nintendo hopes to do with the Wii U is to
download a major firmware update. In addition to a bunch of online services
(Miiverse, Nintendo Network, eShop, internet browser, Wii U chat and Netflix), the
update adds the ability to use external storage (up to 2TB) and play the
original Wii games. We spent two days exploring all the new functions.
Miiverse / Friends List
Partially like Twitter, sometimes like a
forum, Miiverse is a way to meet new friends online and share hobbies and show
off to your friends your achievement. The network is divided into the forum
based on the current software (including Netflix 1 forum), and it is regulated
heavily. You will see obscene drawings appear occasionally (right, you can draw
the images in black and white), but impressive conversations have become polite
since the launch day. Some games suggest posting in the Miiverse after a
particular accomplishment (New Super Mario Bros. U remind of posting almost
right away, so you might want to adjust your settings appropriately). Unfortunately,
the social functionality of the network only goes around on the surface of what
most social networks offer. Profiles are frivolous and offer little connection
to the service's thing with the same name, Nintendo's Miis (outside WaraWara
Plaza, but later on we will talk about it). Worse, there is no similar
functionality of the system works together with Miiverse – video chat is an
entirely independent application, and the Friends List is, too. Even a simple
thing like screenshots in the all-system games or video that could be shared
are not present – are concepts that have already been offered on several
competing consoles.
Miiverse
Another function of Miiverse is sending
friend requests – fortunately Nintendo has replaced the bulky system of
"friends code" with a much simpler concept: Nintendo Network ID. When
you first log in to a local Wi-Fi network, the Wii U reminds you to set up
NNID. Basically, it is similar to the "Gamertag" concept of
Microsoft. Oddly, the friends list (buddy list) of the Wii U (separate from
Miiverse) does not allow direct friend request to be sent; instead, you can
"register" your friends in a friends list who can
"register" your name then, so making you both friends. The Wii U
really tells either of you that the other person has registered you. However,
you can send your request directly by finding a friend's profile in Miiverse.
To make things more confusing, you are allowed to "track" (follow)
1,000 people on Miiverse, but it only allows 100 "friends".
Subscribing to someone means that you'll see their updates in Miiverse, while
you allow multiple players directly, Wii U Chat and so on. It is a trait that
you have to learn, and it is done poorly to be frank, the situation of tracking
your friends / followers is a bunch of complete chaos. We like to use Miiverse,
and we prefer using the Friends List, but their correspondence should be
revised.
