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It's been a long time since we've produced an import review - thankfully the dark days of console releases separated by months or even years are now a thing of the past - but Nintendo's new Wii U is out now in the USA, almost two weeks ahead of its European debut, and when the opportunity arose for us to acquire a unit ahead of time along with a clutch of games, we jumped at the chance. With that in mind though, before we go any further we need to stress that this review is based entirely on US hardware, so there may well be differences compared to the console you'll be buying. We'll be sure to clue you in on those variations as soon as we get our hands on the UK model, but at the time of writing we've yet to receive one.So here we are with an American Wii U, bringing with it the legacy challenges of running "NTSC" equipment in the 50Hz territories - specifically ensuring that we don't blow it up by connecting up the 110v power supply into 220v "PAL" mains. A quick trip to Maplin to pick up a 300W step-down transformer was our chosen solution - overkill bearing in mind the power-efficiency of the console, but probably best for covering our bases if we find ourselves facing the same issue with the next-generation Xbox in 12 months' time. With the power supply situation resolved, we were ready to begin. The next generation of console gaming - or rather, Nintendo's vision of it - begins now.
First impressions on opening up the box? There's a fair amount of kit in here. Two slim cardboard boxes compromise the interior of the package, with the console and GamePad in one and accessories in the other.
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