Fighting for Attention
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| Kirby Blowout Blast looks like a fun expansion of Robobot's 3D Rumble mode |
The Nintendo Direct was surprisingly packed with brand new announcements.
I was not expecting too much past the Splatoon 2/ARMS combo, but we ended up
with a lot more. The new Amiibo look great, if somewhat redundant, and so does
Kirby Blowout Blast. Miitopia also looks quirky and fun; I really enjoyed 2014’s
Tomodachi Life. There was also a ton of third party reveals; Payday 2 was the
standout for me. That stuff is noteworthy in passing, but I really want to
delve into the main events; Splatoon 2 and ARMS.
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| The Island has an awesome visual design |
The Splatoon 2 portion of the Direct renewed my faith in the
title. I am very happy to see that we are getting a brand-new gameplay mode,
being Salmon Run. I was unsure about the game after the same-y testfire, but
Salmon Run looks like a unique addition to Splatoon. Essentially, it’s a
four-player mode where you are trying to collect golden fish eggs as you
survive waves of enemies. Those eggs can then be traded in for reward. I hope
that it turns out to be meaningful; I would love some weapons and gear to be only
obtainable from Salmon Run. Even better, I would like the loot to be random.
Part of why I love Destiny so much is that the RNG loot system gives me an
incentive to keep playing to win new gear. A system like that could help extend
Salmon Run’s lifespan.
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| The wacky enemy design is really cool |
The idea of a “horde mode” really isn’t new, but I really
like the implementation here, especially because the original Splatoon lacked
Co-Op entirely. The island the inklings fight on looks well designed, and it
has its own visual design. Its color palate and aesthetic are big departure
from the rest of the game. I am glad that they are mixing up the visuals as
this will help differentiate the sequel from its predecessor. The enemy design
seems to be following suit as well; they aren’t reskins from the first game.
They are well designed and match the theme. The Inklings also look great; I
really like their fisherman outfits. The concept is good, and so is the
aesthetic. However, I do have a couple concerns.
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| Hopefully we are able to pick any weapon for Salmon Run |
In the trailer, the Inklings only used the basic weapon types,
and it would be a shame if you cannot select any weapon you want. I would doubt
that would be the case, but from the trailer, I’m a bit concerned. Along those
lines, we only see the Inklings battle on the fishing island. I hope that there
are several layouts or locations to play Salmon Run in. While I like the design
of the island, after a while playing there would get a bit tiring. It’s too
early to tell if my complaints are warranted, so I’m not that worried yet.
Overall though, I am really excited to play Salmon Run when Splatoon 2 launches
on July 21st.
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| Min Min looks great, but the gameplay looks too slow compared to fighters like Smash Bros. and Street Fighter |
The Direct took a turn for the mundane though when ARMS was
shown. It was a bit perplexing really, nothing about ARMS is aggressively bad.
This game really needs a demo; I just don’t think that I’ll be sold on it any
other way. The gameplay seems to have depth to it, but the fighting appears to
be a bit slow. Swapping the arms on your fighter to create an original
playstyle is cool, and that will help keep the game fresh. The ability to kick
and break enemy arms point to a deeper fighting system, and I hope Nintendo
delves into that soon. In concept, ARMS seems like a lot of fun, so I hope it
plays better than it shows. On camera, the gameplay appears too slow and
methodical to be fun. Nintendo needs to get ARMS into people’s HANDS (get it?)
to before the game becomes a success.
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| ARMS's 2v2 mode looks like chaotic fun |
On the other hand, they keep nailing the character design;
the new fighter Min Min is cool, I really her design as well as her ramen
themed stage. I also really liked the look of the chaotic 2v2 mode, but that
was barely shown. That mode has the potential to give ARMS the spark of energy
it needs; but I didn’t see enough to know for sure. I hope we get to see more
of it soon, considering ARMS launches on June 16th. I really want to
like ARMS more than I do; I just hope that when I play the game myself that the
core fighting system is plenty of fun.
This direct was presumably the final one before E3, and I
think Nintendo has left themselves in a good position. The smaller announcements
have been cleared out, so Nintendo will be able to focus on their heavy
hitters. No mention of games like Super Mario Odyssey or Fire Emblem Warriors
is leaving a lot of opportunities for this June, as well as new games Nintendo
has up their sleeve. In the meantime, the two frontrunners for the beginning of
the year have a lot of potential. I’m on the fence about ARMS, but Splatoon 2
looks like another hit.
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