The Wonderful 101 is an oddity in the Wii U's lineup, and that is in part what makes it -ahem- wonderful. It is a bit like Pikmin, if the Pikmin were all powerful humans that could morph into all kinds of shapes that attack enemies.

Bright, colourful and quirky, The Wonderful 101 is a fast-paced action game that sees the rag-tag bunch of heroes defeating bad guys and finding more heroes along the way.

Playing the demo is perhaps not the easiest introduction, as you are thrown into the middle of the action rather than introduced to it, although we imagine even from the start it's going to be all action. The GamePad's touch screen is used to recruit new people, by drawing a circle around them, and to unleash attacks by drawing specific symbols. You can use the right analogue stick if you wish, but ultimately it is good to see a game that really takes advantage of the GamePad's touch screen, rather than just using it as a menu system.

While the formations are used for puzzles from time to time, the focus is on defeating enemies. Each stage features a plethora of powerful foes that requires you to keep attacking them until you realise the best weapon to use and the best spot to attack. After completing a stage, you are ranked and the higher rank you get, the more you unlock.

The Wonderful 101 will offer five player multiplayer, allowing you to team up to take out the foes. Each person controls their own group, but of course you can band together. Considering how action-packed The Wonderful 101 is, playing with five people could result in some confusion about where everyone is, but it seems like a lot of fun regardless.

With its vibrant colours, bizarre characters and zany action it looks and feels like a 90's Saturday morning kids cartoon, albeit with a Japanese flair. The gameplay feels old school, in the sense that it just requires constant attacking and a bit of strategy (although there may be more depth in the final game). The game is just shy of two months away from launch and a lot of it still remains a mystery. It is hard to explain the game, and really requires you to try it out. Hopefully a demo will appear on the eShop before it launches in August.