Face-Off: Darksiders 2 on Wii U

EuroGamer: "With the new Wii U version, Vigil Games stated that Darksiders 2 would take full advantage of Nintendo's system from a gameplay point of view while matching the graphical accomplishments of the PS3 and 360 versions. Associate producer Jay Fitzloff told Eurogamer back in May that the Wii U has 'plenty of horsepower... so we're not going to have to make any visual concessions at all.' Instead much of the development time would be spent finding innovative ways to use the Wii U's GamePad to enhance the core experience.

So the question is whether Vigil Games has succeeded in achieving that goal of parity, or whether we're looking at another disappointing multi-platform Wii U release that sees brand new 2012 technology failing to match the graphical accomplishments of the vintage 2005/2006 current-gen stalwarts."

[chukamachine]

Wii u fails again.

[PopRocks359]

You read this all the way right? Aside from minor discrepancies the game is practically on-par. If you're going to blame someone, why not THQ for their handling of the port?

[dantesparda]

Minor differences? the game has a overall worst framerate, its missing trees, foliage and lighting and has worst aliasing. And all on a supposed next gen system that costs more money then the current gen systems. And they did not say that AC3 was better on the WU, its runs at a better framerate on the PS3/360 and has better DOF.

The Wii U is a big disppointment, its technically weak!

[Theyellowflash30]

How about when Madden 2006 came out on the PS3 and 360? It ran at a slower framerate, was missing some graphical features the Xbox version had, and was missing many features the the last generation games had like Franchise mode, superstar mode, ect? So wait let me guess..... the Xbox 360 and PS3 were technically weak cause of a shoddy port?

[dantesparda]

The ps3 was/is hard to program for, especially at that time when most programmers could not program for multicores/multithreads (especially a asymmetrical) cpus like the cell, not the WiiU. Its cpu is well knowned from the wii andd gc and power macs g3's. And the graphics card is old and well known too. There is nothing hard about programming on the WiiU, the chaalenge in programming on it is making it perform because its so weak and full of bottlenecks, its a badly designed system.

Now stop making up exscuses and except it.

[PopRocks359]

@dantesparda

Are there any glitches that break the game? No.
Minor framerate issues and missing details that you have to go out of your way to look for are considered minor as far as I'm considered.

Also the port was made in less then eight months on a variety of dev kits, you moron.

[MegaLagann]

Ignores the fact that the same guys that made this comparison praised the Wii U version of Assassin's Creed III saying it's easily the best console version.

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

u can only buy this game at night?

http://kotaku.com/5966659/i...

wiiU is so cute <3

Ps4 will be pure porn from 12AM to 12PM.

/s j/k

[megamanX2]

troll fails again.

[bobacdigital]

Lol.. People just don't get it.. They had the dev kits for less than 8 months , and even then they had multiple revisions of it. How on earth would any developer let alone the bankrupt THQ be able to know the ins and outs of optimizing the Wii U for a game that was built for the ps3 and 360.

All the developers literally ported the games over with tiny dev teams with a limited budget. Be pretty damn impressed that the Wii U can run late cycle games fully optimized for completely different hardware.

You can't brute force code to the Wii U like you could on the 360 or the Ps3, the hardware isn't CPU centric, it is GPU centric.

[PopRocks359]

Even with the 360 and the PS3 there was a learning curve when it came to development (the latter more so than the former).

People expected these Wii U ports to perform perfectly and even in some cases more effectively than their current generation counterparts. You tell me how ANY developer with less than a year's worth of time is capable of such a feat on brand new hardware architecture.

[DivineAssault]

& to think, i wanted to get this for wii u instead of PS3 but now im absolutely sure thats not happening.. Ninja gaiden 3 is prolly what ill get for it since its the only game on wii u thats better than ps3/360... Oh & the indie game trine 2 which i already have on PS3 so thats not happening.. Guess i gotta wait on Rayman legends to see if its a better game than the original

[RFornillos4]

Rayman Legends is a Wii U exclusive, and it is the original. I believe you're referring to Rayman Origins.

