Splatoon (2015)

Nintendo has always been a trendsetter in the video game world, and it's still impressive to see how they continually up the ante for what video games can be, often with brands that have been around for decades. But it's maybe even more impressive to see how the company reckons with the success of other companies and attempts to put its spin on things. While Nintendo has had its own shooters, working with Rare to create GoldenEye and Perfect Dark back on the Nintendo 64, or bringing Metroid into first-person with the Metroid Prime series, they hadn't really reckoned with the rise of online shooters until the release of Splatoon. At first, I didn't really have much interest in Splatoon, as I rarely play games online, yet I decided to start at the beginning of this series and give it a go, and I'm glad I did.

Granted, playing Splatoon a decade after its release is an odd undertaking. Basically, you're playing a game where almost every character asks you to go online, but with the online side of Wii U now closed, they're asking you to do the impossible. Yet considering two other installments of Splatoon have come out since this initial release, that's sort of okay, since playing Splatoon and its story mode basically acts almost like a training mode for me to play further installments. This is almost like the appetizer for the larger meal that will be Splatoon 2 and 3.

But like I said, I admire how Nintendo takes a genre of game that is already popular and attempts to "Nintendize" it. For example, I love how this isn't just a shooter, but it's also a game that demands you swim through levels to reload/survive. It's an interesting mechanic that adds a whole new layer to the genre. But again, I can't wait to play this on the Switch, since the Wii U controls can be a bit much in trying to manage a firefight, and the second screen doesn't really add much. The story mode does a solid job of constantly upping the ante for what this game is going to ask you to do, but I swear, I spend most of my time between levels, trying to find the levels in the overworld.

Also, while I don't play online games hardly ever, I did want to see what all this game had to offer, and naturally, I can never do that with this game. Sure, there are other installments, but it's the principle of the thing! That being said, the story is a nice, short length, and I feel like I got my fill of what I can do with this game on my own. Thankfully, I've already picked up Splatoon 2, so I'm ready to see what this game is like online, but this was a fine little introduction to the world of Splatoon.

I bought Splatoon the day it came out. It felt like being invited to a secret concert from a Portland-based rap duo. It just oozed so much cool and no one outside of the small amount of Wii U owners who purchased it knew*. If inklings were real, they would be too cool to hang out with me. I'm wear a zip up sweater right now. They'd take one look at me, turn to their friends, and be like "Yo, did you see that square?" Or whatever cool people call me.

Anyway if you want to be cool, play Splatoon. Four Stars.

*I know Splatoon is humongous in Japan. Don't @ me.

(Pease note that I'm reviewing Splatoon in its current state, with all the DLC, that was for free! Take note microtransactions mans!)

Nintendo may sometimes (okay this was the time of the Wii U, so a lot of times) make really weird business decisions but they always delivered on games. And that's why I bought a Wii U. But not even I could predict that the genre they would tackle with their magic would be... The shooter genre. That was a genre Nintendo doesn't often touch, so I was pretty intrigued to see what they would to differentiate themselves. So what exactly did they do to inovate the genre that is known for being the same thing no matter the game? They literally changed everything that the genre is know for. Blood? Nope. Violence? Nope. Kids screaming "your mom"? Nope.

The game works like a paintball game. While you can "kill" other players, and you should, the main objective is to paint the whole stage. The team with the most painted area wins. It's a simple idea that is really well done. It makes the gameplay faster, because you have to paint the stage, doge enemy fire and kill the enemy. And if think this game is done here, you are completely wrong. Motion controls! Oh wait those suck right? Not in this game. You move the gamepad to aim instead of the right stick. Not that big of change right? Wrong. The fact that you are using your whole hands to move the camera results in faster reaction in game. And in a shooter, the precious seconds you gain from being playing this way can be life saving. Now done with multiplayer, what about single player? Well that was a pleasant surprise for me. It's fast paced, the story is a lot of fun to play and the boss are pretty well maid. They are a bit easy and it's pretty much "hit him 3 times and it's over". Until you get to the final boss. The final boss is where the whole brain of the developers went. The music and the pace of the fight are perfect. The difficulty is on a whole different level from the entire campaign (I died twice when playing it) and even the boss is a lot of fun to see talking. Overall this a really good game, but there are of course some thing bad with it. They aren't gonna downgrade the game as whole but they sure are annoying. The campaign is really good but short. The two player mode is horrible and I would had preferred that it wasn't even included in the game. The lack of voice chat is good because you don't hear the kids but it's really annoying when other people in your team are doing the opposite of what you want and you can't do anyting to warn or stop them.

After all of that, I have one warning to you: this game is not for everyone. Someone may put an hour into it, while another can put 200. There are now plenty of modes in ranked matches, and good old turf war is always fun to play. But that's pretty much it. Campaign sweet but short, ranked matches with vastly different modes from one another and turf war, where you simply have fun. Would you like that? Because that's what this game is for. To have fun. And it must be good at it, because I put over 50 hours into it. Not bad for a new IP on a falling genre. Not bad at all. I give this game a 4/5 stars.

8.5/10

Note: Once the new content gets released I am damn sure this will be a 9 or a 9.5 because it's so much fun, but as it stands now, it does lack a bunch of content. It has six maps, 2 modes, and in order to get the second mode you have to hit level 10.

But it's such a novel shooter. Spraying ink all over the place is a lot of fun and I like that there isn't an emphasis on killing the other players (you can do it but you don't really NEED to). Fun soundtrack, great colourful visuals and a cheesy -- but charming -- sense of humour. This is a great new Nintendo IP.

See full review here: http://wp.me/p55m9h-AP