29.5.2015

Splatoon is a fast paced, colourful, and engaging take on the 3rd person shooter genre by Nintendo. It's also a game which is going to look and play very differently in a year from now, if the updates and additional modes already patched in are anything to go by. So if Nintendo are going to keep adding stuff to their game, this review's going to have to keep up.Its standard mode - and the one everyone will have to play until you're at least lvl 10 - is a 4 on 4 team deathmatch variant called Turf Wars. The added twist here, is that it's not the number of kills which determines the victor - but who spreads the most ink. This concept is largely the same even in Ranked Battles (unlocked after lvl 10),the only difference being that in order to win here, you'll have to colour and maintain control of a small central section of the map.The gamepad is put to good use, with optional motion controls for aiming and a map of the level on the gamepad screen. This is particularly critical to monitor, because it shows you the ink coverage of the level and where your team is (so you can jump to them by tapping on their names). Whilst the default control scheme does take some getting used to, I would recommend sticking with it, because once you've mastered looking left and right with the right analogue stick and aiming with the motion controls, you'll never look back. Additionally, you'll make use of the gamepad's screen for offline 1 on 1 matches, because the 2nd player gets the TV (and they'll also require a Wii U Pro Controller).In Splatoon, each player has an ink gun, and whilst these can be used as weapons against other players, (and some weapons are more specialised for this task than others) their most important use is in spreading your team's colour across the level's floor. This subtle shift is seismic, because it opens the game up for all-ages, skill levels and abilities. Whether you just want to paint the floor at the back of your base, or be in the thick of the action, holding the front-line against the enemy team, you'll be contributing to the winning goal and having fun too. Having good ink coverage has another benefit as well - it enables you to get around a lot quicker in your squid form. This is how you'll recharge your ink, and hide from your enemies/ get away/ spring surprise attacks.I don't want to go into too much detail about the weapons you'll be using, because they're a joy to behold and stumble upon, but you'll be painting with everything from paint rollers and what appear to be water guns to heavy machine gun style weapons, and longer range, sniper rifle variants. The invention stretches to grenade type weapons too, with certain classes being able to throw out protective paint walls, best for protecting team mates from enemy ink (and even more effective in Ranked Mode for dominating narrow portions of the map), or even sprinklers, which are good for controlling certain areas. Paint enough, and you'll also get a special to use, which can constitute a protective shield for a short time (which handily extends to nearby team mates), or perhaps the kraken, which is a personal favorite of mine, because turning into a giant squid and being able to deal a spinning death attack on an unsuspecting victim, will never get old (all while spreading ink too!).There's a great variety and nuance to all the weapons and loadouts. To begin with, it's easy to get stuck with either roller or splattershot loadouts, because these weapons are the easiest to use right off the bat as they do a lot of damage and have great ink distribution. But in time, I've come to enjoy the qualities of some of the other weapons, because they allow you to dominate in other ways. Sacrificing some ink distribution for more range, has me climbing up high more often, and penning people back while my team sweeps up behind me. This is why the temporary lack of levels and modes is even less of a problem, because each level is so well designed, and each loadout so well balanced, that each game is totally different. It's early days of course, but so far, not one weapon, or one tactic is dominating, and that's incredibly impressive considering the amount of items, sub-weapons and specials there are in this game already.This is especially true in the Ranked Battle mode, where you'll find a lot more variety in loadouts and tactics. A small shift in the rules, and suddenly sub weapons or even main weapons that are not overly effective in Turf Wars are given a new lease of life. Team work is even more important, as your goal is to capture that central spot and to keep it under your control for as long as it takes for your counter to tick down. A smart team, with good awareness and knowledge of the beautifully De Blob-esque maps and a mixture of loadouts with different specials are a real advantage here, as you seek to pen your enemies in and deny them as far past the capture point as possible. You've got snipers playing critical roles now, holding down key elevated positions; rollers setting up spawn points in