The Wonderful 101 Review Thread

They're simply judging the premise of the demo

I see what you are trying to do but I never once claimed that the game was bad so you can't really use the reverse logic.

Contrary to popular belief opinions can be wrong when they are based off faulty logic. You have made absolutely no arguments to back up your claims and even stated incorrect facts.

Your own preference is one thing, whether you like something or not is entirely up to you and is not up for debate. What you 'think' about a situation, however, is. You stated an opinion, then you should expect to be challenged, otherwise it's best to keep that opinion to yourself because there wouldn't a discussion anyway.

EDIT: for some reason I sound borderline rude, I don't mean it in that way at all. But I don't know how to rephrase this post :/

Haha, you're fine. I understand your point, I was only giving a snarky response because I was having a bunch of people quote me with just a "what the hell?" or some other equivalents. Not like anyone was using logic to back up their claims either. I never really stated any incorrect facts (hell I don't think I even presented anything I said as fact or based on fact).
 
The game needed good reviews.

It was already on track to bomb. Only great reviews could have saved it.

The reviews are good, but that already didn't save the rest of the PG/Clover games...
This game doesn't have the generic mainstream appeal that is needed nowadays, so nothing could save them from yet another bomb.
 
On the controls: to me they worked totally fine once mastered (a process that took quite some time, yeah) but it was definitely not a matter of playing the game JUST with the touch screen or instead with with the right analogue stick.
I used both (mostly the right stick for the most intense moments), pleasantly shifting between the two.

I'd even dare to say that learning to manage when to use the touchpad and when to use the stick is part of the process of actually improving at the game, just like learning how to effectively use diffent Unite Morphs all together.
 
Buttons were invented so that we don't have to draw shapes or symbols.

Boring. I've been pressing buttons since the Atari. I'm all in for new interfaces.

And this one works. I'm not gonna say it is perfect (I personally don't like the sub menus accessible on the touch screen, they could have been mapped to the D-Pad) , but like some people mentioned, it is not like the controls in Street Fighter work for me every single time. If you are drawing the right shape it will register. It is not broken, I've played the demo for more than 7 hours and it works fine.

If you are doing it wrong time after time (like the guy on that IGN hands on video) it won't.
 
Does drawing shapes not slow down time in the full game?
Also the game is pretty lenient with how shitty the shape itself can be.
 
a 3/10 might be a bit harsh, but i'm glad to see i wasn't the only one who hasn't been wowed by this game after playing it. felt like i was taking crazy pills.

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so you don't want it for ps360, but you wonder why only on the wii u.
i realise you wish this game never existed but looking back on you posts make it seem like port begging which turned into hatred for the game.
sorry if i've read this all wrong but you're not helping yourself here

The post you quoted is obviously referring to the fact that I think releasing a game only on the wii or wii u is like sending it out to die, sometimes it can stand on its own because it is so good (Xenoblade) but thats not always the case. This doesn't mean I'm port begging because I don't care if this particular game goes out to die because I wouldn't mind one way or the other. Also, before we start, yes I know why this game is only on Wii U, again I am just saying this in general terms.

Also, if I was going to port beg, I would obviously do it for the superior Bayonetta 2 but I don't feel the need to port beg, once nintendo finally gets around to having a decent sized library and a sale occurs, I'll get a Wii U to play the small sampling of good games
 
Which leads me into another problem with the drawing mechanic. The size of the shape you draw is an important part of the game because it determines the size of your formed weapons. Using the right analog is not a great alternative to the touch screen because it is hard to draw shapes of differing sizes with the right analog because if you move the right analog quickly it draws a small shape so to draw a big shape you have to move the right analog slowly but that can get your guys hurt because the enemies don't wait around for you to slowly draw shapes.

Sounds more like a risk-reward situation to me, you either do the small sized weapon quickly (using analog) or take more time for a more powerful weapon (switching to touchscreen/slower analog). Also, isn't the part where the size of your formed weapons only matter for the main attack (A-button) and not the secondary (B-button) one that you can combo?
 
People saying the idea of the game is lackluster doesn't gel with me at all. Its an action game that has cartoony aesthetics and you control a maximum of 100 little dudes that doesn't really make anything more convoluted then say DMC at the end of it all. The more guys you have the stronger and bigger your weapons are. You CAN split your dudes in up to five different weapons but that is about it.

