This was probably one game that took me by surprise. Splatoon was announced for the Wii U last year at E3 and I honestly didn't follow its coverage as much. At first, it didn't really grab me in terms of well, it being a shooter. My brother picked it up the day it came out after an unsuccessful amiibo gathering hunt. I wasn't expecting to be hooked on it when I started playing. Splatoon is a shooter at its core but rather than dominating the field and racking up kills, the goal is to cover the playing field with as much ink as you can. There's also a bunch of other mechanics that come into play as you play as your inkling.
Splatoon's main grab is the online portion where you are matched up with seven other players. Split into 2 teams of 4, you got 3 minutes to cover the map with as much of your colored ink as you can. You're also given the option to shoot and wipe out enemy players to stall them from flooding the areas with their color. However, the game ditches ammo for an ink tank and it doesn't last forever. As an inkling, you have the ability to transform into a squid and can travel around the map so long as you're in your own ink. Your tank gets filled up as you travel in the ink, strategy comes into play with where you want to cover the map to screw the other team. Shortening their movement while they're traveling? Yea that can happen.
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| The main lobby where matches are found. |
Your selection of gear all comes down to your level. After each match, win or lose you gain experience. Leveling up unlocks new guns, hats, shirts and shoes to buy and customize your inkling. Weapon variety comes in forms such as common Splattershots, machine guns, a melee weapon known as the Inkroller, charge sniper rifles, and much more. Each gun comes with their own sub weapon (normally grenades, nullifiers or a wall of ink to shield you for a short time) and a mega weapon which you can use as you charge up the meter in the upper right hand corner.
The maps are laid out with their own little gimmick and chosen at random from a selection of 2. These maps are randomized every time you turn on the game. The GamePad during matches serves to show you an overall blueprint like look of the map and you can see which ink is dominating and by how much. Stats can be unlocked as you level up and slots in your gear are taken up by abilities chosen at random. These vary from less ink being spent, increased run speed, and taking less damage by opposing ink.
Besides the online play, there's also a Battle Dojo where you and a friend can practice 1 on 1 to hone your skills. A solo player story mode/campaign is also present where you enlist as an Agent to take out the invading Octarian forces. With planned DLC in the works, I can only see Splatoon gaining more and more popularity. It's great to see that this caters to a much wider audience in terms of what shooters normally are played by. Female gamers will get an absolute kick out of this I'm sure!
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| The Inkroller can cover up ground fast as well as act as a melee weapon |
As of this writing, Splatoon has added a new map and gun for free! There's really not much else I can say about this game but it's definitely a lot more addicting. No voice chat is seen but I really am ok without it personally. Ranked Mode was also unlocked by thousands of players reaching level 10 (I'm currently level 6 or 7!).
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| Sharpshoot everything your color! |
Should you Play this Game?
Yes! Splatoon is a fun, colorful new IP that Nintendo has made in order to try and bring in the fans of the shooting genre while also catering to players young and old. With new content released and planned, Splatoon looks to be lasting for hopefully a long time.