tactically astute areas and re-inking the capture point if icky enemy ink spoils its perfection; splattershot players, deep in enemy territory, disturbing their paths back to the capture point, slowing their advances, and amplifying our gains. This is almost a totally different mode; a difficult and skilled one, made for the battle hungry and quick-witted. The stakes are high too: win and you gain significantly more money and experience than in Turf Wars; lose, and you get nothing. If Turf Wars is family friendly entertainment, this is Splatoon at its most feral, savage, and unapologetically brutal best. It's a lovely change of pace - like moving from 150cc to 200cc in Mario Kart - something that you're forced to adapt to if you want to succeed, and where you'll get the most satisfaction, when you do!To be truly malevolent and dominant in this game though, you'll need to pay attention to what you're wearing too - because this'll grant you stat boosts like slower ink consumption on your sub weapons, or more damage, making you even more dangerous. As you spread your ink and win games you increase your level and gain money which grants you access to more weapons, loadouts and clothes, but your clothing upgrades independently too. With most clothes this will only happen once or perhaps twice, so you'll be randomly allocated 2 or 3 perks with them, but for the best gear you can get a total of 4 per item. Herein lies a little Animal Crossing, because you have stores which update their stocks daily, which is a good way to tempt you back to see if there's any cool stuff to buy (and there are a lot of very cool items of clothing in this game). Otherwise, if you see something on a character you like the look of while you're walking around your hub world, (as there are loads of other online players' characters hanging about too, complete with their latest miiverse comments nicely integrated in a speech bubble as you walk by) there's a spiky haired guy you can talk to, who will happily order it in for you.I just want to take a moment here and talk about this game's great sense of style and design, something akin to Jet Set Radio, or No More Heroes, and the character designs for both the male and female (and squid) characters deserve some recognition too. They're up there with some of Nintendo's best creations in my opinion (and if you don't believe me, there's already a ton of fan art you can check out for this game). This same attention to detail, polish and hand-craftsmanship extends to the level design, music and enemy design which as you'd expect from Nintendo, is fantastic, and so different from what you would perhaps expect from them.But what of the single player campaign? Well it's a pretty decent offering. There is a story to it, and there are just under 30 levels which are essentially about getting from A to B and completing the level by killing everything, and navigating the environments with your ink gun. You also unlock boss battles which I found particularly enjoyable. Again, there are a lot of cool ideas contained within these levels (as well as some really great music - the music in this game is really good - have I said that before?), and even some that would have been interesting to see implemented in multiplayer. It also serves as a good tutorial for the online experience, with certain enemies forcing you to make use of tactics you'll implement there, like hiding in the ink and popping out to dispatch your foes, or spraying walls so you can swim up them to rain squid ink down from higher ground.A surprising amount to talk about then for a package which is still in its infancy. But it speaks volumes of a game's entertainment value, when you've spent three hours playing the same maps, with the same objective and you don't realise it. What is here, even in its relatively raw state, is a completely new and fresh concept, which manages to breathe new life into the shoot'em up genre. Shooting ink at stuff is satisfying, and fun, and those 3 minute matches online are always bonkers, with frequent swings of colour domination from one team to another happening all the time. And with Nintendo delivering with their dlc promises in other games - and already delivering the devilish ranked mode, a new gun, and a new level in this one (all for free) - I have high hopes that once this package has bolstered itself up a bit, with a few more modes and levels, and some tweaks to matchmaking, it'll be a classic which people will still be playing years from now.So if you're looking for a good time, or something a little bit different - something, really, this genre has needed for a while if you ask me, then give Splatoon a go. There is a lot of hidden depth and challenging gameplay here as well as silly over the top action. Moreover, all ages and skill levels are welcome, with a level of accessiblity, flexibility and style unique in the 3rd person shooter space.Now, that's enough talk (although there'll be plenty more to talk about in the future for this title, I'm sure). Let's get inking!

