Not often does a console exclusive title carry the weight of platform's sustainability, but saying that Lego City: Undercover is in such a precarious situation with regard to the Wii U isn't much of a stretch. Check your calendars, folks, because it's been months since Wii U has had a notable exclusive title release, which is both discouraging and quite frankly upsetting. Nevertheless, Lego City: Undercover has been anticipated as the "kid-friendly GTA" experience that Nintendo has optimistically stood behind since day one -- hoping for a third-party hit that might reignite interest in the already struggling platform. The Lego franchise has seen widespread success on multiple consoles thanks to a laundry list of superhero and film licenses, from Batman to Lord of the Rings. Undercover is a brand-new property with no big-budget tie-in, but the charming presentation, familiar gameplay, and focus on the quirkiness of the Lego universe remains in tact. Lego City: Undercover is an open-world game that puts players in the shoes of officer Chase McCain on his mission to stop a crime wave that has hit Lego City.
Every good guy/bad guy cliche under the sun surfaces in the game's storyline, but to its credit, it works. Undercover is undeniably funny and maintains an upbeat tempo throughout. It's written well and should appeal to gamers of all ages. That accessibility trickles down to the game's core play style, too -- which at times can feel a bit watered-down and generic, especially if you've ever played a Lego game before. Graphically speaking, Lego City: Undercover comes in at just average compared with the current video game landscape. Items in the background noticeably pop-in regularly, and the game occasionally has trouble holding on to a steady frame rate. Developer TT Fusion chose to integrate the Wii U's unique tablet-style GamePad in ways that we've seen before. Similar to scanning in ZombiU, players hold up the controller and move around to examine areas and locate suspects. Otherwise, it's mostly used as a map and comes in handy as an item collection counter. Easily the most upsetting thing about Lego: City Undercover has got to be its loading times.
It's tough to recall a game in the last five years that loads as slowly as Undercover does, but these waits are simply dreadful. Not only do they have no place in today's gaming environment, but they also break up the action, bringing flow to an absolute standstill. This isn't the first Wii U game that's suffered from over-the-top loading times, which doesn't bode well for the future of the platform's software. That said, it's still relatively early in the console's life cycle, so hopefully developers can bump this up down the road. If you don't mind waiting for the game to load, Lego City: Undercover has a lot of fun packed inside, even if most of the gameplay is stuff you might have seen before. Lego City: Undercover is the best game the Wii U has had to offer (outside of the eShop) in months and might be the only one you play for some time.At Toys R Us, we have all the latest Nintendo DS consoles and games. We have a range of colours in the Nintendo 2DS and 3DS, as well as good value bundles – why not get your child started with a couple of games for their new console?
All of the current games are available at Toys R Us – current favourites include Kirby, Mario World Golf Tour and Disney's Frozen. We also have a wide selection of accessories for the Nintendo DS, including Disney Infinity figures, Skylanders characters and colourful carry cases. Xbox 360 Disney Infinity 3.0 Star Wars Starter Pack Available for Click & Collect PS3 Disney Infinity 3.0 Star Wars Starter Pack Nintendo 3DS Pokemon Sun Nintendo 3DS Pokemon Moon Nintendo amiibo Smash Wario Figure Nintendo 2DS White/Red Console and Tomodachi Life Pack Nintendo 3DS Selects Mario Party: Island Tour Nintendo 3DS Super Mario Maker Nintendo 3DS YO-KAI WATCH Nintendo 3DS Selects Paper Mario: Sticker Star Nintendo amiibo Smash Kirby Figure Nintendo 3DS Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Nintendo 3DS Selects Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Bros. Nintendo 3DS Selects Yoshi's New Island Nintendo 3DS Rhythm Paradise Megamix
Nintendo 3DS Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice Nintendo amiibo Smash Falco Figure Nintendo 3DS Mario Party:Star Rush Nintendo 3DS Pokemon Rumble World Nintendo 3DS Tomodachi Life Nintendo 3DS Pokemon Y Nintendo 3DS Pokemon X Nintendo 3DS Selects Nintendogs + Cats - Golden Retriever Nintendo amiibo Super Mario Bowser FigureThe key to the hybrid system is the modular design of the two separate Joy-Con controllers. The two pieces can attach to the sides of the console itself (upper left), to the Joy-Con Grip (upper right) or not be attached at all (lower left) for solo or co-op play. For an extra $70, you can buy the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller (lower right). March 3: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, 1-2-Switch, Super Bomberman R, Just Dance 2017, I Am Setsuna, Skylanders: Imaginators, World of Goo, Little Inferno, Human Resource MachineMarch: Snipperclips, The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+, Has-Been Heroes, Shovel Knight, Fast RMXApril: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Puyo Puyo Tetris, Lego City UndercoverSpring: Sonic Mania, Arms, Redout, RiME, Cube Life: Island SurvivalSummer
