Oh man, I'm killing myself here. I can't stop thinking about Wii U, which is making the days go by oh-so slow. I need to stop being so excited this far out! I sure hope I'm not the only one. See you in a few, short hours!
Mario Chase could very well be the simplest game in the entire Nintendo Land collection. It's basically a game of tag...that's it. While it may sound like a bare-bones experience, I also believe Mario Chase is one of the most fun experiences in Nintendo Land. I haven't found a Nintendo Land attraction that I don't enjoy, but Mario Chase's easy gameplay and addictive nature make it very hard to put down.
As I said, Mario Chase is a very simple game to play. Up to 4 players take on the roles of characters that are trying to capture Mario. The Mario player is playing on the GamePad. The 4 TV players have to run around the map and find Mario. The GamePad player has to keep away from the 4 chasers and run down the time limit to zero. That's really all there is to it!
I'm telling you, if you get the right group of people together, Mario Chase is going to be a blast. It'll be an attraction you keep coming back to. I lucked out and played with a bunch of great people with my latest hands-on impressions. I took on the role of both the GamePad player and the TV player, with both sides providing for completely different experience.
When you play on TV, you have to work with your 3 teammates to track down Mario. The only real indicator you have is the meter on your screen that shows how close/far you are from Mario. The closer you get, the lower your distance number gets. The further away, the higher the number climbs. Other than that, you can look at the other player's screen sections to see what's going on with them.
The real key to success if you're playing on TV is to call out information to the other players. If you're close to Mario, you can shout out details to your teammates. The maps offer up colored sections that make it easy to send out details. You can tell your teammates that Mario is in the green section, but is on his way to red. You can say that you're currently right on Mario's back while in the yellow section. Shouting out these details is how you'll win. Without communication, you're going to be screwed!
The GamePad player has a completely different experience. As seen in the image above, you have an overhead map that shows player icons that move in real-time. You'll get to see where these people are in relation to you. Obviously, the GamePad player should be looking away from the TV to make for a fair fight. The overhead map does a great job of showing you just how close you are to getting caught.
The other key GamePad feature is the mini-window that shows you the real-time action. This is what you need to look at when the other players get close to you. This allows you to get a better look at the action in order to avoid their tackles and plans. You better get ready to sway in and out of players if you want to last the full time limit. The combination of both the zoomed-in and overhead views should help lead you to victory.
There are different maps to play in as well. They reminded me a lot of the battle maps in the Mario Kart series. One map was a slightly elevated angular maze that let you run high and low. Another map I played on had muddy trenches that would slow you down when you ran into them. You can also be on the lookout for power-ups like stars that let you become invincible for awhile. The mixture of map ideas, players and tactics is going ot make each game of Mario Chase completely different.
Nintendo seems to have found the key to making simple-yet-addictive experiences in Nintendo Land, with Mario Chase being one of the best. You'll keep coming back to this one time and time again. It gets your blood pumping, it gets your friends in on the action and the gameplay is super simple for any player. Don't judge the fun based on the screens alone. When you go hands-on with this gem, I promise it'll click in a big way.
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Unfortunately for me, whenever I get to play Nintendo Land, it's mostly going to be Single Player or Two-Player.
The best I'll probably get will be 3 player around holidays/birthdays, so I'll never get to experience this to its fullest. *sigh*
I have 3 siblings and we all live together, so we can all play this game - and some other games - with 4 players!
I can't wait to play these, but there's a part of me that only wants to let my brother and I (and parents) use the controller. I've seen how some of my friends treat their phones and handhelds, as well as mine.
I'll just have 2 or 3 players most of the time, too, maybe 4 around Christmas if I can get my parents to play. I think all of the games will still be fun with 3 players. Ones like Animal Crossing might be a bit more balanced for less players (less people to catch to make you lose). I think for a game like Mario Chase, they'll have smaller maps that will help out. 2 player probably can't be very good for this, though, unless they change it drastically.
I think like 9 or so of the 12 minigames should still be good with 1-2 people. Ones like Zelda or Metroid should be fine.
true dat. nothing's worse than sharing a controller with one of those friends who decide to eat some greasy food the same time as they're playing a game.
The wait is freaking killing me!!
I'm soooo hyped for the wiiu! i can feel it will be a great system for us core gamers!
You are not the only one RMC. I can not wait for this system and what it will bring to the industry. I can not wait for the other Next Gen systems as well!
I played with with RMC at the Wii U event and he caught me 10 seconds before I could win on the Pad and in the next round I caught him! So you know what that means post November 18th...REMATCH!!!!!!!
Sounds like fun, but my biggest issue is the lack of any online play. For this I'll be skipping the WiiU launch. We shall see when Nintendo actually figures this out.
that's the problem with the greatest local multiplayer , they are just not that fun alone
I must admit that I do think NintendoLand is coming together very nicely indeed.
@jesse himself
I remember when I used to do that.
But I also clean my controllers sometimes, and I wound up stopping that anyway. I never did that with other people's controllers though. I usually used my own anyway.
I remember freaking out at my mom when she had chocolate on her finger and touched one of my controllers.
@Lyude77
Yeah, there are 6 Single player games, which is fine, and 3 games that have single player options and can be done with less players and still be fun theoretically.
Luigi's Mansion and Mario Chase are probably the ones least likely to be fun with 2 people only. Those and to a lesser extent, Animal Crossing, will be the only ones to get boring after a while of just two people taking turns.
Everybody's so pumped for Nintendo Land
You guys are talking about how you don't like if people eat greasy foods and use your controllers...I don't let other people use my controller period especially if I only have one good one, and in this case it's not going to be something I can have 4 of and keep one in good condition for myself. I'll gladly play all these Nintendo Land attractions with my family...but I will be the only one using the gamepad lol, until they get one of their own...probably for Christmas.
I think I'll be the only one to use the GamePad too, because I don't want other people's germs and stuff to get on my controller, especially if they didn't wash their hands first! Lol. And Nintendo probably won't sell GamePads this Xmas. By next Xmas, they will definitely have them for sell though.
i played this at the Wii U Experience in Los Angeles, and i it was great! I Loved playing as mario and using that glorious game pad
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