Hands

Finally after weeks speculating on what was then-called Project Cafe, Nintendo's latest offering is a console-meets-tablet named Wii U. And while most of the Internet was abuzz with questions of what the thing actually did, and what the console actually looked like, I was given the chance to queue for twenty minutes and test its line-up of mini-games and tech demos.

Nintendo's stocks may have dropped 10 per cent since the Wii U's unveiling but its booth babes were still more than happy to teach me all the arcane knowledge they had accumulated in Ninty's console-mines. Its sparse group of demos have been designed to show off the console's graphical and gameplay potential – complete with HD resolution which, for games rubes, roughly translating as "something considerably more impressive than anything the Wii ever could produce."

The first in its line-up is Chase Mii, a five-player - four-against-one - game of what's essentially cat and mouse. The Wii U's multiplayer endeavours only allow for one player to use the Wii U tablet while the rest are left to use to classic Wii Remotes, working together to find the tablet-user on the map.

The group of four are given a 15-second countdown as the fifth player runs ahead, then an additional two minutes to track down the fleeing fifth in a basic maze-style map via four-way split-screen on the television and a metre-counter at the edge of each screen to give you an idea of how far away you are from the escapee at all times. The idea, then, is to work together because your view of the map is limited to your personal chunk of the screen.

The tablet-user on the other hand is given a broader view. The tablet is split into two screens - one being a top-down display map that shows the position of all characters, the other is a third-person view of your Mii.

Battle Mii follows in turn, using the Wii Miis in a Metroid-like three-player deathmatch. It's a similar set up to the previous Chase demo, splitting apart Wii Remote and tablet users: Two Nunchucs and Wii remotes are used to control the game's Samus-alikes on a split-screen TV display, while the third is left to pilot a ship above using the Wii U tablet.

Like Chase, the game is designed to show how capable the tablet is at offering different gameplay elements to the traditional Wii controller experience. The ship's controls involve strafing and steering via the Wii U's C-sticks, while aiming your weapons using the gyroscope - a lot to manage simultaneously but surprisingly effective, with a motion interface that feels more precise than the Wii Remote.