Wii U Launch Titles Trivia Quiz

Answer: Nintendo Land

Developed by Nintendo's in-house game creators (their EAD), "Nintendo Land" was essentially the "Wii Sports" of the Wii U, enabling the player to test the first capabilities of the console's tablet controller early on. The game featured a number of unique mini-games, some of which featured familiar worlds and concepts to the Nintendo canon (eg. "Pikmin", "The Legend of Zelda", "Luigi's Mansion", etc.) while others were more traditional games.

The game was one of the top-sellers in the early days of the console partly because, like with "Wii Sports", it came as part of a bundle with the Wii U itself.

Answer: Darksiders II

One of the last games created by Vigil before the bankruptcy of its parent company, THQ, "Darksiders II" was a best-seller during its first month of release. Following up on the popular first game in the franchise, the player assumed the role of Death.

As one of the Four Horsemen your goal was to hack-and-slash your way through dungeons and objectives at your will to inevitably battle the Nephilim. The game was one of many high-profile third-party releases at the start of the system's life. Only a small handful of THQ games ended up on the console before the company dissolved.

Answer: Assassin's Creed III

Released on all consoles at the time (including Xbox 360 and PS3), "Assassin's Creed III" was the first in the series on a Nintendo home console ("Altair's Chronicles" appeared on the DS). Set in Colonial/Post-Colonial America, this iteration put Desmond Miles into the mind of Connor, an ancestor in his bloodline who, once again, would proved to be an effective assassin.

This sequel took the player out of the cityscapes seen in the previous two games and into the wilderness and forts of the early States.

The game was followed up by "Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag", a pirate-themed adventure, in 2013.

Answer: Mass Effect 3

"Mass Effect 3: Special Edition" was another surprise addition to the console since earlier entries into this popular, story-driven sci-fi series were reserved for the Xbox 360 and PS3. When the Wii U launched its system capabilities allowed for virtually identical graphics and enhanced gameplay with the Wii U tablet. Winner of 'Game of the Year' from several media outlets, "Mass Effect 3" was initially criticized by players for its ending, so much so that the creators at Bioware released additional DLC to complete the story more to the fans' liking. Bioware, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts, did not release any other launch titles for the Wii U despite owning the "Dragon Age" franchise.

Answer: Scribblenauts Unlimited

In "Scribblenauts Unlimited", like in the previous games in the series, all the player needed to do was think of something that could help them achieve an objective. The tricky part is, pretty much anything is at your disposal, and when your options become unlimited, it can be fairly difficult to think of anything at all.

While the original games in the series were simply little missions in and of themselves, "Scribblenauts Unlimited" allowed players to travel around a relatively open world completing tasks, mainly due to the capabilities of the console. Due to the success of the series, 5th Cell greenlit a new version of the game a year later involving DC Comics.

Answer: Black Ops 2

Yet another in the annual "Call of Duty" mega-franchise, "Black Ops 2" gave players more online play and zombies to last the year. The ninth major release in the series, it followed up on the first "Black Ops" game set nearly twenty years earlier (and released in 2010, also on the Wii). Surprisingly, the Wii version ended up with scores topping those on the other consoles. To break up the secondary franchises a bit, Activision announced a new spin-off series beginning in 2013, "Call of Duty: Ghosts", developed by the other "Call of Duty" mainstay, Infinity Ward.

Answer: Batman

Although the original version of the game was released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2011, an 'Armored Edition' made its way to the Wii U one year later, becoming the first in the "Arkham" series to appear on a Nintendo console. Surprisingly, while the game attracted modest reviews, it was criticized for overuse of the new controller, actually decreasing the difficulty level with new features.

In "Arkham City", Batman had to deal with criminals from the nearby asylum as they wreaked havoc beyond the Arkham Island confines.

Another sequel, "Batman: Arkham Origins", was announced for the following year.

Answer: ZombiU

"ZombiU" was one of the more highly-anticipated titles to launch with the Wii. An exclusive, original title (though technically it was a spiritual sequel to Ubisoft's "Zombi" for the NES), it pitted the player character against the undead in a post-apocalyptic London. Unsurprisingly, the Wii U gamepad is necessary for much of the survival aspect of the game, and it will take all of one's wits to make it out without getting bitten by the zombies (and becoming one of their horde). Should you die in this fashion, later characters can find your zombified body in the game. Of course. The developers at Ubisoft Montpellier also created the "Rayman" series and "Beyond Good & Evil".

Answer: Just Dance 4

"Just Dance 4", like the other games in the ever-popular "Just Dance" series, allowed players to get into the groove by dancing around in front of their TVs with the Wii Remote strapped to their wrist. Although the Wii U version was released a month later than on other consoles, it ended up featuring the same hits of 2012 including PSY's "Gangnam Style" (as DLC), "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen, and Maroon 5's "Moves like Jagger" (amongst other songs).

In 2013, Ubisoft did away with the sequential titles, instead naming their games after the upcoming year (2013's edition was deemed "Just Dance 2014").

Answer: New Super Mario Bros. U

Featuring the same popular side-scrolling stylings of classic "Mario" series games and allowing for several players to join in and drop out at any given time, "New Super Mario Bros. U" was a must-have for any Nintendo fan on launch day, particularly because as the follow-up to the massively-successful "New Super Mario Bros." for Wii it received stellar reviews; why tamper with a good thing? In 2013, for the 'Year of Luigi' celebration, Nintendo released "New Super Luigi U" as a companion game.