22.8.2015

Every so often Nintendo pull off a feat of sheer brilliance that, it seems, only they are capable of. So, you're Nintendo. You're known for operating in the more family-friendly corner of the market. But there's huge audiences out there in the online shooter genre. How do you tap it?Why, you reduce the players to cartoon squid-humanoids, and you don't really "die" - you just get splatted with paint. And besides, being splatted is only a secondary objective of the game; the main one (to which splatting opponents is complimentary) is colouring the turf with your team's ink. Pure genius.The shift in focus from 'killing' to covering turf in ink is complimented by a major mechanic the game introduces,in that you can swim through your own team's ink but not your opponent's. Since swimming is (much) faster than running, and confers on you the benefit of camouflage, it's generally preferable to running around overtly and inviting your opponents to splat you (and it doesn't make many hits for that to happen, especially with the more powerful weapons.) This means it's a question of not only randomly spraying ink around, but carving out paths allowing you to swim ahead to get to strategic positions. Getting caught in enemy ink not only causes you damage, but also makes it next to impossible to make a getaway under fire, so staying in your own ink is vital.So a deep game, then, to be sure. And it's made deeper by the myriad items for sale that can enhance and affect how you approach a game. These come in the form of not only weapons but also headwear, shirts/tops/jackets and footwear. Some up the damage of your main weapon, others increase the rate at which you replenish ink, and so on. And as much as anything, they make your inkling (character) look, variously, very cool or lamely idoitic.What you're buying here is not just a game but a living, evolving world. Nintendo, with the love they are associate with when it comes to first-party IP, update this game A LOT. New maps, guns, clothing, etc, even game modes from time to time.What's not to like? Well, it's not perfect, but, as I say, it's evolving, so it's only going to get better. Nevertheless, there are a few annoyances.- The single player campaign (yes, there is one) is by some distance the poor relation of the online play. The levels and enemies are fine, but it's somewhat short-lived and, worst of all, it's fought in its entirety with just one weapon (compared to a wide choice of weapons in online play.)- Stages are randomly chosen from a pool of just two, which are rotated every 12 (?) hours. This means in a given session you're never going to play more than two stages, and very often you'll play the same stage for many battles in a row. Fortunately, though, with one or two exceptions, the stages are richly and imaginatively designed, and don't get dull quickly by any means.- There's limited defense tactics you can employ. Should you find yourself ambushed or caught in enemy ink, it's basically curtains.- Some of the sub and special weapons (each game you have a main weapon, a sub weapon, e.g. bombs, and a special, which becomes active when you cover enough turf) are distinctly underwhelming. Echolocator, for example, allows you and your teammates to see on the map (gamepad) where enemy players are. This, in my experience, is of little if any use. The game is too frantic most of the time to be glancing down at the gamepad. Compare that to Ink Strike - essentially a rain of ink from on high, anywhere you choose on the map - and it's a little, well, meh.- I could be wrong here, but it seems that, in ranked matches, there's no turf war - the game I describe above. Instead the rules shift to controlling checkpoints. Why aren't all game modes available in ranked and unranked matches?Overall, though, the game is a triumph. Most of all, it's damn good fun. Its cartoony appearance and marketing belie its depth, and this is one game that will take a long time to master. Thoroughly recommended.

