I have to admit – I was a bit skeptical about the Wii U dual screen play. It seemed a touch gimmicky, but at the same time I was intrigued. In the early demos it seemed like it had some promise, but I wanted to see it hands on to really make up my mind.
Well, after playing Mario Chase with my kids for a while I have to say… I think the Dual Screen play is AWESOME. It is more than just tablet play. You have to have the TV element to really make it work and the TV element allows a 3rd person to be a spectator. If it were two tablets then it is a two person private experience. The dual screen setup where one screen is a full size TV allows others to participate passively. That is a powerful ability.
I’m looking forward to seeing more of these dual screen “asymmetrical visibilty” games coming out. I can see huge benefits for sports games where more detail can be provided in the private screens, but the primary screen still allows your friends to watch the game unfold. Allowing spectators is a major difference from multi-player tablet games and I look forward to seeing that dynamic explored in the next generation of consoles.
As you can see from the video, my kids are having a blast playing the game. They are swapping controllers back and forth playing what they call “hide and tackle” and they are loving it.
