I will agree that the "New Super Mario Bros." games are quite similar and could be quantified as "just NSMB on XXX system", but Super Mario 3D World is not that at all. Does is share similarities with Super Mario 3D Land on the 3DS, yes. But it is it's own game; adding 4-player simultaneous play, new power-ups (like the Cat Suit, Double Cherry, and Goomba Mask) and integration with the gamepad by having you use the touchscreen or blow into the microphone to access certain areas. As I said in a previous post, it is the most fun I've had with a Mario game in a long time. It is not a cheap cash-in "just SMB on XXX system" type of game.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 will be the sixth game in the Divinity series, which started in 2002. Let's just keep that in mind for later.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker may be a spin-off of the Mario series, but it is a solid game that plays completely differently than any other game based on that IP. NES Remix 1 and NES Remix 2 are not re-releases. They are new games that use assets from classic Nintendo games. They make look familiar, but they are their own thing. Super Mario Maker is a fantastic game, giving the power of graphical rom-hacking to even the least tech-savvy Mario fans (with a few nods to fans of the classic SNES game Mario Paint). The assets you have access to, combined with the ability to share and play levels from all over the world, make this a game that is definitely greater than the sum of its parts.

Oh, and remember that little factoid about Larian and the Divinity series from above? Well, Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water (the full title) is the sixth game in the Fatal Frame series, which began in 2001. Star Fox Zero is the sixth game in the Star Fox series, which began in 1993. Also, it is not a remake of Star Fox 64, but let's not get off track. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is the fourth game in the Smash Bros. series (arguably, the fifth game, but it and Super Smash Bros. for 3DS are essentially the same, so it's debatable), which began in 1999. So, if we're not going to roll our eyes every time Larian Studios puts out ANOTHER Divinity game, you have no right to act that way to the IPs listed here.

If you've stopped caring long ago, how can you speak about the games above with any sort of credence? Have you played Mario Kart 8 or Super Mario 3D World? If not, you are unfairly judging them by their titles alone. These are excellent games that add value to their brand. There is a reason there are versions of the Wii U console that come bundled with these games; because they are good enough games to buy a new console to play.

No I haven't played either game as I don't have a Wii-U nor friends who have a Wii-U, nor any incentive to get a Wii-U.

I know Jesse Cox and TB are currently talking about VR, and how a lot of people who bash the hardest haven't experienced it, because you can get fully immersed and it's a unique experience (often good). To that degree I suppose I fall in the uninitiated. But I still have my rules, rules that keep me out of debt, keep me from being sorely disappointed, rules that protect me. And the rule of thumb is a console needs at least 5 must-have games before I even consider it. With how the 8th gen is performing, that has been downgraded as I've already ended up deciding not to get any of them as the whole generation has been shoddy.

Mario Kart 8 is STILL a kart game. Maybe the physics are better, there's new maps, there's different paths to take, I don't know. The only one I've really played is the original SNES game and that gave me hours and hours of fun. Other than making it fully 3D with the N64 I have no clue what they could possibly add to the newer titles (except the annoying flying shell).

Super Mario 3D World is STILL a Mario game. A cat suit isn't nearly as unique and innovative as all the suits and extras they did originally in SMB3. I won't argue that it probably adds something to the game but it doesn't seem really like anything new. A number of titles do something truly different, but I'm not really seeing that here.

This falls in the same area as Final Fantasy 7. Years ago I'd have bought a new system JUST for FF7 the remake. But that was then, SquareEnix has taken so long that I lost interest. Even if it comes to PS4 I just can't bother with it, especially if it's released in 3-7 parts.

Maybe... just maybe I'm too old, and I've been burned too many times. I don't have the naive innocent view of everything anymore. Maybe that means I'm dead inside, I don't know.

On my end I have been disappointed. My children still play my PS3 every week and while there are some games they are interested in on the new consoles, not enough for me to send my hard earned money on it.

Maybe next gen, although I am learning towards getting them each a laptop that can be used for schooling and entertainment instead of $500 for a console that can only play games that are $60 a pop out of the gate.

And, yet, you still feel it is fair to criticize and pass judgement on the Wii U and its library of games? It is okay if your sensibilities for what makes a game "good" is different than the type of games that Nintendo currently produces, but that doesn't give you the right to say that they are bad or, as this thread calls it, disappointing.

