Top Games I Want on the Wii U 

If you’ve been keeping a keen eye on the internet recently, you’ll no doubt be aware that Nintendo’s latest console, the Wii U, is an interesting piece of kit. Combining touch-screen gaming perfected by the DS and the motion-controlled experience kick-started by the consoles predecessor, the Wii, it’s clear that Nintendo has a winner on their hands. However, it’s fair to say that the launch titles haven’t exactly been spectacular, with some being great and others being…well, not so much. But there is hope! If handled in the right way, the Wii U could very easily become a fantastic platform to experience games that are unlike those you may find on the more conventional consoles, like the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. After serious and intense thinking sessions, we’ve compiled the game ideas we’d like to see on Nintendo’s latest console. These aren’t games that already exist (although I’d give anything to see something like Skyrim on the Wii U) but new concepts that would use the consoles brand new features to their full potential. In short, it’s what we’d like to see Nintendo and other developers do with the Wii U.

Proposal 1: Real-Time Strategy titles work perfectly on touch-screen handheld devices like tablets so why shouldn’t they work on the Wii U? But with the addition of a second screen, developers could really have a lot of fun with this well-established genre. Take this for example. Two players: one on the Game Pad controller and the other on either a standard Wii controller or the Controller Pro. The player with the Game Pad sees a top-down view of the battlefield, not too dissimilar to StarCraft or even Plants Vs. Zombies. Using the touch-screen, they control where their soldiers travel as they attempt to overtake bases and defeat the opposing forces. The player with the Wii controller? He’s on the opposite team to the other player, adding a little competition to the session. But instead of using a top-down view like his opponent, he plays the title like a third-person shooter, on the ground as a soldier rather than high above as a general. Whilst it’s not exactly a deep concept, something this simple could possibly work well on the Wii U and could also act as the perfect showcase of just how Nintendo’s latest console could alter simple formulas like this one into something truly new and exciting.

Proposal 2: I’ve always been a big fan of titles like Portal so seeing something of that fashion on the Wii U would almost be like my dream has come true. Here’s an idea for you! Like before, two players and also like before, one has the Game Pad and the other has the Wii controller or the Controller Pro. The job of the player with the Wii controller is to get from one side of the map to the other. Sound simple? Yes. Is it? Not really. And that’s all down to the player with the Game Pad. Their job is to stop their opponent completing their objective at all costs and they have many tricks at their disposal to ensure that this doesn’t happen. For they play a sort of God-like figure who has the power to alter the map in any way they please, be that to flip it upside down, therefore making the ceiling the floor and vice versa. Or perhaps place a barrage of blocks in the way, forcing them to find a different path to the end. Like previous ideas, this is a very simple concept but with a few more additions, it could very quickly become quite an enjoyable title for both players involved.

Proposal 3: Music games are great fun, but recently they’ve lost their appeal. With the Game Pad’s touch-screen, there’s great potential for a new kind of game in the genre. Released a few years ago, DJ Hero was an undeniably fun title and its brilliance could easily be translated to the Wii U. A player sits with the Game Pad and uses the touch screen to mix music: it’s possible there could be a mixing desk on the whole screen with dials and sliders. Well-known songs appear on the TV and the player alters them up with the Game Pad. Another option could be a piano or electronic keyboard on the touch screen and players work their way through the song in a fashion similar to Guitar Hero or Rock Band. With the Wii U’s unique tablet controller, there’s great potential for a new kind of musical video-gaming phenomenon.

Proposal 4: As a big fan of both Dishonored and Hitman: Absolution, it’s fair to say that I’m really getting into my stealth games at the moment. To me, the idea of stealth is something that really stands out for me in the plethora of titles on the market: it delivers intense experiences no other title can, as you narrowly escape guards or duck into air vents to hide. Done right, stealth is something that could work rather well on the Wii U. Take this, for example: on the screen is a secret agent, hiding in the enemies laboratory. He’s in cover but guards are wandering around and he needs to get to the door on the other side of the room undetected to escape. Instead of just controlling him like you would in a normal stealth game, you instead use the Game Pad touch-screen to determine where he is to go. Players are given an overhead layout of the map and must move his using that. But there’s a catch: guards only appear on the Game Pad screen if the secret agent on the TV would be able to actually see them. So any behind walls or far away in the distance won’t appear until you either get closer to them or they come out of hiding. Like my other proposals, it does sound rather simple but with a good developer behind it, it could actually be something rather good and deliver a unique stealthing experience that no other console can.

Proposal 5: Two words: Fatal Frame. If you've played any of the series, your mouth will already be salivating at the prospect. Imagine walking, cautiously through an abandoned mansion -- your only defence, a camera. You see, Fatal Frame, didn't send the rotten hordes of the undead after you, no, it sent the see-through, misty kind...ghosts. The ghost were invisible horrors, until you pointed your camera at them, revealing their true grotesqueness. You banished the malevolent spirits by using your camera as a shotgun and, say cheese-ing them to death. With the Wii U version, not only would it benefit from the graphical lick of paint a sequel would undoubtedly be granted, but your camera, your only defence, would be the Game Pad. Imagine the tension you would feel, when you have to drag your eyes away from the invisible horrors that are likely lying in wait, so you can look ahead and see one right in front of your eyes. Had he been there all along? Survival horror games often restrict character movement, or block off a large section of your view with the character-model of the protagonist - the Wii U could be used in a variety of ways to terrify people, and I for one, can't wait to face the fear.

So, what do you guys think? We here at GameGrin may not be game developers but we've played enough titles to know when something is good and something isn't as much. Of course, these proposals would be expanded on but as basic ideas, they certainly sound good enough to send the Wii U rolling down a hill of success. With the right team behind it, Nintendo might not just have a really could console on their hands but a genuine game-changer not just in terms of technology but for the gaming experiences as well.