: Splatoon 2Fall: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, NBA 2K18Winter: Super Mario Odyssey, Fire Emblem Warriors, Xenoblade 2, Minecraft, Steep2017: Stardew Valley, Bit Boy! Arcade Deluxe, Disgaea 5, Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers, FIFA 18. We’re just under two weeks away from the official launch of the Nintendo Switch, and those lucky enough to have preordered are waiting with bated breath.The brand new gaming console — set for release on March 3 worldwide — is touted as an innovative hybrid system that allows you to either play games as you would on a traditional console or as a portable handheld device at your convenience.“I think the concept of a home console I can take around with me and use as a handheld or a little multiplayer gaming station wherever is really cool,” said Nathan Post, a 25-year-old Humboldt County native from Ferndale who has been playing Nintendo games since he was 7. “No one else is really doing anything like that.” Fortuna resident Eli Rohl, 28, whose parents bought a Super Nintendo when he was 4, said Nintendo making it so players can take their console game on-the-go is “certainly something their competition isn’t doing.”“
I’ve always had faith in Nintendo to innovate, but it seems that they hit a series of stumbling blocks after the N64. GameCube didn’t sell well,” Rohl said. “The Wii was gimmicky and didn’t have enough first- or reputable third-party support, and the Wii U’s gamepad was an afterthought when designing AAA titles. One area Nintendo has excelled has been the handheld market. PSP, Vita, Game Gear, etc. have all been lost to time, but the DS family of handhelds is still going strong.” For the retail price of $300, those buying the Switch get a 6.2-inch 720p display/console, a charging dock, a pair of Joy-Con controllers (in either gray or red and blue), a Joy-Con Grip controller, wrist straps, a power cord and an HDMI cable.The system comes with 32 GB of internal memory, but can be expanded using microSDXC cards. According to Nintendo, battery life can last for more than six hours on a single charge, depending on the software being used.The key to hybrid system is the modular design of the two separate Joy-Con controllers.
The two pieces can attach to the Joy-Con Grip to form something similar to a traditional console controller. They can also attach to the sides of the console itself, creating a portable device similar to the Wii U or PlayStation Vita. Or you can not attach them to anything at all and use the controllers separately for either solo or co-op play.For an extra $70, you can buy the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller — which is the most similar to an Xbox controller — to use instead of the Joy-Cons.“I’ve been skeptical about the Joy-Cons, but most of the hands-on reviews say that they fill out the space in your hands better than you expect them too,” Rohl said. “I’m sure I’ll still prefer the Pro controller, but the next time I’m playing a AAA Zelda title on a long car trip or in a hotel, I don’t think I’ll care much about what I wind up using to do it with.” “They look weird, but they’ll probably be fine,” Post said. “The Wii U’s gamepad looks like a Fisher Price tablet but is actually super comfortable.
I’m not too worried. I actually liked that you could use the Wiimote and Nunchuck holding your hands apart, so I’ll probably use the Switch’s Joy-Cons in the same manner.”Post, who currently lives in Fujioka, Japan, said he could see himself using the console while in a car, on a train or while out with friends.“It would be fun to just set the thing on a table, pull the controllers off and race your friend in Mario Kart at Starbucks or wherever,” he said. “Portables make a lot more sense here in Japan. I’m on the train all the time. It’ll probably be used primarily at home though, I guess. I want to play Zelda on the big screen.” Rohl said he could see himself “burning some lunch breaks with it” when the weather is bad.“It’ll be great for work trips and visits with family out-of-the-area,” Rohl said. “I’m sure I’ll prefer to play on my TV at home with the system docked, but I’ll be very relieved to have a console I can pack with me without having to drag a power strip and a TV along.”
Both Rohl and Post cited “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” — which shares its official release date with the Switch — as their main reason for buying the console. “I don’t know why anyone would ever need to justify pre-ordering it,” Rohl said. “It’s the most hyped I’ve been for a Zelda game since ‘Majora’s Mask’ on the 64.”Post, however, did not preorder the game.“I didn’t preorder any Switch games because I’m just going to buy them digitally,” he said. “There’s no reason to preorder those. But, I’m definitely going to pick up the new Zelda. That’s the only Switch game coming out in the near future I’m interested in.”For the first time, Nintendo will also begin charging for online service Fall 2017, which allows online gameplay. Not subscribing to the service will not prevent players from accessing the Nintendo eShop, but the monthly subscription does grant access to NES or Super Nintendo games. “They’ll have to prove their service is worth paying for, which traditionally it hasn’t been,” Post said.
Rohl also said that monthly online access isn’t a concern.“Local play is something Nintendo does very well,” he said. “I don’t plan to play online. Nintendo games aren’t really games I identify as being online experiences.”However, if you were looking to pick up a Switch of your own on launch day, you’re most likely out of luck.Retailers worldwide offering the Switch for preorder were almost completely sold out following Nintendo’ press conference in Japan on Jan. 13. Employees at GameStop, FYE, Target and Walmart in Eureka all stated that their companies’ policies did not allow them to disclose how many units may have been preordered by local buyers. and Best Buy have also sold the entirety of their allocations.Rohl said he preordered through GameStop the day after the company announced preorders were available.“I would’ve preferred to preorder elsewhere ... but it was one of the few places that I figured I’d be guaranteed to physically walk out with a console at launch,” he said.