Games

[El Chaos]

http://e3.nintendo.com/games/wiiu/splatoon/
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/event/e3_2014 ... /splatoon/

E3 2014 announcement trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L54s2m1dPs

Directed by Yusuke Amano and Tsubasa Sakaguchi, and produced by Hisashi Nogami.

[icycalm]

It does to versus multiplayer TPSes what Pikmin did to RTTs. Definitely worth a try. Can't see myself playing it for more than a few days however, for the same reasons I can't play Titanfall or L4D, or Evolve, or any other of those games: lack of a real campaign.

Shame, because with a proper campaign and a bit more inspired art direction (like Pikmin's was) it could have been a classic.

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/201 ... n-hands-on

Nintendo's ink-shooter Splatoon: the most fun game at E3

Nintendo's new arena shooter may just be the most fun game at this year's E3. Sure, Call of Duty is more technically impressive, and the likes of Ori and the Blind Forest are more artistic, but for pure, uncompromising fun? Well, Splatoon is going to be hard to beat.

Split into two teams of four, up to eight players control strangely adorable squid-human hybrids and battle it out to dominate the playable map space. Forget capture the flag or base assault though, as this is a clear case of marking your territory. Played third-person, each player fires streams of coloured ink, with a constant stream fired with a squeeze of the Wii U GamePad's ZR trigger. Aiming is governed by the GamePad's internal accelerometer, and teams claim ground by soaking the floors and walls in their team colour. In short: you point, you shoot, you conquer -- and if you're not conquering fast enough, Splatoon's approach to grenades is basically a huge glob of ink that covers a huge area.

At any point, you can hold onto the left trigger to shift into your squid form, diving under your team's ink splats. This has a few benefits -- you reveal your ink reservoir for shooting with, you remain invisible to the rival team until you emerge, and you move much faster. The controls are remarkably intuitive, and within minutes you'll be switching back and forth between forms, applying strategic strikes by jumping out of ink at just the right time, and propelling yourself around the arena like a pro.

Splatoon is surprisingly tactical, in fact. Where you spray, your ink can affect the areas you can get to and how you get there. Splash a ramp with your colour before speeding through it in squid form and you can propel yourself into a mighty leap. Or spread ink through a chainlink fence and you'll be able to dive under it, accessing restricted areas.

Look down at the GamePad's screen and you'll get an instant view of the ebb and flow of "battle" in real time, with a top-down view of ink-soaked walls changing as the teams fight back and forth. As you make your way towards the rival base, you'll find yourself slowed by the opposing team's ink, forcing you to constantly shift the terrain to your advantage.

It's all terrific... well, fun. Splatoon is bright and cheery, and even though you can shoot rival team members, or "die" from their ink shots, it's never more than an annoyance -- you'll respawn and be straight into the ink-spraying anarchy. If the wider game expands on the excellent map we played, Nintendo could well have their best new party game since Smash Bros on its hands.

[recoil]

Single Player Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EXKQQmm9EE

[El Chaos]

Same trailer, running at 60 frames per second: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDnfzfBDedE

So it seems both single- and multiplayer components will run at 60 fps.

[earthboundtrev]

http://gematsu.com/2015/01/splatoon-slated-wii-u-may

Splatoon will launch for Wii U in May, Nintendo announced during its Nintendo Direct broadcast this morning.

In addition to the game’s four-on-four online multiplayer mode and single-player mode, the game will also feature a “Central Hub” plaza that connects each game mode.

You’ll land in the Central Hub when you first start up the game. Inklings, the game’s player characters, from all over Miiverse will be shown here, walking around and available for communication. The tower at the center of the plaza brings you to the game’s online multiplayer mode.

Each Inkling is equipped with their own weapon and outfit. Equipment can be purchased at the shopping center with in-game money earned through playing multiplayer mode. At the shopping center, you’ll find a weapon shop run by a militaristic crab, as well as headgear, clothing, and shoe shops.

Purchased equipment can be switched at any time in the plaza. For weapons, you can have a set of three at a time. There’s your main weapon, sub weapon, and special weapon, which is your go-to for inflicting major damage.

Players can also modify their character’s stats, such as strength and speed, by choosing the proper headgear, clothing, and shoes. You’ll be able to view other players’ equipment in the Central Hub, as well.

[El Chaos]

Some pictures from the official Twitter account:

https://twitter.com/SplatoonJP

[shubn]

[earthboundtrev]

http://www.allgamesbeta.com/2015/03/spl ... views.html

Splat Zones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC3ckzztHzI

Turf War: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FF_Ps6-ysE

Single Player: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpIef2YCiEc

[El Chaos]

No voice chat... I can only guess it's to keep children "safe" or something.

I've read Nintendo has gone to great lengths to make it a total chore to be able to properly interact with other people online (I never owned a Wii and haven't used my 3DS XL online yet), but this will directly hinder the experience. Maybe they should give people a way to selectively enable voice chat with friends through that friend code crap or some other method?

[El Chaos]

Nintendo Direct: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQsZPYB0vMw

EDIT: Official websites:

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wiiu/agmj/index.html
http://splatoon.nintendo.com/