Was finally able to watch it after multiple failed attempts. A very loaded story, it's difficult to condense 5 years into 11 minutes without losing some no doubt critical information about the project.
Speaking as a consumer, I will say one thing: I've always wanted an action game for Wii focusing on the use of unique weapons inspired by the capabilities of the wiimote, and Project H.A.M.M.E.R might have been able to fill this niche if multiple unique tools other than the hammer were incorporated into the design at an earlier stage. Giving the player the option to switch between different weapons at will, and upgrade those weapons' capabilities as they went along (similar to how it's done in some top down scrolling shooters) may have also gone a long way towards making the gameplay that much more interesting.
I remember playing Wii Sports Tennis challenges (especially the one where you have to hit tiles on a wall) and thinking "this could make for an interesting weapon for a scrolling shooter type game". Another time such a thought occurred to me was with Skyward Sword's whip, though that would have required motion plus.
It seems like there was quite a gap at Nintendo between the different approaches to software during the years of the Wii's conception and unveiling. Games like this and Disaster Day of Crisis, or n-space's games (If I remember correctly one was called Winter, and there was also another about ancient civilizations whose name I forget) taking on a more realistic aesthetic, vs. the more cartoony one that ultimately won out.
As a general guiding philosophy cartoon visuals probably made more sense, as relying too much on a realistic look could have lead players to expect a certain degree of accuracy which the controls would not have been able to deliver (not until motion plus at least). But that's not to say every game needed to have the exact same visual style using Miis, which is something I believe in hindsight made it more difficult for certain experiences to stand out, and even cheapened them in the eyes of many a consumer.
Funny thing is, had Wii U taken Wii's approach to motion controls and simply built on it, starting with the wiimote plus as the baseline method of input, and having much more CPU power available to interpret more complex motions, I think consumers would have been ready to accept deeper mechanics, and richer graphics could have done a lot to enhance this feeling of a "motion controls 2.0" experience. Games like Zelda Skyward Sword and Red Steel 2 could have been the start of an evolution based on more mature technology which Wii U could have continued. It might have even helped prove once and for all to certain people that this was more than just a gimmick.
Hopefully Nintendo is willing to give some of these ideas a second chance with NX.
Honestly, I wish Nintendo would get Platinum Games to revive the project. I feel like something like this would flourish under their direction.
Bingo. The cutting mechanic in MGS: Rising is something that could have been great fun on Wii U with a wiimote plus. It's essentially just a more sophisticated version of the cutting in Wii Sports Resort and Zelda Skyward Sword (and Zangeki no Reginleiv, for those who played it). It's the kind of thing that works well in an action game setting.
