Coming Attractions: Fall 2013 Video Games

• September
• The Wonderful 101
• Out Now!
• Strategic action game about controlling up to 100 super heroes at once much like Pikmin in a Pikmin game or like the armies in Little Kings Story
• I've heard this is very difficult, so I'm probably going to put it on the end of my list for now
• October
• LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
• October 18th
• A TT Games LEGO game with Marvel super heroes
• I have yet to be disappointed by a Lego game and they have only gotten better after each one
• Sonic Lost World
• October 22nd
• A Super Mario Galaxy-style game involving Sonic and his universe
• This looks like it will be pretty fun with even more Gamepad cooperative gameplay like Rayman Legends and Super Luigi U
• Batman: Arkham Origins
• October 25th
• The prequel to the two previous Batman: Arkham games
• Although this is developed by a different company, I still am hoping that this will be a quality adventure with a lot of detail and uniqueness for each of the villains.  I hope this game does justice to the other two and isn't just a quick cash grab
• Wii Party U
• October 25th
• A Wii U mini-game party game akin to Mario Party, but with Miis
• Honestly, I'm getting this for two reasons: It comes with a motion plus Wiimote and so far the Wii U has been a really good party system for my house on game nights with Nintendo Land, Super Luigi U, and Rayman Legends
• Assasssin's Creed 4: Black Flag
• October 29th
• The fourth assassin ancestor of Desmond (I think it's the sixth main game in the series?) involving pirates and of course, assassins
• I'm really hoping they utilize the Gamepad in some unique way, but even if it's just a more convenient map, it'll still be worth me purchasing it on the Wii U in my opinion
• November
• Watch Dogs
• November 19th
• Open world hacking game.  I don't know too much about the game because the short trailer a saw impressed me enough to convince me that I want it, so I stopped paying attention to anything about it (how I normally treat anything I am already convinced I want to buy)
• Just like AC4, I'm hoping they make good use of the Gamepad and that there are a plethora of ways to hack through any given situation
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
• November 22nd
• A 3DS Legend of Zelda game that's essentially a successor to Link to the Past, which was my absolute favorite Zelda game ever
• I hope the Overworld and Dark world is as vast and filled with as many little secrets as the SNES game
• Super Mario World 3D
• November 22nd
• A sequel to the 3DS's Mario Land 3D, but adding in multiplayers and different character abilities like in Super Mario Bros. 2 (at least as far as I understand it)
• Whether I end up playing it alone or with friends, Mario Land 3D was one of my favorite recent Mario games, so more games in this style excite me
• Undetermined
• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies
• The fifth entry in the Phoenix Wright series of defense attorney detective/puzzle gameplay
• I've only recently gone back and started playing the Phoenix Wright games, but they are definitely right up my alley: grand mysteries, awesome plot twists, and puzzle gameplay.  Essentially each one is an interactive story that reminds me of the Two Minute Mysteries I used to read as a kid

Thoughts on the Wii U

Since not all the information is available on the Xbox One or the PS4, I can't fully judge what they have to offer, but from what they have shown, I don't see anything really they're offering that really changes how games will be made.  Prettier graphics, more advanced motion controls I don't want that will be foisted upon me, and (so far) no games I have any interest in.  This made me feel even better about my purchase of the Wii U because the Wii U actually offers something new and unique to game designers to play with - a secret screen for only one player to see.

So far I have only played Nintendo Land and that for only one evening with a group of friends, so it's still mostly about the potential of the Wii U than anything concrete, but what I have seen so far has amazed me.  Three minigames of Nintendo Land, all with a similar premise: one player with the Gamepad containing extra information not available to the other players vs. four other players who really must work as a team to defeat the solo player.  In one game, the four are trying to catch the one, in the other two, the one is trying to catch the four.  This is precisely what I love about the Wii U's new game possibilities - the ability to have players having different experiences with the same game.  Nintendo originally had this same mechanic with the Game Boy Advance connecting with the Gamecube in Zelda Four Swords and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles.  The downside of those was that you had to have friends who each had not only their own GBA, but also the cable that connects the GBA to the Gamecube.  With the Wii U, I can have all the various gadgets needed and my friends merely need to bring their wonderful smiles.  Of course, the battery life on the gamepad is pretty poor, but it looks like (hopefully) that won't be an issue much longer.

I look forward to when more games come out and I can see how the Wii U works for single player experiences.  This has really been the reason the Wii U hasn't been doing well (and why the 3DS had such a slow start), but with all the announcements of things coming out starting in August (hooray Pikmin 3!), that shouldn't be a problem much longer.  We'll see what Sony and Microsoft have to offer at E3 in a couple weeks, but at this point, I feel like they'd have to offer quite a bit to get my interest (especially Microsoft).