Fight.
Collect dudes.
Own everyone.
Win.
 
Can anyone sum up the control /gamepad issues for me?
Are they legit obtuse, or just another case of games junnalists ' WAA it's too hard/why can't metroid crawl/football manager sucks it's nothing like fifa'?

Here's one from Eurogamer which ViewtifulJC had posted.
Morphing is The Wonderful 101's killer move, and it's nearly brilliant. What lets it down is the touchscreen, which is fine with a stylus but - let's be practical here - you can't comfortably play The Wonderful 101, which uses every button the gamepad's got, while holding one. The least inconvenient option ends up being your index finger. The gamepad's almost up to it, but not quite, confusing weapons like the whip and claw and often losing your attempted shape halfway through. As the number of weapons increase and you start switching between them mid-combo, this gets frustrating.

It takes a while to master this style of movement and morphing, but in action it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in games. The Wonderful Ones clack together into brightly-coloured swords, whips, guns, fists, bombs, claws, and hammers, with a single hero hefting these gigantic weapons around.

I think that's a valid concern, especially the part where you have to switch control inputs from touchscreens to buttons holding a stylus. It's just doesn't seems intuitive.
 
Welp... this game is going to bomb sales wise now. :/

As if it being on the Wii U was enough of a hurdle, middling reviews certainly isn't going to help.
 
People saying the idea of the game is lackluster doesn't gel with me at all. Its an action game that has cartoony aesthetics and you control a maximum of 100 little dudes that doesn't really make anything more convoluted then say DMC at the end of it all. The more guys you have the stronger and bigger your weapons are. You CAN split your dudes in up to five different weapons but that is about it.

Fight.
Collect dudes.
Own everyone.
Win.

Game idea doesn't gel with me especially coming from platinum, I expect different from them, I guess. Hell, one day I'll probably make a LTTP for this game and say its the best thing since sliced bread (or I may not). Won't be until I get a Wii U though and I doubt anything will force me to do that until smash/zelda U/ or if they revive something awesome like Star Fox or a good mario game (not that 3d world.....thing). Just can't say I like the idea of the game. And that can be/is a very important motivator for people.
 
Can anyone sum up the control /gamepad issues for me?
Are they legit obtuse, or just another case of games junnalists ' WAA it's too hard/why can't metroid crawl/football manager sucks it's nothing like fifa'?
Its not obtuse at all, its "different". If you approach it like any other action game you'll set yourself up for some confusion. After playing the demo for a few hours, its mechanics are very well thought out and consistent in my opinion. Drawing can be an issue for some, others don't have any problems going by the demo impressions thread.
 
Sounds more like a risk-reward situation to me, you either do the small sized weapon quickly (using analog) or take more time for a more powerful weapon (switching to touchscreen/slower analog). Also, isn't the part where the size of your formed weapons only matter for the main attack (A-button) and not the secondary (B-button) one that you can combo?

you lost me somewhere, maybe you're using a different control scheme than me. But unite morphs (A by default) are your only real attack, you have a secondary move with X but that's just to throw your dudes onto somebody and stun them. This is of course leaving out special moves like Stinger but you get the idea.

but one reason to pay close attention to the size of your sword etc is when fighting armored enemies + swarms of little guys. If your sword's at the max capacity you might accidentally whack the armored guy when clearing out the little guys, sending your own people flying all over the place and breaking your unite morph.

Also, the hammer seems to get much slower as it gets larger.
 
Wow, mixed reviews. Wasn't expecting that. Still getting this though. Wonder if it'll turn out to be a cult classic like God Hand or something.
 
Lots of great scores, so looking forward to the game.
"BU-BU-BUT 7.4 MEANS IT'S TERRIBLE" *sighs* Re-evaluate yourself.

How have I been reading game reviews for over 20 years and never heard of "blistered thumbs" ?

They're an off-shoot of ThatGuyWithTheGlasses, focusing on video game content. It never really took off (you can tell by the site's terrible layout).
 
Well, I'm going to bed, you guys stay there talking about the reviews.

When I wake up there will be one less day to count.

bE9r6sl.png


HYYYYYYYYYPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE :D
 
Well, I'm going to bed, you guys stay there talking about the reviews.

When I wake up there will be one less day to count.

http://i.imgur.com/bE9r6sl.png[IMG]

HYYYYYYYYYPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE :D[/QUOTE]

And probably 3 more reviews to discuss!
 
