I approached the Wii U with a healthy degree of pessimism. After all, my first experience with the Wii Remote was the anguish of a noisy and physically strenuous Twilight Princess playthrough. In the case of the Wii U, I was surprised in a distinctly more pleasant way.

After an extended hands-on with the new Nintendo console I came away convinced, something Nintendo didn't manage to do for me during the morning's media briefing. To start, the controller felt surprisingly natural in my hands. While I think a few contours along the back could further improve the ergonomics of the device, it is already comfortable enough for extended play sessions. The analogue sticks are responsive and set within a conical cavity in order to replicate the feel of a traditional joystick without protruding too far from the controller face.

I was initially worried about the quality of the controller's screen, but after seeing the real-time Zelda demo I know that I will be more than happy to plod away at my Wii U games on the controller. All of the details of the environment was replicated on the smaller screen, though not quite perfectly. There were some instances where I wished the controller had a more vibrant or high resolution screen.

In terms of graphical capability, I have full confidence that Wii U will be able to deliver the HD experience we have been clamoring for. Tech demos that were created in the typical art style of Wii games looked sharper on the screen, while the Zelda and Japanese Garden graphical demos demonstrated that realism beyond the current generation of consoles is easily attainable on the Wii U. The Japanese Garden demo showed a detailed environment rendered from one camera angle on the big screen, and an entirely different angle on the controller. The lighting in the Zelda demo was stunning, and the rapidity with which one can switch between day and night using the controller screen was nothing short of astounding.

The possibility of non-conventional multiplayer experiences is also enticing. Battle Mii and Chase Mii both used the controller to give one player a higher level of access or secrecy. The controller has the capability of solving the "screen-looking" problem that has tormented gamers since Bond on the N64.

The hardware of the Wii U has me sold, and I have yet to play an announced game for it. Nintendo's return to the tech arms race could not have pleased me more. Well, unless we're talking storage solutions.