Initial Wii U Impressions

So my kids have taken over my TV to watch Netflix so I thought it would be a good time to post my initial impressions of the system and games I've played so far. I'll start with the system, the update seemed like it took forever but a lot of that was probably just me being impatient, the whole setup process went really smoothly with no issues. I created my Mii and checked out Miiverse which is amazing. By the way there are some really talented artists on Miiverse...did anyone else notice? Miiverse is like a gaming Facebook, its really awesome and makes gaming even in single player games feel more alive. I added my Netflix and Hulu Plus accounts, no problem there. The Netflix interface is really good, easy to navigate on the game-pad alone, but the Hulu Plus app needs some work. If you don't have the TV on it limits your navigation. The internet browser is really fast and works great, the only problem that I have had with it is that when I access Facebook, it gives me the mobile version and I have no idea how to change that..but a mobile version of a website on my 55in screen seems a little silly.

The first game I tried was ZombiU, this is a game I've been waiting for since the first time I saw the teaser, and it is exactly what it says it is, a survival game. At this point in the game I'm on survivor number 8 and my longest survival time is about 37 minutes! The game is dark, scary, and hard! Because you spend a lot of time with a bat you are constantly having to avoid groups of zombies because they aren't easy to kill with it. My wife and I have been playing the multiplayer a lot and because of this game I went out and grabbed the pro controller (amazing controller). The single player is hard but very fun, and the multiplayer is just as good. I'm not very far into the game yet but once I am I'll post a full review. So far I give it an 8/10

I have spent some time with Black Ops 2 as well, the game plays exactly like you would expect it to play on the 360/PS3. The graphics are beautiful and the multiplayer is a blast. This is a game that you can play fully on the controller and not have to use the TV. I was able to go lay in bed with my wife and while we watched Sons of Anarchy I was able to keep playing Black Ops 2 online, it was lag free and an amazing experience. I'm not very good at it, but I have fun anyway. I haven't started the campaign yet but zombies and multiplayer are very good. 9/10 on this one so far.

Scribblenauts Unlimited, I've only spent about 30 minutes or so playing this, if you have played any of the previous ones the concept hasn't changed. It is fun, addicting and looks great on the controller and TV. I haven't tried the object creator yet, so I can't talk about that, but this game has a cute little story line and is very fun. I probably won't play this one too much until I finish ZombiU, but I expect my wife to be playing it this weekend.

So overall I am very impressed with the Wii U, one of my concerns was that it would be hard to play Black Ops 2 using the game-pad  but it is actually very nice, it took me a bit to get used to the button placement and the analog sticks being up higher than the buttons, but once you get used to the layout it feels great. The pro controller has an awesome weight and feel to it, and I would be using it if I wasn't so addicted to the game-pad.