Some reviews that made me shit bricks in the past include Jim Sterling's review of Deadly Premonition
Marvelous, just goes to show my point, since Jim touched on every single point I made.

About the value:
As far as the gameplay itself goes, Deadly Premonition won't be beating any of your AAA games on the market. However, for a budget title, everything is surprisingly competent and tight.

Graphics and sound compared to the system and times it was released:
Deadly Premonition is beautiful. No, not graphically. Graphically it's atrocious.

The fantastically cheesy soundtrack

It's very clear this game was designed with the PlayStation 2 in mind, but if you have a love for old school survival horror, there is absolutely no reason why you should let age get in the way of something that would have been an utter classic several years ago.

How innovative or unique it is in its genre:

Despite this game being quite like everything ever made, there's nothing quite like the game itself. There is absolutely nothing in this industry that can compare to how weird and wonderful the whole experience is.

As for the "did the game reach its self-imposed goal", that's basically the whole review. In that way he presented the game for what it is, no less, no more, in an absolutely fair way to the gamers, motivating his reasons for giving it such an high score.

You don't mechanically give a ten to a game because it's technically great, because it has great value or because it's innovative... BUT those are all things you must take in consideration when writing a review, and frankly IMO you have to state them for people to understand the pros and cons of the game, then you can also give your personal opinion, write the review in an original way, present it as an haiku, or whatever. But if there's no degree of objectivity (i.e. "I didn't like the graphics", "puzzle games are boring") you can as well make every fanboy out there a reviewer.
 
81 on Metacritic right now.
http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii-u/the-wonderful-101

CVG and GamesRadar review isn't up there yet though, so it's bound to go down into the 70s.

There are also some very high scores that aren't included on Meta right now either.

I just hope it gets a decent score enough so that it doesn't make this games chances for success near impossible.

I would rather play something that is orignal with a meta in the 70's than something that is run of the mill but checks all the right production value boxes and gets a score in the 80's.

Ah...so this is why people hate metacritic.
 
I've played the demo extensively and the control problems mentioned in many of these reviews isn't something that surprises me.

Moving your hand to draw on the gamepad makes for jarring gameplay

When you want to draw a shape you have to hold the somewhat bulky gamepad steady with only your left hand and swipe with your right hand which takes a special effort to balance the gamepad and keep it flat in front of you. If the touch screen were more sensitive this would be a smaller problem, but unfortunately it requires a pretty stiff touch while you draw shapes. The game is so frenetic that while you are making these shapes on the gamepad it is a good idea to keep your guys moving to avoid attacks which you will do with your left thumb on the left analog. So basically you are only using the grip of half your thumb and four fingers flat on the back of the gamepad to maintain balance while you press down in the middle-right of the gamepad to draw shapes. In short, all this requires a manageable yet still annoying amount of effort to keep the controller balanced while maintaining focus on the constant action on screen.

Which leads me into another problem with the drawing mechanic. The size of the shape you draw is an important part of the game because it determines the size of your formed weapons. Using the right analog is not a great alternative to the touch screen because it is hard to draw shapes of differing sizes with the right analog because if you move the right analog quickly it draws a small shape so to draw a big shape you have to move the right analog slowly but that can get your guys hurt because the enemies don't wait around for you to slowly draw shapes.

That also leads me another problem with the drawing on the gamepad. The UI layout on the gamepad is actually a little cramped so if you draw a large shape onto part of the gamepad that has a menu button on it, not only will it not work, but it brings up a menu and you are left desperately trying to swipe the menu away so you can draw a shape and engage in combat, all the while your guys are being pulverized on screen. It is frustrating.

Once I got used to the controls and how the enemies attack and basically figured out what the game wanted me to do, the game got a lot more fun and overall I still enjoyed the demo, but that leads me to another complaint: This game wants you to play a certain way for each stage. It isn't a game where you can be creative and beat the enemies anyway you want with the provided game mechanics. W101 wants you to beat these enemies in a very specific manner with regards to using which method and where. I found this pretty disappointing considering the gameplay proposition.

It can be really addictive and I am still getting it, but the complaints in these reviews don't surprise me. The first 5 to 10 minutes with the demo were somewhat heartbreaking for me and the learning curve is somewhat harsh and somewhat unfair. I don't find that the W101 is a game that gives evidence to the notion that the gamepad is a positive step for gameplay innovation.

