The time had finally come around again for the EB Games Expo, this year it was held at Sydney Olympic Park. I attended the Saturday daylight session of the show, sadly I could only attend one of the days, and fellow Aussie correspondent Andrew wasn't able to afford the interstate trip, so it was just me this time.

First impressions upon getting to the event were that everything appeared to run very smoothly compared to last year's disorganized chaos; Lines were arranged better and the media registration desk was nowhere near the huge entry lines for attendants, which made it much easier to pick up my pass.

The line

Once I got inside, I of course made a beeline to the Nintendo area. The booth was quite large this year and featured a bunch of Wii U demo stations on the ground, with the 3DS section up above on an overhead platform. There was also a windowed room in the center of the area which was used to demo Just Dance 4.

The Wii U console itself is surprisingly compact, the system is not overly thick and seems to be around the same size as the Wii, although the length of the system is longer. I think it looks quite nice in person and is pretty slick looking, it will fit into my setup at home nicely.

The first controller hardware I tried out was the Pro Controller. I had been somewhat dubious as to how comfortable the Pro would be. However, once I held it, it just melted into my hands. This thing is great to hold, the molded grips are just right and using the analog sticks did not feel awkward at all. I thought I may not like the placement of the sticks that much, but it feels much better than how the PlayStation sticks are arranged. I think it may be because they are further apart. As for the button placement, I did not have any real problems with that either. I did press a wrong button once or twice, but given a bit more playtime with it, I don’t think that would be an issue.

This is where they kept those crazy dancing fans

The Wii U GamePad was comfortable to hold and I did not have any real issues with it. It felt good, and touching the screen with my fingers was easy.  I was somewhat worried it wouldn't feel as nice as the various smart phones on the market these days. Luckily it felt smooth and was comparable to all other touch screen devices I have used, though of course it is not capacitive. One issue I did notice however was that a couple of GamePads had bad light bleed on the screens, hopefully this will not be a big problem in the future. On an interesting note, I was instructed that if I wanted to take photos or video of the GamePad, I had to avoid only focusing on the controller. It seems like Nintendo want to prevent consumers from confusing the Wii U for a mere handheld device.

One of the big draws of Nintendo’s booth was the Nintendo Land demo stations. They had four games on offer for the public to play; Donkey Kong’s Crash Course, Takamaru’s Ninja Castle, Animal Crossing Sweet Day and Luigi’s Ghost Mansion. They also had the Zelda Battle Quest game too, but Nintendo had decided not to let players try it out as it was only a three player game, it seemed they only wanted to run the single and full four player demos. I was lucky enough to get to try it out, they made a special exception for me.

Animal Crossing Sweet Day was a fun little game, the main goal of the Wii Remote players was to run around an Animal Crossing styled village and collect as much candy as possible, although the more candy they held, the slower they became. They also had to avoid two guards who were controlled by the person using the GamePad.

I found that it was a lot of fun to be the GamePad player in this game, and quite liked the feeling of controlling the two separate guards. The two analog sticks controlled the guards movements simultaneously and the triggers let each of them launch an attack to hit the players who were trying to collect the candy.  I played this demo a few times, but in each session I played, the person who was using the GamePad won. Sometimes the game was over very quickly. Of course, playing with more experienced players would lead to some tense situations between friends.

Luigi’s Ghost Mansion is sort of similar to Animal Crossing Sweet Day in a way, but I did not enjoy this game as much. The goal of Luigi’s game is for the four Wii Remote players to run around a Pac-Man styled mansion maze and try to use their flashlights to whittle down the health bar of the GamePad player, who is controlling a ghost. The ghost is invisible until he or she is hit by the flash light, so they sneak up on players and knock them out. Once unconscious, the remaining players have to use their flashlights to try and revive their fallen buddies, but once all the players are unconscious the game ends and the GamePad player wins.

While this game was fun to play, I just didn’t seem to enjoy it as much as the Animal Crossing game. I can’t really pinpoint why exactly, maybe because the Luigi’s Mansion game is a tad slower and more confined.

