Nintendo Land

Game: Nintendo Land
System: Wii U
Genre: Party
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Release date: November 18, 2012


Pros: Exciting use of GamePad, lots of different mini-games, five-player local multiplayer
Cons: Some games better than others, easy for veteran players


If only there was a real Nintendo Land, a theme park designed around the worlds and characters of Nintendo Company. Since that dream has yet to be fulfilled, Nintendo fans everywhere will have to survive with the virtual equivalent of a Nintendo theme park: Nintendo Land for Wii U. Bundled with all Wii U Deluxe systems, Nintendo Land is meant to do what Wii Sports did for the Wii in 2006: prove the usefulness of the brand new controller. While Nintendo Land isn't as accessible and revolutionary as Wii Sports, and thus not as successful as a hook for new buyers, it's a deeper, richer, and all around better game.

Nintendo Land takes place in  theme park hub, around which sit twelve Nintendo-themed mini-games. Some of these games, like Donkey Kong's Crash Course and Yoshi's Fruit Cart, are meant to be played solo. Others, like Mario Chase, Metroid Blast, and Pikmin Adventure, can be played competitively or cooperatively with up to five players. This is where the genius of Nintendo Land emerges. Being able to play with up to five friends and family on a single television is great fun, especially with some of the better mini-games. Take Mario Chase, for example, arguably the best mini-game of the bunch. The player who holds the GamePad is the target; it's his job to evade up to four other players who need to tackle him before the time expires. Each of these four tacklers controls his or her Mii with a traditional Wii remote and can see only a fraction of the game field. The target, using the GamePad, can see the entire field.

It's all about asymmetrical gameplay, which Nintendo advertised as last year's E3: several people play the same game, but experience it in different ways. A lot of critics have derided the GamePad as a solution to a problem that never existed, and in a way that's true. Video games can still be enjoyed with traditional controllers. But Nintendo Land proves that a video game experience built around the GamePad can be inventive, surprising, and fun.

As with all mini-game collections, some games -- in this case, attractions -- are better than others. Mario Chase, The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest, Metroid Blast, and Luigi's Ghost Mansion are all stand-outs. Others, like Yoshi's Fruit Cart and Takamaru's Ninja Castle, are less interesting.

Together, however, the attractions form an impressive virtual theme park: twelve games with lots of replay value. When players aren't testing their mettle in the mini-games, they can unlock prizes and interact with other players from around with world through Miiverse, the social networking site on Wii U. Nintendo Land is a solid pack-in game for the Wii U overall, not nearly as earth-shattering as Wii Sports but certainly more rewarding.