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While we still have a ways to go before the Wii U hits the market, many companies are already throwing their support behind the new console. With Nintendo collaborating more with third parties, as well as designing a console that better fulfills their needs, we may see some of the largest third-party support for a Nintendo console in years.

While a number of these titles are currently planned ports of games that are going to be released for other systems before the console is actually out, developers are working to make sure that the Wii U versions provide an experience unique to what the PS3 and Xbox 360 can provide. What titles should gamers be particularly keeping an eye on? Here's a quick rundown of some of those titles:

1. Assassin's Creed III

With the predicted conclusion of Desmond Miles' story coming at the end of this year (around the same time the alleged end of the world is supposed to occur), one point of interest lies in how the Wii U version will control compared to the other versions. 

Details are not fully out yet, but we do know that Ubisoft is planning on using the Wii U controller for various things in Assassin's Creed III. The tablet, for example, will serve as the Animus, and it'll store information such as character bios and location descriptions. Meanwhile, the touchscreen is planned to be used for easy weapon selection, as well as map navigation. Other features are planned to be implemented as well, but they have yet to be announced.

2. Darksiders II

While Death is scheduled to wreck havoc this summer on the PS3 and Xbox 360, Darksiders II will also serve as a launch title for the Wii U. The core game itself is expected to be largely the same across all platforms. However, the Wii U version will add some unique features utilizing the controller. So far there has been word of being able to switch weapons by simply tapping the icons directly, rather than going through a menu to equip them, but expect other features to be revealed in the near future.

3. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Online

Although the planned free-to-play FPS title is currently set to come to PC this summer, the Wii U will also be getting its own version of this entry in the Tom Clancy series. While this could mean good things for Nintendo's plans to improve their online services, it's also possible that the controller layout may factor in how you play the game as well. 

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Online is also planned to be a launch title for the platform, the second of such from Ubisoft, though items such as how microtransations and the packaging of the game itself will be handled are likely the bigger topics of discussion in regards to which version players should look into.

4. Tekken

Being the first fighting game planned to be released on the new platform, it will be interesting to see how the King of the Iron Fist tournament takes to the new environment. Unfortunately, we still don't know what this Tekken title is going to be like exactly. What we do know from last year's E3 is that there should be some functionality involving the tablet, such as drawing designs that come up as tattoos on your characters. Namco plans to give the full details at this year's E3 convention, so you'll have to wait until then for the full scoop.

5. Killer Freaks From Outer Space

No, this isn't the title of a low-budget science fiction movie from the 50s (though we don't blame you for thinking that), but rather an exclusive FPS title from Ubisoft for the Wii U. The title, along with the premise, a lone man fighting against an alien race of "freaks", and the humor that the game promises, definitely brings the cheesiness factor of such a film, though.

However, it's the way Killer Freaks From Outer Space will play that will really put the console's controls to the test. The single-player mode allows the player to use the tablet controller, requiring you to move around, using the controller screen to view your surroundings. This is the same use of gyroscopic controls that some of the 3DS games utilize. Multiplayer, meanwhile, has one player playing the game in a typical FPS fashion with a standard controller, while the other plays a strategy portion of the game with the tablet, plopping down freaks in strategic locations to overwhelm their opponent. It's a unique concept that provides a perfect example of just what the Wii U can accomplish, but will it be able to pull it off successfully?

Michael Revis

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