I have the same exact rule of thumb. This is why I have had a Wii U since launch and now have a library of about twenty games and counting. This is also why I purchased a PS4 last October and now have a library of about 10 games with more on the way. By this same rule, I feel I will never own a XBone.

In addition to new tracks and revised graphics and physics, they have added transforming vehicles (switching from land to sky to underwater). They have also added motorbikes to the mix, which offers different performance to the standard karts. There are also sections of certain tracks with anti-gravity features, allowing you to race up walls and across ceilings. That ability you mentioned to have hours and hours of fun is still in full force. On that note, Mario Kart 8 is the best selling Wii U title to date with over 7 million copies sold worldwide.

The cat suit allows you to climb up walls, thus giving you access to new areas that would be otherwise inaccessible. It also gives you a claw swipe and a pounce which makes it much easier to dispatch enemies. The double cherry makes a copy of your character and it's even possible to collect multiple cherries thus added further clones. Controlling them all simultaneously is challenging, but incredibly fun. Power-ups aside, the game offers 4-player simultaneous play which is a first for a 3D roaming Mario title (New Super Mario Bros Wii had 4-player, but in 2D). Lastly, as I mentioned, the gamepad integration is fun as well. Using the touchpad to activate switches or rub away surfaces to reveal secrets, or blowing into the microphone to power a fan that will change the direction of a platform. The whole experience is top-notch.

You're not dead inside. As I said above, your sensibilities are just different from those of the gamers that Nintendo is clearly catering to. Those sensibilities might have aligned at one time, but they aren't doing so now. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just unfair to say that the Wii U is simply full of remakes and re-releases when you haven't played them or done any research.

It doesn't happen every five minutes and I found it to be fun. To-MAY-to, To-MAH-to.

You are correct. Regardless, it is a new feature to the Mario Kart series, so it's still worth pointing out when comparing it to its SNES and N64 predecessors.

Very much so.

This generation has felt like having all the negatives of PC gaming forced on consoles with none of the benefits. Now we have at least one of them releasing a system refresh after three years. Even if the discs are technically backwards compatible, I don't trust developers to actually optimize the games for the original PS4. Hell, they barely do so now.

I do have a Wii U and like it, but feel no desire to get an NX. I got the Wii U for its exclusives and have been happy with it. But if Nintendo comes out with some other kind of gimmick controller, I'll write them off at this point and stick with the consoles I have now and my PC going forward.

Consoles have one significant advantage over PC games in that they are designed for multiplayer but PC games are too tight assed to allow it.

Multiplayer in terms of within the family, not over the internet, and only having to buy one copy of the game..... ding ding ding,,, and only having to buy one copy of the game.

PC games don't comprehend this idea of one family, one game copy..... they used to many years ago (multiplayer spawn installs etc) but these days... too tight assed. So consoles win!

Sure they do. But who the heck is going to hook up 4 controllers and gather around a computer? ^:

Just like last gen, handhelds are the way to go. 3DS, DS, PSP, and GBA have all been more impressive than the recent home consoles.

I'm interested in PS4 and WiiU (and maybe 3DS) for their exclusive, but I'll certainly wait to see what will happen to PS4K and Nintendo NX. I never chase the latest tech when it come to gaming, and now all these rumors/news about mid gen upgrade and shorten generation life span really make me not so sure when to get into this gen's console.

Slightly off-topic, but a friend gave me his old PS3 not long ago. It has the yellow light of death. Is there an easy fix for this? There are a lot of PS-exclusives I would like to play (God of War, Unchartred, Heavy Rain, Last of Us, Journey, and so on).

I don't know, but when you network several computers in a household, its 'potentially' far better than a console..... but who wants to buy a game 3 times for the three computers you network in your own home? Stupid stupid stupid.

I have never tried it, but i would guess GOG games will let you do this from one game license? What about Steam?

If I had console gamer tag I'd invite you, I tell u! But so I'd my brother, btw. ;-)

U have one? Just PM me, I give you the levity that you'd not invite drooling fools unto yourself, as much as you'll dump such unto others etc.

I wish to inform you two that no one understands what either of you are saying.