I powered the console off, and it has a white light where the eject button is above the red power button. I only noticed this after giving my game a break, and powering off the console. Is this normal, or does this have to do with a Miiverse notification? Also, does anyone know if the Wii U lights up blue like the Wii did with notice updates?

Is it lasting 5hrs though? U only got it yesterday didn't you? ..Also, if you think your going to be on it for a long session why not just plug it in and play? How long is the cable?

Honestly it didn't feel like 5 hours before the battery depleted. I haven't even used it on my game yet either.

"why not just plug it in and play?"

I could do that but I'm concerned about destroying the battery life by playing while charging.

"Even played AC3 in 3d on the tv"

The game has 3D support?

By John Kinsley

ON November 18th, 2012 In Video

Call of Duty Black Ops 2 is a Wii U launch title and is available now for Nintendo’s new console. The guys over at Ninten2TV did a quick comparison between the Wii U and the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC versions of the game. And as expected, the games look nearly identical. Besides some color and contrast improvements on the Wii U, there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference. Call of Duty titles are known for delivering a very consistent look and experience across all systems, so it’s of no surprise that the versions look the same. Of course, the video doesn’t take into account that the Wii U has a GamePad controller with an additional screen that the console needs to render and support.

http://www.youtube.c...v=bZO33bCFwks#!

"Of course, the video doesn’t take into account that the Wii U has a GamePad controller with an additional screen that the console needs to render and support"

What would happen if I were to use a pro controller instead of the gamepad would the resolution go up?
I hope someone can answer this question because it has been bothering me for awhile now.

I saw that on the back of the gamepad it has regular star head screws. Will there be a battery extension that prolongs the life of the controller? Three to five hours of battery life doesn't seem like it's enough. I have to keep charging the gamepad constantly.

I hope the Wii U gets that patch that fixes 100 bugs like the other consoles.

All is well.

No idea about the control question, sorry. As far as the visuals, are they better or worse than what? Are they better or worse on my screen compared to the gamepad screen? Or are they better or worse than 360/PS3? If it's the latter, I don't have the other versions to compare it to, but others have said it looks a good bit better than the 360 version. I'd say wait a couple days and I'm sure comparison videos will star popping up.

Sorry I should have elaborated better. I meant is it visually on par with the competition, or does it look better or worse. I see you already answered that question, so don't worry about it. I also would like to know if turning the gamepad off makes any visual difference on an HDTV. I'd imagine that having the gamepad on reduces the clarity on the TV. One more question is there any Wii U accomplishments for this game?

I played a litle bit of this tonight and here are my impressions.

The good:
- Looks amazing. Both on my 1080p TV and on the Gamepad
- Plays like COD as you'd expect. Holding the Gamepad itself feels immediately natural in my hands.
- Loads quickly (NSBMU took like 20 seconds to load, but this loaded right away from the menu screen)

The not sure yet:
- This isn't a bad thing, but you will need to train your fingers to go down to reload, swap weapons etc... It's just a matter of memorizing how far you need to move your thumb to each button like you did years ago with a 360 or PS3 controller.

The bad:
- This might be something adjustable, but I tried and couldn't figure it out. The Wii U analog sticks are not immediately super sensitive right when you move them. You have to move them a touch more to get it to inch over to whatever direction you want to point your gun. Not noticeable at all when your just firing, but I did notice it when I was zoomed in. After 10 minutes, my brain was already trained to react and adjust to it, but you'll notice it at first if you're sensitive to these types of things.

Question:
- Any extra use for the Gamepad other than to just show a mirror image of the game for playing off the TV? From what I could tell, there's not.

I didn't check out multi-player so I can't comment there.

What about the gyroscopic aiming with the gamepad? Wouldn't the control issuses be resolved with the pro controller or Wii remote? I also would like to know how the visuals look. Are they any better or are they the same or worse?

You can skip AC1. Storywise AC3 is it's own story.

My favorite level is the Stary Night level. It's based off of a famous painting.

I know the PS Vita screen has this problem if you look at an image for prolonged periods of time. What kind of screen does the gamepad use?