[ninjahunter]

haha, i remember back in the day when people though wiiu was going to be made by god himself people said this was going to be a pc killer.

[guitarded77]

I got it for PS3 over Wii U...

a. Because it was only $25 new on PS3

b. Because the Wii U doesn't have trophy/achievement support

I'm sure the gamepad has some cool features, but it's not worth paying an extra $35 and I'm a trophy/achievement whore. Plus apparently the port doesn't run look as good on the Wii U.

I don't know why people are surprised it doesn't look/run as good on the Wii U. These were quick ports that had to meet the Wii U launch date. Plus THQ is in bad financial shape... I'm sure they weren't going to invest too much for a port to a new console with a small install base. This has nothing to do with the Wii U's capability, and more to do with a less than perfect port.

[KingKevo]

Wow, I wasn't even aware of the fact that there are no trophies/achievements to earn on the Wii U. Wow, it's such an easy thing to do to reward people, it pretty much became a standard nowadays.

Also, I see the Wii U's future like this. Nintendo doesn't want to compete with Microsoft or Sony anyway, they just made an HD console because HD is the dominant standard today, and SD still was the sandard in 2006 when the Wii came out. They never invest more than they have to, especially not in specs. At this point the Wii U is being compared to the current gen because they are very similar, but once the PS4 and the 720 are out there's no more reason to compare the Wii U Version of a game to the newer consoles, because the differences are going to be too big, at least when it comes to graphics etc.

But that's what Nintendo wants, they don't want to fight with the other two over the best looking game and (time-)exclusive to define what version people should get, because the versions are pretty much the same without that exclusive content and people would'nt care about the version they should get. Nintendo does care about the fact that playing a game will be a different experience on their console. They don't need some bonus missions to make people buy their version, because the whole game will be different due to the game pad. And that's exactly where they want to be. That's what differs them from the other two. Just with the Wii, in a year or so Wii U games will look a lot worse than the PS4/720 game, but it plays differently.

The only bad thing for Nintendo is that as long as there are no new console form its competetors they will be compared to the current gen and that doesn't make them look good all the time.

[guitarded77]

Well, now Valve is jumping into the console game with their new PC with a living room friendly interface, so it will be interesting to see what happens over the next couple of years. I understand the Wii U isn't going to be on the same level as the next gen from Sony/MS and Valve, but Nintendo still has their iconic franchises (why I bought the Wii U), plus Wii U will still be able to run some games that are on PS4, etc. Not all games are going to be so processor hungry because development costs will be even higher than they are now. Sure, Nintendo won't see the Battlefields, Metal Gears, etc. But they should see the indie and downloadable games because development should be cheaper. They will also get some exclusive JRPGs and few nods from the Western devs from time to time. The power of the Wii wasn't the only reason devs shied away, it was the motion controls too. Nintendo doesn't have that problem this time... in fact the Wii U gamepad is actually an advantage over standard controllers. It's really cool. Anyway, I don't care too much about all the hullabaloo an I game on all platforms and find things to like about each of them. I am critical and hope for improvements on all platforms but I'm not gonna give up playing the games I like because any one company does something I don't like.

[KingKevo]

People (*cough* Nintendo fanboys *cough*) apparently didn't get my post. I'm not saying the Wii U is bad at all. What I'm saying is that once the other new consoles are out Nintendo is exactly where they want to be. Since the failure of the GameCube they changed up their strategy for new cosnoles with the Wii. They went away from directly competing with Sony and Microsoft by releasing a similar type of console. They focused on delivering a new experience for games with the motion control and now with the game pad. I'll try to explain that with an exaample. Imagine a multi-platform game in 3 years. Graphically it will be better on the MS and Sony console for sure. Those version will be pretty much the same and they will fight for buyers through getting expensive deals with the publisher for exclusive content. The version from the Wii U will probably only look as good as games like Uncharted, Last of Us or Halo 4 from this gen, maybe a bit better, and they don't have to invest in expensive deals with the publishers. Why? Because their version for the Wii U will be unique. It'll have tons of exclusive features right away due to the game pad. That's what they can work with and that's how they are going to sell copies of multi-platform games. And I expect these fetures to be way better, inovative and deeper than what we have seen so far in gmaes like AC3, Batman or DS2.