You need to draw in the gamepad some basic figures (in slow mo, no time stop as in Okami) that the game kind of doesn't detect that well (at least in the demo). Being a action game is kind of a issue.


Ouch, I'm surprised platinum fell for the trap of trying to force the control gimmick into the game, they should really know better:\
 
How have I been reading game reviews for over 20 years and never heard of "blistered thumbs" ?

They're a very, very tiny site. It used to be helmed by Angry Joe and some other guys from Channel Awesome, which is the Nostalgia Critic's site. Which essentially comes down to just a bunch of AVGN wannabes with horrible, ghetto-like filming equipment.
 
you lost me somewhere, maybe you're using a different control scheme than me. But unite morphs (A by default) are your only real attack, you have a secondary move with X but that's just to throw your dudes onto somebody and stun them. This is of course leaving out special moves like Stinger but you get the idea.

but one reason to pay close attention to the size of your sword etc is when fighting armored enemies + swarms of little guys. If your sword's at the max capacity you might accidentally whack the armored guy when clearing out the little guys, sending your own people flying all over the place and breaking your unite morph.

Also, the hammer seems to get much slower as it gets larger.
Actually I only used the analog stick during the whole demo, didn't even bother to use the touchscreen outside of that one situation where you have to draw a circle during a cutscene. Anyway, yes, i was wondering if the size also matters for the secondary move (with X, I mistakenly said B, my bad) because that's the only move that the game actually required me to be fast (I make fast Street fighter style movements with the right stick and seems to work great).

Ouch, I'm surprised platinum fell for the trap of trying to force the control gimmick into the game, they should really know better:
I never used the touchscreen aside from one instance during a cutscene.
 
At least Blistered Thumbs isn't considered important enough for MetaCritic so that won't ruin the score.
 
Game idea doesn't gel with me especially coming from platinum, I expect different from them, I guess. Hell, one day I'll probably make a LTTP for this game and say its the best thing since sliced bread (or I may not). Won't be until I get a Wii U though and I doubt anything will force me to do that until smash/zelda U/ or if they revive something awesome like Star Fox or a good mario game (not that 3d world.....thing). Just can't say I like the idea of the game. And that can be/is a very important motivator for people.
If you don't like the theme then cool, you don't have to but there isn't a universal theme among Platinum Games own IPs aside from being action games. Madworld is different from Bayonetta, which is different from Vanquish, which is different from The Wonderful 101. If you talking about visual style, then I would have to agree with you. Looks more like a Clover game, that doesn't bother me one bit though.
 
Game idea doesn't gel with me especially coming from platinum, I expect different from them, I guess. Hell, one day I'll probably make a LTTP for this game and say its the best thing since sliced bread (or I may not). Won't be until I get a Wii U though and I doubt anything will force me to do that until smash/zelda U/ or if they revive something awesome like Star Fox or a good mario game (not that 3d world.....thing). Just can't say I like the idea of the game. And that can be/is a very important motivator for people.

Yeah its fine. I mean some people hate Zelda or don't understand the appeal of long JRPG's like Xenoblade. I don't get the whole Smash phenomenon. Its bizarre stuff. Floating platforms. percentages at the bottom. Things flying around. WTF is going on? But I'm gonna buy it for the Wii U and support Nintendo's games and try it out.

With TW101 to me its fucking fantastic. The art style, the music, the amount of collectables. The combat, aesthetics...everything is top notch. I thought the control's would be complicated but I picked them up instantly.

DMC 3 is one of my favorite games, if not my favorite game ever and this isnt the same exactly. But at the same time it is. You kick the shit out of things while trying to be stylish as fuck. I can feel the love and attention to detail in everything.

The demo could be a poor representation of the whole game but from what I've seen and played...
  • The controls are perfect. Using the right stick is perfect. Don't know why you'd use the touchscreen. You need both hands on the steering wheel damn it!
  • Graphics are amazing. Frame-rate is smooth as ice.
  • Combat is hectic and stylish as fuck. Deep too. I start off with the sword, throw the enemy in the air. Switch to the gun mid air and rain bullets on that mofo, switch to the hand and beat that guy back to earth while turning back to the sword and slicing and dicing. Smokin' Sick Style!!!
Game is just fun as fuck.
 
