[Review] Splatoon
Posted on 9 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Reviews, Videos | 9 Comments
Splatoon is officially launching in just a matter of minutes, so we’re giving this one final bump!
Finally we’ve come upon the day when Splatoon reviews are allowed to be posted. Here’s a 15 minute video with a whole lot of what I thought about the game; would you believe me if I said this was edited down from a thirty minute video? I could seriously make a 60 minute video about this game honestly. Maybe I will someday.
Our complete video review is below. Hit the break for the summary, recommendation, and rating.
A look at Splatoon’s neater details – Plushies are cute, connecting everything together
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Features, Videos, Wii U | 0 comments
Over the past couple of weeks, Austin has been playing the heck out of Splatoon. The game has a bunch of neat details, and he’s picked up on a few of them that fans might be interested in.
Our fourth and fifth videos (last ones!) explore a neat single-player touch, plus a look at how the world of Splatoon is connected together. Check them out below.
A look at Splatoon’s neater details – Paying attention to Miiverse
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Features, Videos, Wii U | 1 Comment
Over the past couple of weeks, Austin has been playing the heck out of Splatoon. The game has a bunch of neat details, and he’s picked up on a few of them that fans might be interested in.
Our third video takes a look at Splatoon’s interesting Miiverse usage. Give it a look below.
A look at Splatoon’s neater details – GamePad conveniences, committing to a world
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Features, Videos, Wii U | 9 Comments
Over the past couple of weeks, Austin has been playing the heck out of Splatoon. The game has a bunch of neat details, and he’s picked up on a few of them that fans might be interested in.
We’ll be featuring the neater things in Splatoon over the next few days. Austin highlights the first couple below.
Look for our review of Splatoon tomorrow!
[Just a Chat] Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon, new Art Academy, Nintendo World Championships, more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Just a Chat, Videos | 2 Comments
I’ve been sick and Austin isn’t around to edit audio, but Just a Chat must go on! In this week’s episode, Daan and I talk about the announcements of Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon and Art Academy: Atelier, plus the Nintendo World Championships, Nintendo’s hiring of “Bowser”, and the Splatoon Iwata Asks.
Stuff:
[Let’s Talk] What is your favorite Nintendo franchise?
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Let's Talk | 44 Comments
Let’s Talk #9: What is your favorite Nintendo franchise?
Nintendo has created a ton of franchises over the years. We’ve seen IPs like Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Kirby, Star Fox, Kid Icarus… just to name a few. There are so many series out there that it’s tough to choose a favorite. But that’s exactly what I’m asking of you this week!
This week’s Let’s Talk is very simple. I want to have a discussion about our favorite franchises. What’s your favorite? Why do you enjoy it so much? I’m curious about your absolute favorite series, but you can name a few runner-ups as well. Sound off in the comments! You’ll find a few thoughts from me and highlights from last week’s Let’s Talk down below.
Choosing a favorite Nintendo franchise is incredibly difficult since Nintendo has a bunch of well-known and great series to choose from. At the end of the day though, I’d probably have to go with Zelda. I’ve previously talked about how Ocarina of Time truly jump-started my interest in gaming, and my experience with it is a big reason why Nintendo Everything exists today!
There’s a lot to love in Zelda. The epic adventures. The variety of art styles. The different types of gameplay. For me, there’s very little that beats riding Epona across Hyrule.
I do want to mention that I have a ton of love for other Nintendo franchises. If I were to rank them, Zelda would be first, followed by Mario, and then Metroid. Mario… well, not much explanation is needed there! It’s an absolutely classic franchise that can resonate with just about anyone. I started with the Metroid series late – Metroid Fusion was my first experience with the franchise. But I never looked back, and have loved both the 2D and 3D entries.
Highlights from last week’s topic: Your thoughts on Splatoon
Exy
I had my worries in the past that they’re not doing as much as they should to promote it, but they should be credited for identifying their internet fanbase and getting to them where it counts. Tumblr in particular is big on the game’s aesthetic and characters, and they’re actually using their Vine account for the first time since 2013 solely to promote this game. Before last month, they had only two Vines, both half-heartedly promoting the Wii U, but now there’s a good amount of videos on it all dedicated to Splatoon. They’re really going all out on the internet front getting this game known. Pity about those American television commercials though…
timfletcher1983
I’ve read a lot of complaints about the game pad being necessary to play online. I have to admit, I was a little concerned too, given I use the Pro Controllers almost exclusively with the relevant games that support it. However, the gyro + analogue stick controls of the game pad were absolutely, surprisingly comfortable when playing for 1 hour during the Splatoon Global Testfire. I gave it a good go, then turned motion control off to see how I’d fare with the typical analogue stick controls, but I have to say I preferred the gyro + analogue combo; it seems far more accurate.
I wonder though how this might fare for longer periods of playing. No doubt, the game pad may get a little heavy over time, and I still had a lot of tweaking (and skill development) to feel like I had the hang of it 100%. Nonetheless, I was super pleasantly surprised – two hands on the game pad make for some seriously accurate and timely aiming – much more than those one handed Wii remote motion aiming days.
Ant M.
I for one am REALLY excited for this game after getting my hands on it. It’s a new spin on a genre that DESPERATELY needed one & a polished one at that. That game feels SO good! Everything about it feels fluid and works together to make you feel immersed in the gameplay from the controls down to the sound design.
Update: Winner – [Giveaway] Nihilumbra
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Giveaway, Wii U eShop | 50 Comments
Update: We have a winner! Congratulations to gabopr75. We’ll be sending your code shortly!
