More Wii U Rumors: Darksiders 2 is, Apparently, On The Same Graphical Levels As HD Consoles

We know we’ll at least be getting Wii U games that match the performance of current-gen consoles.

How many comments have we had on the Wii U’s performance? Too many, but here’s another

E3 2012 is just two weeks away, so the rumors of how underpowered or overpowered the Wii U is will probably go away as Nintendo could be the company to show off the most games. Regarding one game in development for the console – Darksiders 2 – an anonymous dev has claimed the game is (at least) on the same graphical level as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Darksiders 2 Associate Producer – Jay Fitzloff – said to Eurogamer the game will be at least the same as current consoles, but didn’t confirm where the console would offer better performance. I’d be surprised if it didn’t, even by a little bit.

Developer Vigil said last year the console has lots of horsepower, though that was shortly after the console’s reveal in June and at the time more than a year off release. Even with that early prototype, the only reason Nintendo would reduce performance is if they want to maintain relatively low costs to appeal to its existing install base.

Controller’s innovations

Darksiders 2 Game Director Marvin Donald said then adjustments would be made if the console turned out to be more powerful than expected. We’ll have to see at Nintendo’s conference on June 5 if that transpired.

Fitzloff revealed the Wii U controller is forcing the studio think atypically, and wants a cool control system that feels right. Regarding the Wii U tablet, which allows games to be played on the controller’s screen, Fitzloff said it’s a five-minute download process that sounded surprisingly easy.

He said Darksiders 2 puts the inventory and map on the screen, something the Legend of Zelda series – which it draws inspiration from – could learn from. The advantage is you’re not pausing the game to perform one task, and can do multiple things at once. Games that promote multitasking are actually the most fun, I find. I get Legend of Zelda games are designed to be long, epic, stories but sometimes the mechanics let series down. Switching items in Ocarina of Time was cumbersome.