How have I been reading game reviews for over 20 years and never heard of "blistered thumbs" ?

It's an offspring of ThatGuyWithTheGlasses focused on games. So it's not nearly as... for lack of a better word, professional or big as other sites like Giant Bomb, IGN or GameTrailers. It's also very young. Like below 5 years old.
 
I've played the demo extensively and the control problems mentioned in many of these reviews isn't something that surprises me.

Moving your hand to draw on the gamepad makes for jarring gameplay

When you want to draw a shape you have to hold the somewhat bulky gamepad steady with only your left hand and swipe with your right hand which takes a special effort to balance the gamepad and keep it flat in front of you. If the touch screen were more sensitive this would be a smaller problem, but unfortunately it requires a pretty stiff touch while you draw shapes. The game is so frenetic that while you are making these shapes on the gamepad it is a good idea to keep your guys moving to avoid attacks which you will do with your left thumb on the left analog. So basically you are only using the grip of half your thumb and four fingers flat on the back of the gamepad to maintain balance while you press down in the middle-right of the gamepad to draw shapes. In short, all this requires a manageable yet still annoying amount of effort to keep the controller balanced while maintaining focus on the constant action on screen.

Which leads me into another problem with the drawing mechanic. The size of the shape you draw is an important part of the game because it determines the size of your formed weapons. Using the right analog is not a great alternative to the touch screen because it is hard to draw shapes of differing sizes with the right analog because if you move the right analog quickly it draws a small shape so to draw a big shape you have to move the right analog slowly but that can get your guys hurt because the enemies don't wait around for you to slowly draw shapes.

Time slows down when you draw shapes in story mode, and by quite an amount. It's only in the mission mode that your drawing doesn't slow down time, because of the multiplayer compatibility. Which is an unfortunate but understandable compromise for me. It was still loads of fun.
 
(I personally don't like the sub menus accessible on the touch screen, they could have been mapped to the D-Pad).

I think they are mapped to the d-pad, I am assuming that you are talking about choosing the healing items.

How have I been reading game reviews for over 20 years and never heard of "blistered thumbs" ?

Because it's a terrible reviewer site that was born from That Guy with the glasses, another terrible site.

They aren't important and from their review of the The Wonderful 101 they clearly didn't play the game properly.
 
Time slows down when you draw shapes in story mode, and by quite an amount. It's only in the mission mode that your drawing doesn't slow down time, because of the multiplayer compatibility. Which is an unfortunate but understandable compromise for me. It was still loads of fun.

Yeah, in Story Mode, they're practically at a stand-still when you're drawing.
 
If anything, some of those reviews are only proving that the average joe only can play over-simplified, hand-hold games. Thank you, Sony and MS!

Some of the reviewer should star by drawing some shapes in paper before jumping on something more complex, like drawing shapes while *gashp* playing.
 
This game, like most of Clover and Platinum's offerings, will be a hit with its niche. The people that take the time to dig into the gameplay, up the difficulty, discover the game's nuances, and (attempt) to master them.

The other players, who try to enjoy it on a surface level will most likely not have a ton of fun. Platinum has never been great at explaining their own games. Look at Vanquish, for example.People that go into it playing it as a cover shooter just won't appreciate it the way some others do. And through no fault of their own as you're very rarely pushed to play it differently on the normal difficulty level. Or look at how different a game like Bayonetta is when you're playing it on easy versus the hardest difficulty.
 
I'm wondering if it'd be feasible to patch in some sort of hybrid control scheme using both the touch screen and the R-analog stick, where the morphs that people are confusing would be on the right-analog and the easier stuff would be on the touch pad.

For example, whip might be up, hammer down, bomb left, claws right on the analog stick. If you just press it a little + A you get a smaller morph and if you hold it down all the way you get a bigger one.

Wonder Circle, wonder liner, the fist, sword, gun, and hang glider would be on the touch screen only.

The downside would be you wouldn't have the choice of using both inputs using this scheme.
 
If anything, some of those reviews are only proving that the average joe only can play over-simplified, hand-hold games. Thank you, Sony and MS!

Some of the reviewer should star by drawing some shapes in paper before jumping on something more complex, like drawing shapes while *gashp* playing.

Why do you need to justify a bad review by insulting the reviewer? That's wacky.
 
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