Splatoon Reviews

There was a time when I was heavily into shooter games. I sunk hours and hours into Halo 2 & 3, then did the same with the first few Modern Warfare/Black Ops titles. After a while though, I got totally burnt out with these style of games. Not to mention I was tired of the ultra competitive jerks that inhabited the online lobbies. I probably haven’t bought a Call of Duty or Halo game in the last 5 years.

When I saw the press about Splatoon it immediately peaked my interest. So now I’ve got the game and I have to say, I totally love it. Leave it to Nintendo to take a beat to death genre like shooters and inject it with personality and approach it from a new perspective. The change from being concerned with just killing the enemy to having to cover the ground with your paint just brings a whole new life to this game for me.

Many have complained about lack of voice chat, but for me it is totally fine. I don’t have to deal with the ultra-competitive jerks that I referenced above. Some folks say that lack of voice chat prohibits planning with your team, but I haven’t really found that to be a problem. These games are so quick and chaotic that I don’t really see how you could plan much anyway. It’s not like a tactical shooter where you have longer drawn out matches where you have to coordinate to take enemy bases or anything like that. And when I say chaotic I mean it in a good way.

The other major complaint this game is getting at launch is the lack of content. Yes, there is limited content, but the developers have promised a ton of FREE DLC, and it’s all coming soon. So to me, this game was more of an investment. The developers won’t be charging for the initial wave of DLC and for me it’s totally worth it to have the game at this stage knowing that it will get beefed up over the next couple of months. And besides, I can’t see myself getting bored with this game just as it is for a while. I’d probably be playing it tons through the summer even if they didn’t release any DLC.

Bravo Nintendo for releasing this great new IP. Now excuse me…I’ve got some floors I’ve gotta go paint.

Let me first start off by saying that this game is absolutely beautiful and a lot of fun to play. My 8 year old picked it up very quickly and loves it. I have also been playing it and must admit, it is an absolute blast. The colors are great and the maps are really creative. I admit that it is a welcome change to all of the First Person shooters out there. It is something that anybody can play and enjoy without having to worry about violence or blood.

The really fun part of this game is the 4 on 4 team battles (Turf Wars). I can honestly say that it is the best online gaming experience I have ever had. The games start quick, there is no lag, and I have not had any issues with games dropping in the middle. I really like the fact that there is no voice chat in the online games, I don’t have to worry about my son hearing inappropriate words from other players. The games are quick and nonstop fun. There are a wide variety of weapons, so you can definitely pick your strategy based upon your weapon and the map.

I would have given this game 5 stars if it had a good option for 2-3 local players at the same time. My kids LOVE Super Smash Brothers and Mario Kart 8 because they can play with 4 people together (in the same room). Their friends / cousins come over and they have an absolute blast with those 2 games. I can not say the same for this. You can play 2 people together, but we did not find that game fun at all. It is a challenge to go around, finding balloons, and spraying them. Nowhere near as much fun as Turf Wars (where you are scored on what % of the map you spray in your color). This could definitely be done with at least 2 players (one on the game pad and one on the TV). Nintendo REALLY missed the mark on this one, there is really no fun option to me play with my son. I know they are supposed to issue some free DLC this summer to offer additional game modes / maps. If they correct this issue I will update my review to 5 stars. When you pay for a game you expect it to have a variety of modes day 1 (like Super Smash Brothers did).

For me, unlike Smash, the multiplayer more effectively holds up as the meat of the game, disguising the seemingly lack of single player content. The single player content that’s there is still pretty deep and contains the lore, but can get repetitive after a while so may require more than one sitting or some multiplayer in between.

Single player content can be expanded with the amiibo which is a big plus, and the monthly Splatfests were always a good way to rekindle some activity and get involved in the game. I say "were" because at this time the next Splatfest is announced to be the final one.

Turf War (casual multiplayer) for me is more addicting and entertaining than it is frustrating, since teams are randomly shuffled each match and equipment is locked when joining a lobby (however if a friend joins the same lobby, you can swap your setup and rejoin the next match). You’ll probably keep saying to yourself "one more game" over and over and before you know it you’ve been at it for an extra hour or two. For those looking for more competitive or challenging multiplayer, there’s Ranked, but you may as well expect a similar experience with other competitive modes from other games.

Due to nature of the multiplayer, like Smash, I’d also recommend a USB-Ethernet adapter for your Wii U to connect directly to your router to minimize lag on your end if you lag otherwise.

All in all a fun game, I prefer the experience to Smash personally.