Review

by Bryan Vore on November 18, 2012 at 11:30 AM
1,391 Views


After playing through New Super Mario Bros. 2 on 3DS a few months ago, I was concerned that the “New” series had run its course. The levels didn’t feel as fresh and the coin collection gimmick didn’t make much of an impact. I feared this dip in quality signaled stormy skies for New Super Mario Bros. U on Nintendo’s next home console, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Right out of the gate you can’t help but notice the new high-definition visuals. Everything is so clean and bright now. Nintendo didn’t just settle for up-rezzing old assets (though plenty of that still happened); the artists went wild with imaginative background imagery and the koopalings’ airships are loaded with little details. A particularly gorgeous stage was clearly inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s painting “The Starry Night.”
New enemies and themes are constantly popping up, and each only appears once or twice. A massive sea snake chases you all throughout a water level and never shows up again. The same goes for rare classic enemies like the stomping Sumo Bros, who haven’t surfaced since Super Mario World. All of these factors keep things fresh as you progress through the main game.
Boss battles are all familiar faces from the Koopaling crew, but their new powers allow for fresh and clever battles. A special clash at the halfway point stands out from the rest, and the thrilling final boss is one of the best in the entire Mario series.
The now-standard lineup of Mario, Luigi, and two generic Toads offer the same undeniable raw multiplayer fun. At any given moment, your friends and family seesaw from greatest ally to worst enemy. Playing this game in silence is impossible; constant cries of pain and glory mean that you probably don’t want to pop this in if someone in the house/apartment/dorm has to get up early in the morning.
The new twist this time around adds in a fifth player for boost mode. This person watches everything play out on the GamePad screen and can tap to add platforms, stun enemies, and destroy projectiles. It strikes a great balance of luring in players who aren’t confident in their platforming skills while still giving them a satisfying job to do. After some practice, a skilled boost player can rescue the bros from certain doom and help them get hidden star coins. If characters jump on the boost platforms a certain number of times in a row, the boost player can earn a purple star that grants the ability to kill onscreen enemies with a tap. It feels even more empowering than the traditional invincibility speed run. Boost players also have the power to be just as evil as the rest of the onscreen characters (if not more) by blocking jumps with platforms, so they really are included in every way.
Standard power-ups return, like the fire flowers, ice flowers, and mini mushrooms. The new super acorns stuff Mario into a flying squirrel costume that allows him to glide, cling to walls briefly, and perform a slight jump boost in mid-air. Players accustomed to the raccoon tail or cape from previous games will need to practice to make the most of the suit, but it becomes a handy tool in the arsenal. I only wish that it featured some kind of attack like the raccoon tail whip.
Some rare power-ups appear, and they add a unique flavor to the stages they’re used in. A special version of the acorn grants infinite fly time and can only be obtained by catching Nabbit. Players must chase this new rabbit thief who occasionally appears in completed levels. Upon catching him, they are rewarded with the special P-Acorn that only lasts a single level. This mechanic works similarly to the treasure chest chases in Rayman Origins, but you can easily bypass any challenge by equipping star power before starting ­the ­stage.
Yoshis appear for a handful of levels and work the same as they did in the Wii prequel. Baby Yoshis return from a lengthy hiatus, and add interesting twists to a few stages. One inflates to enhance your jump, another shoots bubbles from its mouth to trap foes, and a third lights up dark cave stages and stuns enemies. They never grow to full size no matter how much you feed them, but they give you a 1-up if you keep them alive until the end of the stage.
Outside of the main quest, you can tinker with a few alternate modes. Coin rush returns from the previous Wii game in which players compete to collect the most. Challenges put your skill to the test with speed runs, coin collection, boost mode team up tests, and more. Trying to perfect these is tempting, but without any in-game rewards or an online leaderboard to gauge your skills against others, it’s just not worth it. The same issue exists with the Boost Rush Mode that tasks you with beating levels that auto-scroll at different speeds based on how many coins you have.
I’d much rather spend time searching out hidden stages and collecting star coins in order to unlock the special content that appears after beating the game. I won’t spoil what it is, but it will keep old-school Mario fans playing long after Princess Peach is safe and sound.
Online Functionality
While couch co-op is great, it's still disappointing that Nintendo didn't include online multiplayer on Mario's Wii U debut. You can turn on Miiverse functionality to see other players' brief messages or drawings tied to specific stages on the world map, however. It's possible to open your settings to the whole world, but I enjoyed limiting these messages to just friends and people I follow. It's pretty cool to see your buddies' thoughts on a particularly tough stage or bragging if they beat it without taking damage. As I said in the main review, it's disappointing that none of these features appear to be in the Challenge or Boost Rush modes.

