Launch Station: Splatoon

The difference a year can make is astounding.  Just under a year ago at E3 2014, Splatoon made its debut to a lukewarm response.  The announcement of a brand new property for Nintendo was exciting, but showcasing the multiplayer mode of Splatoon made the game feel smaller than it actually was.  Many came out of E3 with the impression that Splatoon was a downloadable experiment instead of full retail experience.  In a similar vein to the hype surrounding Super Mario 3D World, Splatoon's stock has only gone up with every new detail, preview and trailer.  During all this time, Splatoon has slowly become one of the most anticipated Wii U games of 2015.

First and foremost, Splatoon is a team-based online multiplayer shooter.  Instead of racking up the most kills, players are tasked with covering their surroundings in ink.  The team that covers more of the arena in their team's ink wins.  Covering the arena in ink doesn't only satisfy the win-condition of matches, it offers players tactical advantages in battle.  Considering you play as a human-squid hybrid known as an inkling, you are able to use the ink to hide from enemies, climb walls and refill your ink tank.  While Turf War is the only multiplayer mode available to play at launch, Nintendo will be updating Splatoon over the course of the summer with new Ranked multiplayer modes such as Splat Zones and Tower Control.

Although multiplayer is Splatoon's main focus, it is not the only thing it offers.  Splatoon has a large suite of offline modes from the single player Octo Valley to local multiplayer Battle Dojo.

Octo Valley has a similar design to the Mario Galaxy games as your inkling must navigate a series of floating planetoid-like platforms in order to reach the Zapfish at the end of each level.  The levels contained in Octo Valley are split between the platforming levels described, arena fights with swarms of Octarians and boss battles.  The Splatoon series amiibos play a role in this mode as they open up sets of unique missions, which unlock special equipment and bonus NES-inspired mini games.

On the other end of the single player front, Battle Dojo is a one-on-one local multiplayer mode where players compete to pop the most balloons.  In this mode, one person plays on the Wii U Gamepad while the other plays on the television with a Pro Controller.

There are still loads of stuff contained within Splatoon's ink-covered package like customization, weapons, mini games and mechanics, but I don't have the space to cover it all here.  If you want a in-depth look at weapons and controls, check out the latest edition of First Byte where I analyze the Splatoon Global Testfire.

All-in-all, I have a feeling that Splatoon is going to surprise a lot of people with its unique take on the shooter genre.  While I am looking forward to spending some quality time with Splatoon, I hope Wii U owners give this game a chance and show Nintendo that it is time to create some brand new franchises to stand beside our established favourites.

First Byte: Splatoon

I can't seem to escape Nintendo's gravitational pull.  For the past month, they have released a handful of great content for me to dissect and discuss here on Silver Bit like the Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart 8 DLC.  Now, Nintendo goes ahead and drops a public beta for Splatoon.  Considering my excitement for the game, I dived headfirst into the free Splatoon Global Testfire this past weekend.

Open to everyone who downloaded the free demo from the Nintendo eShop, the Splatoon Global Testfire gave Wii U owners three hour-long chances to play the game's multiplayer.  Each hour-long opportunity was the same experience: pick your inkling, play the tutorial, pick your weapon set and jump right into multiplayer.  The Splatoon Global Testfire offered four weapon sets to use, two maps to fight on and one mode to play.  In between matches, you could play a retro-stylized Doddle Jump clone called Squid Jump.

After spending close to three hours with Splatoon, I found Splatoon's take on the multiplayer shooter to be a very enjoyable experience.  Despite more developers focusing on team-based and asymmetrical skirmishes recently, the most popular entries in this genre try to make the player feel like a one-man army.  On the opposite side of the fence, Splatoon's multiplayer only consists of four vs. four team battles, which focus on covering the battlefield with ink instead of blood.  Focusing on teamwork and toned down violence makes Splatoon a more age-appropriate mutliplayer game than the military shooters like Call of Duty and Battlefield that kids find ways to play.  This focus also shows that multiplayer shooters don't need to be extremely violent in nature to be fun.

The first thing you will definitely notice upon loading up Splatoon are the controls.  The controls are very similar to other shooters with the left analog stick to move, the right analog stick to look left and right, and the triggers for weapons.  The difference comes with how you control looking up and down.  Instead of mapping it to the right analog stick like most shooters, you control looking up and down by tilting the Wii U Gamepad in either direction.  This control scheme can be jarring at first, but was easy to grasp after a few rounds.  While I did get use to these unique controls, they don't work for every weapon in the game.