21.11.2015

I got this for my son having been admittedly unconvinced by the demo.... how wrong I was.The online play is great, with interesting maps, hilarious weapons and ink and audio effects that make the game pop!Oh and the music is perfect throughout.3rd person games are not a personal favourite (as I am hopeless at targeting even with the wii u controller), but the brush, rollers and buckets etc keep me playing for hours.My only gripe with this title is the 1 v 1.. fps drops significantly during play and the mode seems a little tagged on tbh.. do not let this stop you buying if only for the online ranked battle modes... Nothing is more satisfying than bursting the rainmaker out of it's bubble in a frenzied few seconds then trying to ship it to the oppositions end zone..( like a "deliver" rather than capture the flag if you will).Ride the tower equally brilliant when screaming at the screen for your team to keep the ball rolling...Splatoon delivers literally bucket loads of fun whilst allowing younger players to experience shooter tactics without the blood and guts that seemingly dominate the charts these days.In a nut shell a refreshing classic that will only improve with new content or future iterations...Bravo Nintendo.EDITYep. 18 months on and am still playing little else on any system/device... I have stuck with my brush and ink strike combo for ranked battles. note: I am playing with non motion controller setup as this greatly assists my CQC brush stoke delivery.The many subtle design decisions and features that make this such a crafted game continue to emerge:the lack of red paint ( that would clearly have looked like blood)impish characters combining with the music for a Dennis the Menace style mood of mischieviousnessthe superbly designed maps that often offer a choice of between a high precarious road to the action or low slow and steadyThe option to drop to your mates point on respawn ( or laid beacon) is genius as it saves plodding the same route back to the action and varies the play. This airborne ability encourages some gutsy drop ins and can a be strong game changer if you are losing badly and prepared to show a little guile. There is no better feeling grabbing the extra yardage required in extra time to steal Victory and get the "Nia nia na NA!"The game pad touch screen is great for millisecond battle assessment prior to respawn and feeds the frenetic nature.Others reviewers have likened the fun to quake3 arena and as a huge fan back in the day would agree as the maps often also offer great points for a leaping vertical ambush and combat with a brush reminds me of the whole gauntlet "humiliation!"The servers are only now beginning to suffer regular game interruption ( presumably from sore losers) - this can make rank maintenance frustrating as all players seem to be punished .In future I would love to see:Glow in the dark ink if possible on reduced lighting stages ( though I suspect metallic is more likely given the game seems to take small Mario sunshine/fludd influence).More modes as fun as rainmaker/tower control ( though I realise splat zones and turf war modes teach a great deal about basics of the game)A medal system: like SSB Melee to reward players for playing stylesPossibly even loop the loop squid swimming?Thanks again Nintendo for an amazingly addictive 18 months of gaming, I look forward eagerly to Splatoon 2VinnyVanGo

5.6.2015

Splatoon is a new competitive online shooter from Nintendo, although it's nothing like any other shooter out there. You control characters called Inklings, who shoot ink to cover a play arena in games of turf wars while in teams of four. It combines elements of pseudo 3D platforming, fast traversal and subtle teamwork to create what is one of the most refreshing competitive online experiences in years and frankly, deserves to be a big hit.To begin with, Splatoon's controls are sublime. You control your inklings with a combination of the stick and gyro which allows large, quick movements and fine aim adjusting simultaneously. Many people will still likely probably shun the motion controls,but my advice would be to stick with them if you can, they're so fluid and immediate it adds the game whole new dimension. You shoot ink with the right trigger and turn into a squid with the left. While swimming through your own ink in squid form you replenish ink and travel at speed while remaining hidden, so effectively you can hide, dash and reload with the same button. This intuitive, streamlined control system is the foundation of Splatoon's simple, high octane and frankly bonkers gameplay and I've found myself hopelessly addicted to it in ways that a competitive game hasn't done in a very long time.Matches in Turf wars only last 3 minutes, but they are a thrilling 3 minutes where the tide can sway back and forth numerous times as you try to cover as much ground as possible while also attempting to avoid being splatted by, and attempting to splat, the other team. I think what makes Splatoon so inviting and fun is that anyone can feel satisfaction in helping their teams' progress, regardless of skill level. If you're inking, you're contributing. Using the gamepad map, you can see the position of your teammates and immediately jump to their location with a tap of the touch screen. Squid jumping around the map is key to getting the best coverage and the more confident you become the more tactical the game reveals itself to be. I've learned a huge amount in the last week and the game keeps getting better.At the time of writing, Splatoon has 2 competitive modes with 5 maps and a short single player mode which is a lot of fun and is ideal for becoming more accustomed with the controls. If that seems slight, thankfully new content (maps, weapons, modes) are planned to be unlocked over the coming weeks (free of charge).If you are looking for a fresh, energetic and most of all riotously fun online game then Splatoon is an absolute must. It's got a great sense of 90's throwback style and a strange, almost scrappy renegade feel which is unusual for Nintendo and consequently all the more laudable. Most importantly, it has that crucial 'one more go' factor that all competitive games need and frankly I don't think I've enjoyed a shooter this much since playing Goldeneye on the N64.