Our latest giveaway is Nihilumbra, a new Wii U eShop title that just came out this past week. To enter, simply leave a comment below telling us about your favorite moody game.
Please note that this giveaway is only open to those with North American Wii U systems. Also, we only have one code, so be sure to come up with the best response you have! We’ll announce a winner on Thursday.
[Just a Chat] Nintendo at E3 2015 – Nintendo World Championships, Digital Event, and more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Just a Chat, Videos | 53 Comments
No weekly Just a Chat, but you can catch up on the E3-specific discussion Austin and I held earlier this week. It’s probably a good thing we got that in on Wednesday since whatever I’ve come down with has taken a lot out of me. Being sick isn’t fun!
Nintendo shared some pretty big news about its E3 2015 plans today, so Brian and Austin talk about it all in this episode of Just a Chat. That includes the Nintendo World Championships and Digital Event. There’s also some discussion about what Nintendo may/may not show during its presentation and more!
Stuff:
[Let’s Talk] Your thoughts on Splatoon
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk | 14 Comments
Let’s Talk #8: Your thoughts on Splatoon
Splatoon’s release date is fast approaching. Actually, two weeks from today, the game will finally be out on store shelves. How exciting is that?!
Splatoon is a pretty big deal. It’s a new IP from Nintendo, and it’s something different from the Big N. Nintendo itself seems to be promoting it fairly heavy with various commercials in all regions, a dedicated Direct (though it’s true they do that for most games), and even a special demo.
Since we’re so close to Splatoon’s launch, I thought it could be nice to hold a discussion about the game. How do you feel about Splatoon? Has your opinion changed since the original reveal at E3? What’d you think of the Splatoon Global Testfire? Sound off in the comments below!
Just a few quick thoughts from me since I’ve been feeling sick the past couple of days!
I feel like this isn’t the popular opinion, but I’m actually looking forward to playing the single-player campaign more than the multiplayer modes. Don’t get me wrong: I’ll definitely be trying out the various multiplayer offerings. However, I’ve always been more of a lone gamer. That’s just the way I tend to enjoy games!
Everything we’ve heard about Splatoon’s single-player thus far sounds very interesting. I love hearing that it has a lot of variety, and some people have even compared it to Super Mario Galaxy in a way – which is certainly a good thing.
Obviously multiplayer is going to be what carries Splatoon forward. I managed to get in a few rounds last week, and I think what I played managed to sell me on those multiplayer aspects more. I just need more time with the game.
Highlights from last week’s topic: Do you care about amiibo?
Diortem
I care about amiibo! I’m sick of hearing people complain about them. They’re not DLC- they’re figurines. If you don’t want it for your shelf, DON’T BUY IT. I love the way a lot of them look and I think the in-game bonuses are fantastic and not even CLOSE to DLC. I have a nice collection of the ones I love the most and I have the Splatoon 3-pack pre-ordered.
By the way- just spent the hour playing the Splatoon demo- WOW! They hype is VERY real. That was amazingly fun.
Garrett Austin Boyle
I have 18 on my shelf with seven preordered. I think I kind of like them.
??
In a strange ironic twist, I have only one amiibo and no real motivation to complete a collection, despite being a completionist (in collections as well as games) to a debilitating point xD
I think several things turned me off from it, namely the modeled appearance versus the actual thing. Of course it was too much to actually assume every factory model one would appear in such a lovely way. The other thing was the one-file-at-a-time functionality makes it a little limiting…
Seeing other comments, I am more than happy to let others who truly enjoy Amiibos buy them (at non scalped prices none the less) rather than buying them and trying to convince myself that I need or want them.
ArsonDoctor
I do, though it didn’t really start until I bought a Peach amiibo for my niece. At first, I decided I was only going to get amiibo for my mains in Smash Bros., Captain Falcon and Shulk, and Sonic since I grew up playing his games, but then my nieces got interested, and then a Pikachu amiibo happened, and then a Zelda, and then Samus too. I’m only really interested in the Smash Bros. line as of right now, but of course that could change in the future. I want a Mewtwo amiibo really, REALLY bad though.
I got the Captain Falcon and Shulk ones BTW, my Gamestop is awesome!
Locky Mavo
I’d love to see Nintendo make a Amiibo game, like Disney Infinity and Skylanders,
Amiibo-land maybe? (seeing as Nintendoland is taken). Give Amiibos more of a use, instead of just unlocking costumes, weapons, abilities and Smash AI saves. Maybe even have it so they can be added into the Nintendo version of Disney Infinity, Skylanders and Lego Dimensions, that’d be awesome!
Maybe something will be announced at E3?
Do you have any further questions about Splatoon?
Posted on 9 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Site updates, Wii U | 10 Comments
Hello. Everyone. (say this like Iwata does in the Nintendo Directs)
Nintendo was very kind to send us a pre-release build of Splatoon for review, and Brian and I wanted to try and get some video content about the game up before its release in a couple weeks. We were going to do a simple Q&A about the game, but since GameXplain already covered a ton of the more common desired information (as comprehensively and eloquently as they always do), we thought we’d ask first: is there anything more detailed you want to ask about the game? How mechanics interplay? How it feels to only have two maps in rotation? Something very specific about online play or whatever?
If you’ve got anything you want to ask, post a comment below, send us an email with the subject “Splatoon Question”, or tweet at us with the tweet beginning with “Splatoon Q:”.
Thanks everyone! We’ll look at the questions soon and decide if there’s reason enough for our own Splatoon Q&A video. Either way, we’ll have a video review when the embargo lifts and more video content before launch as well.
~Austin
