Splatoon is a shooter with third-person perspective where there are battles 4 against 4 players whose goal is to cover most of map terrain with paint balls, which can also eliminate your opponents. The characters are children who can become calamari, allowing them to swim in your own color ink at high speed. By contrast, the enemy painting hinders their movements and may even make them lose power if the tread and if they shoot enough force to explode in a burst of ink. The result of this dynamic is a game where you eliminate enemies is not everything (although never stop being important), and in which teamwork is absolutely essential to victory.
The plot of Splatoon is very brief: it seems that in the very near future mankind is extinct and forgotten, and replaced by marine creatures of all kinds. Among them are the Inklings, children become slavishly squid can swim in their own ink, the Octarians, a clan of evil octopuses, and all kind of humanoid as girls anemone, shrimp, jellyfish and others. It seems that the Inklings are highly territorial and constantly practice wars to cover most of the inhabited world with their ink. However, soon the player Inkling will be recruited to try to stop the evil plans of the Octarians, seeking to invade and collect manuscripts that narrate the forgotten history of this strange world.
The game features a campaign and several, both locally and online, plus challenges and extra content through amiibo multiplayer modes. Of course, the campaign is not a central concern and is only an introduction to the multiplayer mode, in which users expected to take months competing with each other and trying to climb the ladder of ranks to be the best. For now, it will return later, there are few scenes (we could try a 5 different) and few game modes (was practically only available Turf War, the main one), although Nintendo has promised to fix this situation with free downloadable content in the future .
The campaign is not a central concern and is only an introduction to multiplayer
What are these guys wars squid? It’s very simple: the player must choose from a variety of main, secondary and special weapons; customize your Inkling through shirts, shoes and caps SWAG and enter a vicious battle ink 4 from 4. Turf War, the gameplay we could more test due to the rotation and the fact that they were heading for ranking almost empty, a team should try to cover most of land with its own ink along short matches of three minutes each. In the end, Judge Judd, a stocky and very serious pussycat’s dress, will the percentage of land that each team painted the color and declared the winners and losers of the round.
There are a variety of weapons in Splatoon, although many are variations and improvements of the basic models. Which includes the game in its released version are: Splattershot, gun paint standard and balanced, useful in all circumstances; Splattershot Jr., a smaller and faster gun specialized in killing and fighting, but still adequately cover ground; Splat Roller or roller, whose main function is to paint terrain and ambushes; Splat Charger, a weapon of long-range precision load, difficult to master and perfect for higher ground; the Aerospray MG, with quick bursts and can cover a lot of ground while still being useful in close encounters; 52 Gallon, a weapon of great firepower and large bales, but a little heavy. There are also variations of the basic weapons such as the powerful Dynamo Roller, the Splattershot Jr. personalized, or weapons of sniping as Splatterscope and Jet Squelcher. Of course, there will be other weapons available but we could not try the version of review, such as Blaster, a kind of rocket launcher ink, brush, similar to the roller but with more precision and ability to defend.
Besides the main weapon, the character has a secondary (activated with R) and a special weapon, which is activated by clicking the right stick after his bar is full. As for subarmas, we Splat Bomb (normal pumps), the Seeker (a kind of Bombchu following enemies and explodes), the Suction Bomb (an explosive charge with good area), Splash Wall (a jet of ink ally that can hinder the enemy), the Mines Ink or landmines, the Disruptor, to slow down and to enemies; and more. Among the special powers is the Inkzooka, with powerful gusts giants; the Inkstrike an impact from the heaven of enormous destructive power; The Bubbler, a shield of invincibility time, the Bomb Rush or endless pumps for some time, the Killer Wail or explosion of sonic cannon style ink; the Echolocator, revealing the location of all enemies; and the mighty Kraken, octopus invincible everywhere and nothing kills only jump on the enemy.
Let’s go to the strengths of the game. Splatoon is a pleasant surprise for the shooter genre that combines new and varied elements to provide a fun and accessible experience for all players. It has elements of arena shooter (speed and mobility), shooter elements per class (each weapon becomes your avatar in a different kind of “unity” with strengths and weaknesses) and elements of arcade shooter (unrealistic mechanical, health and regenerable ease of doing kills). This eclectic nature, combined with the mechanics of painting (the victory depends on the terrain covered by paint balls and not just the kills), create a title that compensates very well some disadvantages that gender has accumulated over the years. For example, the camping is meaningless because the victory is not dependent on it kills the coverage of land, forcing the characters to move constantly. Less aggressive players have at their disposal weapons like the roller, which is intended to only cover the majority of land and kill by ambush, but without involving too many duels to the death, even without killing field painting is rewarding and something that contributes to the team’s victory. Aggressive players can choose to be mavericks Splattershot Jr. and killing left and right to hold the front of painting. Snipers can choose charge-shot or variants thereof, but not necessarily have to master: for instance, can remove them from their nests climbing walls squid. The improved mobility offered squid mode adds a nice sense plataformeros sand semi-fancy moves, but very accessible because it does not involve mastering complex inputs like a hardcore arena shooter like Quake. In short, Splatoon blend the best elements of the genre and makes them accessible to the public, while still providing satisfaction and challenge.
On the other hand, weapons are well balanced. During the Global Testfire or give some people complained roller, offering easy kills and covers a lot of ground in a short time, but you realize that it is a very limited weapon and that any armed opponent with a Splattershot and shield can do Rollers to pieces easily. The most difficult weapon is the charge shot, you need a lot of precision (like the Rail Gun this issue) and surely will become the weapons expert. Overall, the game offers an excellent balance, gives everyone a chance to have fun and give great diversity to the tactical possibilities through subarmas and special weapons whose only condition is to cover ink all over the place, so everyone has a fair opportunity to use them. In short (and this is the positive), Splatoon is a fun, balanced and innovative title.
Now let the negative. The main shortcoming of Splatoon is a chronic lack of content. It is simply not enough to have 5 maps (above rotation), 2 game modes (one of which we never saw because it was only in games by rank and thus never met the 8 players required) and only 4 vs 4. It just seems the release of the game was too advanced and the final product offers little variety compared to what other titles from Nintendo (Mario Kart 8 or Super Smash Bros. for Wii U) were given from day 1. This is unfortunate and little disconcerting, especially considering that this is a title full-price, and those who buy it from day one will have to wait until August or more to see the full product.
Splatoon campaign is good, but not outstanding. It is a peculiar mix of platforms and shooter, with strong lending Super Mario Galaxy and other securities of the line of Nintendo. It is “worlds” with different settings and different types of enemies: tentacles, octopus bombers, agile girls killer octopus, snipers and so on. At the end of each world there are leaders with different mechanical and generally offer an enjoyable challenge. However, a bit surprising that the campaign offers many good ideas that never see in the game, like sponges that grow the more you shoot them, paint balloons, flying ink paths and so on. Also surprising that the campaign has about 30 scenarios and normal just 5 multiplayer maps.
Splatoon is highly customizable thanks to countless accessories and clothing vendors offer squid playing children. There are 3 categories: hats, shirts and shoes, each with upgrades or perks that help overcome enemies. As the player advances their clothes can acquire more slots for upgrades or can buy more powerful or simply better sense of fashion garments. Gun shop is also, by all the variations of the basic weapons are unlocked with its secondary weapons. However, a little surprised that you can not customize loadouts.
The graphics and music are not great but at least the visual design is full of personality and originality. Music works and is fun, but we feel that we need more tracks. Splatoon is one of the most visually innovative titles of recent times, and I think the strong personality of the game will help to keep alive fanbase despite its weaknesses in other aspects.
