First Wii U game reviews are in

The Wii U launches in just two weeks in North America. With its release on the horizon, game reviews are starting to arrive.

GamesMaster handed out verdicts for two Wii U titles in its Christmas 2012 issue. New Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendo Land were both rated in the issue.

Details from each review can be found below (along with scores), courtesy of Nintendo Everything reader joclo.

Nintendo Land

- “…Luigi’s Haunted Mansion, Animal Crossing Sweet Day and Mario Chase offer up some of the most innovative, raucous and party-fueling fun we’ve ever had with a console”
- Plaza is filled with all things Nintendo
- There’s menu music for each attraction that bleeps out in NES chimes
- Monita, the floating computer, guides you around the park’s features
- Spend winnings on pachinko-esque coin game
- Win a jukebox, day/night cycle button, and more
- Miis from your console and other consoles through the Internet
- Attraction mode: set up a Nintendo Land party; choose a time limit and player count and then head to a points-based tournament of mini-games
- Multiplayer games are fun, but GamesMaster says the single-player ones are sometimes forgettable
- A few games highlight “some seemingly inherent problems”
- Ex: Takamaru’s Ninja Challenge – “constant screen misalignment”
- GamesMaster says GamePad/TV crossover usually works best when done in tandem
- “As a discerning gamer, you may not find all that Nintendo Land has to offer to your liking, but should you fork out for a Wii U, you owe it to your family, to your friends and to everyone else you know, to bag a copy of this to go with it.”
- Graphics: 90%
- Gameplay: 86%
- Accessibility: 95%
- Lifespan: 82%
- Innovation: 92%
- Overall: 86%
- “An essential purchase for party lovers that whets the Nintendo appetite. Bring friends.”

New Super Mario Bros. U

- May look the same, but there are some “incredible tweaks”
- GamesMaster feels it’s easier than NSMB Wii
- Took under seven hours to complete
- More to the game outside of the main campaign
- Most of the innovation is saved for the final levels
- “Without wishing to spoil anything, we were surprised, excited, and twinkly-eyed during an excellent finale. It’s almost as if Nintendo suddenly realised that they were in fact working with a Wii U, with a game-changing GamePad and everything.”
- Hopes Nintendo will “build on this solid, if not mind-blowing, foundation.”
- Graphics: 82%
- Gameplay: 85%
- Accessibility: 90%
- Lifespan: 80%
- Innovation: 75%
- Overall: 82%
- “A great excuse for families to gather round the TV, and an enticing glimpse of Mario’s HD future.”