Hardware
I've never been particularly confused by a new console before, but even upon plugging in the Wii U it had me wondering. My first question was where is the optical audio output - there isn't one, so it's plain old DPLII for me until I buy another AV receiver. There are two power supplies, one for the console and one for the remote. I realised just how necessary that was this weekend when I had to charge it 4 times. The Gamepad has lots of potential but it also uses a lot of juice.
So you'd be better off using the Pro Controller instead then? It comes bundled at a fair old price with the ZombiU pack after all, but you can't use it with the game. Nor can you use it with New Super Mario Bros U, a game which is surely crying out for a traditional controller. I just don't get it - why bother releasing it? You can use a 5yr old Wii remote but you cant use the brand new Pro Controller that everyone is talking about. The Wii U Gamepad offers absolutely nothing in the main game and just replicates what you see on screen for the most part. I grudge using all that battery life when the Pro Controller would do just as good if not better a job. It's probably a better bit of kit than the XBox 360 controller so Nintendo need to get their act together and make sure their own software supports it.
The Gamepad is well built and the charging dock is a good idea, especially given the battery life, which is similar too if not a little better than a 3DS.
OS
I still not sure I understand the OS yet either. You don't seem to be able to control it at all from the Gamepad. You get a very nice looking wara wara plaza on the TV screen, but if you can't control from the Gamepad. You can switch it over to the Gamepad screen, but that puts the basic one on the big screen. I could be wrong on this one but I just don't find any of this very intuitive.
Miiverse is a genuine innovation and could really add a lot to a game. It doesn't seem possible to filter comments/spoilers about the particular level you're on, which could come in really handy if you get stuck. There aren't any filter or search options but hopefully that'll come. The Web Browser and YouTube apps are the best I've seen on any console. These 3 apps are really well done. The eShop is really good too, nintendo's best effort to date. The pricing is shocking though, for its retail downloads. They need to find a way to match high street if not online retail pricing for it to be worthwhile. I'd love to download Nintendoland straight from the eShop but not for 50 quid!
Next up is the overscan setting. Bizarrely it's an option in the eShop and Miiverse but they haven't taken the obvious step of just doing it once in the OS's TV settings. The games themselves don't seem to suffer but the wara wara plaza look stupid as lots of elements are placed in the outer edges of the screen and therefor get cut off. Ive had my Pioneer HDTV for over 5yrs and have never had a problem with any HD device until Wii U came along. There doesn't seem to be a system wide option for this but hopefully like my other 2 concerns above, it shouldn't take much to fix this.
Games
I've only played two games so far - New Super Mario Bros Wii U and ZombiU. ZombiU takes quite a while to get going and focuses more on survival horror creating a sense of foreboding. It's much more about exploration and survival than a straight up zombie massacre like Left 4 Dead. It works though, and the more you play it the better it gets. The later missions like the Community Nursery are genuinely terrifying and put me in mind of Silent Hill.
New Super Mario Bros Wii U is gorgeous. I never thought Mario in HD would look so good, but if his 2D outing is anything to go by, we are in for a treat when he next appears in 3D. It's the usual side-scrolling stuff, but it does benefit from the addition of Miiverse. The Gamepad is wasted by purely mirroring the onscreen action, no doubt leading to a lot of unnecessary battery drain. I'd rather it just switched off to save battery life or presented something else onscreen instead.
Conclusion
I haven't fully got to know it yet but I know the Wii U going to do well and deliver me the kind of magical gaming experiences that only Nintendo can create. They just need to iron out the creases quickly before they put off too many people. I also hope they continue to develop the GUI the same way Microsoft have with their dashboard. Wii barely changed at all throughout its entire lifespan, but I don't think Nintendo can stand still again this time.