Another thing people should try to accept is that Nintendo does in fact not invest in expensive high end technoligy. They work with what is available now and make the best out of it, the try to develop new features rather than hig-end cpu's/gpu's. The reason for that is that they can actually make profit from the console sales while still keeping it affordable. Atm however Sony and MS have pretty much equal systems in terms of specs out, That's why you can compare them in this type of review linked here. But it's not how you'll copmapare them a few years down the line and Nintendo knows that.. and wants that. They wanna stand out for exclusive features and a different way to play the game, not to have the better graphics in multi-platform games. The game pad already is THE reason to get the Wii U, but it will become even more important in the future.

And sure, I look forward to the Nintendo games, but that was not what I was talking about, I was talking about multi-platform games, because every platforms exclusives are the one of the main reasons to get a specific console, but for Nintendo since the Wii the console itself and the way how you play a game has been a main reason for them to sell a console and so was it a main reason for people to buy it.

Maybe you'll get what I was talking about in my previous post after I cleared some things up, I actually wrote it to make the Wii U look good.

[KingKevo]

It's funny to see how people are starting to compare the Wii U now. I don't think many people who already do have a PS3 or 360 will consider to seriously buy the Wii U version anyway. Nontheless, in a year or so nobody gives a f*** anymore. When the PS4 and 720 are out the Wii U is still only pretty much on the same level with the PS3 and 360 and muilti-platform games will significantly ... different on it. It won't be as obvious as it was this gen, but the Wii U will fall behind really quickly. So nvm about the comparisons today, it's all gonna be irrelevant in a few more months.

[busytoad]

Nintendo has failed with wii u, its just sad they chose to go with a gimmic console just like the wii. When will they learn we want a controller and games that aint made for kiddies.

[KingKevo]

Why would the even bother creating a new console then. They don't wanna share the market with Sony and Microsoft because that would probably kill them. And they are successfull with being different and innovative. They completly focus on a different way to play a game on the console and portable market and that is great.

I don't want them to make a console that is like the next PlayStation or Xbox, because then they probably become the new Sega sooner or later. They would become a developer and publisher for games on other consoles. And that would be sad. (Even though I'd personally like to see Mario on a PS4 if they could keep the quality xD).

[bobacdigital]

We are not more than 3 weeks into the consoles life cycle and people are already saying it failed lol ...

Look at the 3ds it had some initial issues and then a price drop put it on track to beating the historical sales of the DS week over week...

With Nintendo it literally takes 1 title and the user base starts to expand exponentially.. Mario Kart Wii sold more copies lifetime than any COD or Halo ever has... Hell look at what Animal Crossing New Leaf is doing to the 3ds in Japan it is UTTERLY destroying the vita..

Lets wait until its been out at least 6 months to a year before we call it a failure. We dont even know when the ps4 or 720 will come out..

[1upgamer99]

Uh, with Wii U you have more controller options than any other console. Pro controller, Gamepad, Wii Remotes, More M-Rated games at launch then any other launch in Nintendo history. Metroid, Zelda, are far from kiddie games, but some of the best games made on ANY platform. Clearly you have not spent any time with Wii U (not a demo in a store) It made Madden 13 kick, and I like BOPS2 better on Wii U because of the gamepad, I bought it for my PS3, because I couldn't wait a week for it so I rented it, now I wish I had waited. Nintendo got it right this time. With 720 and PS4 a year away MOST ports I will buy for Wii U.