The Zelda Battle Quest game was one of my favorites from the Nintendo land demos that were on show. In the session I played, I was the archer and had to help support the other two players who utilized the Wii Remotes to execute attacks with their swords. I really liked how the bow and arrow setup felt in the game. To aim you have to hold the GamePad upright and move it around, using the screen to watch the action. You can turn with the analog stick and reload by tilting the GamePad downwards.

The game is on rails with various enemies trying to attack you as your little party progresses. There are also some doorways that need to be opened along the way, these were opened by activating three orbs, usually with at least one that is out of reach of the sword players, requiring assistance from the archer. All three of the players share the same life bar, so you really do have to make sure you work together and must keep an eye on the health situation. The game was fun and looked great, I just hope that the final game features many more levels for this mode.

Link playing Takamaru!

The two single-player games were both pretty fun. The DK Crash Course demo is all about maneuvering a wheeled cart contraption around a maze-like obstacle course to reach Pauline at the end. You tilt the GamePad to roll the cart along the track while alternating the shoulder buttons to move sections of track into place as you go. Tilting too hard will cause the cart to topple over and crash, requiring a light touch and a lot of patience.

I wasn’t overly interested in this game from the E3 videos I had seen, but playing it in person has quickly changed my mind. It is quite fun tilting your way around the course, the tension really builds as you approach each checkpoint.  The other single-player demo present at the expo was Takamaru’s Ninja Castle. This mode basically amounts to flinging ninja stars at what appear to be cardboard ninjas. Holding the GamePad level like a book, you have to aim the reticule using the in-built gyroscopes and then swipe across the GamePad screen toward the TV to propel your star onto the screen.

This mode was pretty fun and I had no problem at all with aiming or getting my swipes to register. The only problem I did encounter was in the boss battle, the GamePad lost calibration and my reticule just wouldn’t come back. Aside from that though the game worked perfectly fine and I had a good time with it.

The wheels on the bus go Gahhh Garhh Grrr

Another impressive game I had the chance to play was Zombi U. I attempted the demo twice, and both times I didn't get all that far into it.

I really enjoyed the control scheme. Needing to look down at the inventory display in your hands really is unnerving when you're surrounded by danger. Whenever I had to take my eyes off the TV screen, I found myself constantly wanting to switch my view between the two screens as I frantically rushed to complete the task.

I was eager to see Sonic & All-Star Racing Transformed. The demo was a little short, but I did enjoy the track I played. The game felt as smooth to control as the original game, and it should definitely be a slick racer for Wii U fans to look forward to. It's clear the demo was still a long ways off the final build, it suffered from graphical problems and a terrible frame rate. Although it was extremely obvious that these issues would definitely be fixed, it was that bad.

Lastly, I got my hands on the New Super Mario Bros. U presentation. To make a long story short, it is really fun, and the GamePad features seem like they will be useful. The player with the GamePad can create platforms to help the others out in tricky spots, though if they choose, they can use their powers for evil and hinder the players instead. I really look forward to being able to stream the game to the GamePad when the TV is in use. The game looks great, with beautiful HD graphics, particularly in the background art.

Ah my eyes are closed!

The Wii U seemed to be quite the hit at the expo, with long queues to get into Nintendo's booth. Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario and Luigi, also made a special appearance at the event. Those who met him got a cool Mario poster for him to sign, and with each visit he would quote little Mario catchphrases for his fans as he signed.

Before I left, I took the chance to catch up with the guys at Nnooo. I got to check out the 3DS version of escapeVektor and had another quick turn at Spirit Hunters Inc. escapeVektor on 3DS is looking awesome, and the game is turning out to be really fun. The later levels trade the slower puzzle elements for a more fast-paced style that focuses more on outrunning enemies. They also demonstrated a new power called Boostinate that lets you boost right through enemies. The level I tried had long lines of enemies to boost through, which require careful timing to destroy them all!

The Nnooo Booth

Over all, Nintendo’s showing at the The EB Expo this year was very good. I could go on about what they had on show, but I'll leave it at that. The Wii U was great and I really appreciated that Australian gamers were finally able to try it out. I can't wait until the launch date next month, bring on November 30!