29.5.2015

So I got it a day earlier and by now I've tried what it's got to offer, the Story Mode (27 chapters), Online Mode (1 Mode & 5 Maps) and Offline Multiplayer (5 Maps, any weapon and use the Wii U Pro Controller or Wii Classic Controller for Player 2). Then there's the extra tidbits such as the stores which you visit to purchase clothing, weapons, trainers and so on.As far as graphics go the game looks pretty good, the gameplay runs smooth without any framerate issues unless we'd be talking about the Offline Multiplayer now there I encountered that the framerate felt rather slow and sluggish, though for most people I assume they might not notice it anyway.The Online Mode for now consists of "Regular Battle" with Turf War rules and 5 maps so far,there is however "Ranked Battle" but that's unavailable until you reach level 10. Well, there's also "Regular Battle" with friends so that's something else too.Now to the Story Mode (you get to learn about Splatoon obviously), I've got to say that I found it to be pretty tiresome and dull plus the boss in the end of each "episode" is just like in the Super Mario platforming games, you just hit 'em three times and he's beaten. It's not a very fun or challenging mode to play, sadly. I shouldn't forget that there are also the amiibo figures which you can use for extra missions and gear but I didn't get any because I just didn't like the design of them (as such I got the game for £22.95 from TGC).Voiceovers and voice-chat; The game has really A LOT of dialogue boxes which can become rather annoying because you can't skip them and if they'd actually spoke in English (or any real language) it'd have been far more tolerable 'cause as it stands right now I just press A until that gets of the screen. To voicechat now, I must say that while playing online can be moderately fun it also tends to feel lifeless because it just doesn't have any communication at all and pressing the D-PAD will get you something like "Nice".. not really helpful either for a team-based game.Lastly, there's the music while I've to say that I like the tune that plays on the final sixty seconds of each online match the rest just feel uninspired, boring and mediocre. This really isn't what I expected because when I play Nintendo games I expect the soundtrack to be fantastic.P.S.: Splatoon is worth at max £25 but it really doesn't have a lot of replay value on the online mode or offline, although you can grind to level 20 to have access to every weapon in the game if that's what you'd want. I'm going to keep playing it online because it can be fun if only it didn't keep getting stuck (2 of 5 maps change every 4 hours according to what I read so it makes sense) on the same map or so (it has 5 maps so I'd want to at least have some variety).

10.10.2016

When I got my Wii U in December 2015, Splatoon was one of the first games I ordered: rave reviews from critics and gamers alike, gaming awards galore…it sounded like a must-have for a console that didn’t have a huge library of games.Unfortunately, whenever I went to play online, I got disconnected. My BT wireless wasn’t very good, but I wasn’t forking out £20 for a Wii U LAN adapter when I’d just spent nearly £500 on the console, accessories and games. Six weeks of ‘Connection Unstable’ / ‘Unable to connect’ messages later, I gave up and concentrated on playing through the mission modes. The mission mode was enjoyable – the final boss took me a good few attempts,

27.9.2016

A game marketed at children that has had a 38 year old male hooked for the last few months.The game arrived quicker than expected and well packaged, no complaints thereEasy to load and instructions contained within the software itself, but the in game tutorial that loads immediately upon first booting provides all the information required to get splatting.The game itself is a simple premise, you’re a little chap that turns into a squid on demand and has an arsenal of weapons to choose from (some require unlocking through progress) that are all glorified paint cannons.Multi Player is where the game is marketed and the bulk of its content can be found.Multiple play modes,

14.8.2015

I didnt have much interest in this game until it released- it never looked like the kind of thing I would really get into. After watching some gameplay I was convinced. The battles are suitably hectic and action packed.The main game is based on the online turf wars, you and your team vs a rival team, competing to cover the most ground in your coloured ink.Its a simple idea and it works because it is so satisfying- the weapons offer quite a bit of variety to the way you play and its just a lot of fun to make a huge mess. You can change to squid form by holding the shoulder button which lets you sink into the ink and gives you the freedom to swim at higher speed freely through your team's ink,

29.5.2015

The gaming scene is dominated by gritty, realistic and gory shooters. Splatoon is Nintendo's attempt at diving into this market whilst going at it in their own unique way. And, for the most part, it is wildly successful. Splatoon turns the shooter genre on its head by making it friendly, fun, quick and non-violent. But despite its kiddy demeanor, a great deal of strategy and skill can be uncovered by those willing to invest their time.The focus isn't on killing people in Splatoon. Rather, your objective is to cover as much of the map in your teams ink within a 3 minute timeframe. You can kill enemy team-members if you so wish, but your are not scored for doing so.