GI Rating 9.25

GOLD

• Concept:Add a fun new element to already great couch co-op and more bite-sized challenges
• Graphics:HD visuals at last! Everything looks gorgeous Sound
• Sound:Even though the Wii U supports 5.1 surround sound, Nintendo purposely chose to only offer two-channel stereo sound
• Playability:Sideways Wii remotes are as tight as always and the GamePad is solid. Beware: Pro controllers are not supported
• Entertainment:Some of the most creative NSMB levels Nintendo has created, incorporating new and classic elements alike and rarely repeating standout enemies and themes
• Replay:Moderately High

The only thing that had green tape was the Wii sensor bar. It's covered by Nintendo for a year. I think I'm going to stop buying consoles from Gamestop. I don't like their policies of opening sealed copies of games, and sealing it to me as a new copy. Not cool at all. Especially, if I'm buying someone a game as a gift.

Another thing I found odd was that there was no Club Nintendo points. Also, the HDMI cable is silver plated but perhaps that's just nit picking. I hope this console has nothing wrong with it. I'm goiing to test it out after lunch. Oh, and one other thing when I hit the power button on the game pad it turned on. I found that odd because normally you would have to charge these devices because the batteries are fully depleted.

Then it has previously been opened. You're too late to take it back though if you've left the store already.

If there's something wrong with it I can take it back. The guy said he had two others in the back.

None of them are sealed, the box is really really secure, and the gamepad doesnt come with tape

The white bag the game pad was in was opened, and so was the bag the console was in.

Was there plastic sticky stuff on it? Like clear plastic tape that you had to peel away from the console?

No, there was no tape or anything sticky on it.

I think there are no seals I thought I saw a unboxing on you tube and the guy went for his box cutter and then noticedthere was no seal I would not be worried as long as the system was wraped in the plasic you should be good

That's the thing though the bags were opened. I thought they were suppose to be tightly sealed to prevent dust and scratches? I haven't turned it on yet, but I hope they weren't throwing it around. I expected it to be factory sealed.

Should I be concerned? The box didn't have it's seal on each end. The controller didn't have the green tape to seal it in the white bag, and the console itself didn't have any green tape on it. The reason I'm concerned is because I watched unboxing videos with all the seals, and I recall my wii having these same seals. I picked mine up at Gamestop. I asked another customer if his had seals on the box, and there wasn't for his either. I didn't see if his was sealed inside.

Can someone test it out, and confirm if it does or not.

If only they gave us the option to upgrade ram ourselves like you can do with a PC.

What site?

I don't remember referencing a website in my post.

Torrentz

I know that feel, I bought a 32GB class 10.
...And another for my 3DS.

Did some kafoodeling with my external hard drives and cleared out the 500GB for my wii u though.
Was using it for torrenting, but using a smaller drive for that now.

That site still functions for you? Seems like they're taking down all the download links.

What they should do is cut the price of the 3DS:XL. It makes no sense for it to be $200.00 when for $100.00 more you could buy the Wii U console which is far more superior. However, if they do intend to keep that price then they should make 3DS games playable on the Wii U for the people that don't want to fork out another $200.00 dollars on a over priced handheld. In fact, the game pad should have supported 3D to begin with. Sure it maybe gimmicky for some, but it would have been the icing on the cake. It wouldn't hurt 3DS sales either because if people wanted a cheaper alternative to playing games in 3D they could always turn to the handheld. Especially, if they dropped the price.

You do know that you can save games on the internal flash drive storage. As for external options a hard drive will work. As for an external flash drive it may well work but its not been confirmed to my knowledge.

I'm aware of that but seeing as my 8GB will be reduced to 4.2 GB due to the Wii U operating system and the account data, etc. I guess I jumped the gun because I had just went out and brought a 32 GB class 10 SD that I was intending to use to make up for the lack of space in the internal drive. It's kind of a set back now because I have to go out and buy an external just to be able to save my game data. Makes no sense as to why they would do this. My only conclusion would be to prevent hacked gamesaves.