5.7.2015

Crazy Nintendo - they have never let me down. Every console they make brings new surprises and ideas, a world apart from their grown up competion at Sony and Microsoft. At this point, it seems that Ninty has pulled out of the arms race of more polygons/RAM/frames-per-second etc etc altogether. They are forging their own way forward with one eye on the past (e.g. all Wii games and controllers work with the Wii U, and their is still a focus on local multiplayer).However, Miyamoto isn't steering the company blindfolded - he is clearly aware of the trends of the past and future, and Splatoon is his company's response - an online multiplayer shooter as addictive as CoD,

21.7.2015

An ink-credible game (sorry, overused pun), one that has had my attention for over 100+ hours so far, mainly in the multiplayer mode.Single Player is short and sweet, but has enough interesting ideas and fun Bosses to see you you through a good 4-6 hours campaign (depending on your reflexes and if you want to pick up all the items etc). The main focus is to use your weapon filled with ink to combat foes and get to the finish line (no spoilers for the storyline here!) Single Player can be extended through the use of the Amiibos which give you extra challenges like using a different weapon, a timed challenge or limited ink with which to complete a previously played level from the main single player campaign.

1.6.2015

Splatoon is fun. Really fun. It's also accessible and deep, attributes which often appear to clash. Via brilliant design Splatoon manages to always feel simple whilst also at any given moment having many arguably "right" things for you and your team to be trying to do in order to win. This applies to strategy, player interactions and movement, and it's these genuine choices that create true depth (complexity != depth).I could go on and on about the weapons, the movement (which is a joy in its own right), the map design, how it feels to control, how it looks, how it sounds, the customisations, the general style, but all that needs to be said is that in my personal view they're all brilliant.Sure,

11.6.2015

I first saw this game advertised on TV, and I rarely find any interest in ads I see for games or anything, because they're all the same - deep, gravelly voice telling us that "this summer.....so-and-so rip-off, cliché game is coming out" but this one just showed a fun, bright, colourful game that looked fresh and new. I learned more about the game watching gameplay on YouTube, and it looked as good as the ad had displayed, and in the end, I bought it myself to try it.I was not disappointed! This game really is new, fun, fresh and original. It is very simple, and the controls and mechanics do not have a learning curve of any sort; the only thing that can take some getting used to is using the motion-control aiming,

29.5.2015

I wanted to have four player matches with my friends and family at home, like I can with Mario Kart 8, Mario Party 10, Wii U Party, Nintendo Land, Sonic Racing Transformed and Super Smash Bros, but unfortunately Splatoon only allows two player's offline play.The online matches are two teams of four people against eachother and I found it easy to find miiverse friends for a match. The selection of weapons and power ups is varied and they are great fun to use. I especially like using the big roller or sniper gun. I also love turning into a squid, for swimming up walls and surprise attacks. At the moment there are five different locations for turf wars available, which are brilliantly designed.

29.7.2015

I got this game 2 weeks ago and I have not put down my Wii U. My sister and I now fight over who gets to play and we continually argue about which weapon is better! This game is wonderfully colorful and the global co-op multiplayer is fantastic.I don't normally play first person shooter games but this is a wonderful game that anybody of any ability can play and enjoy. Not having voice control is not a problem either because you can communicate with a few calling commands by using the D-pad. Also as the matches only last 3 mins, voice control is really not necessary and you can sometimes get matched up with player across the globe so you wouldn't be able to understand them anyways. Also,

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