The controls fell apart when using the Splat Charger, a weapon that works much like a sniper rifle.  Accuracy and precision are key when using this weapon, which makes aiming incredibly frustrating when the motion controls pick up every slight movement.  I found out from friends and other sources that you can customize the controls, but the option was never made clear during the beta or through Nintendo's vast amount of promotion material.

Aside from the inconvenience, Splatoon plays great.  The weapons have their unique strengths and weaknesses.  Sub-weapons and special moves offer tactical options for changing the tide of battle.  The instantaneous jump into the heat of battle activated by tapping the Gamepad eliminates the downtime of travelling.  Plus, transforming into a squid to hide from foes or escape from danger is exhilarating.

The Splatoon Global Testfire offered two maps to play: Walleye Warehouse and Saltspray Rig.  Both maps are symmetrical, but different in their design.  Walleye Warehouse is built for close-combat with tight alleyways and few open areas, while Saltspray Rig is an open arena with multiple elevations and central platforms to battle over.  Compared to other shooters, the maps are small and compact.  The smaller maps increases the tension as your opponents is always close by.  The tension is heightened by the lack of communication outside of a few preset phrases.  While it creates a tense atmosphere, the lack of voice chat between teammate is a missed opportunity on Nintendo's part.

Apart from a few failures to initially connect to a game or connection errors, I had little to no problems with the Splatoon Global Testfire.  The game's multiplayer looks to be shaping up nicely and I look forward to spending more time with it in the near future.  With this successful test into public betas, hopefully Nintendo will use this method of testing for future projects.  Maybe even give Wii U owners a few more chances to play Splatoon before launch.  Wink wink, nudge nudge.

Bit by Bit: April 2015

School is done for another year, but things haven't slowed down that much.  My jobs, both paid and volunteer, keep me busy throughout the year especially in the summer.  Speaking of work, you can check out my first published piece for Imprint, the University of Waterloo's student run newspaper.  It is a review of Avengers: Age of Ultron.  I hope you enjoy and share it with others.

On top of work, I have lots of things going on in the coming months.  I have movies to watch (and possibly review), live wrestling shows to see, games to play, friends to visit and a vacation to take.  It is going to a busy yet fun summer.

Don't worry though.  Silver Bit won't be taking a backseat; in fact, it will be front and centre especially when it comes to E3 next month.  I have a lot of things cooking regarding regular content for Silver Bit this summer so stay tuned.

Show of the Month
April has been a month to try new things for yours truly.  I got a chance to feel the pain, frustration and ironic fun of From Software's Bloodbourne, determine for myself if Game of Thrones lives up to the hype and rabid praise (it's getting there), and got back into watching anime.  My renewed interest in anime came all thanks to IGN's Anime Club podcast.  I use to watch anime regularly when I was a teenager, but grew out of it due to my exhaustion with drawn-out plots and my preference for reading manga.  Now, I am scouring used video stores and the Funimation app for shows both old and new in order to expand my horizons.

In expanding my horizons, I took a risk and spent 20 dollars on the Cowboy Bebop complete series DVD set.  While I am still working my way through the series, I do not regret my purchase.  In fact, I am loving it.  Cowboy Bebop is unlike anything I have ever laid my eyes on.  The innovation and stylishness of this anime makes it stand out above all the others.

Cowboy Bebop blends beautiful animations, always on-point humour and fully fleshed out characters.  At first, the show may seem a little off-putting due to how different it is from most anime.  Bebop never holds your hand; it just drops you in its world and lets you experience all its imperfections and quirks for yourself.  Also Bebop's use of music is unbelievable as each episode has its own unique soundtrack that fits its story and tone.  Plus, the opening for the show is thing of beauty.

Out of the 15 episodes I have watched so far, Cowboy Bebop is a really good show slowly becoming a great show.  It does take a few episodes before it gets going and about a good dozen before it starts firing on all cylinders.  Once it starts firing on all cylinders, Bebop is almost untouchable.  Bebop is an incredible show that you should watch, anime fan or not.

Most Anticipated Game of the Month
My love for the The Witcher III: Wild Hunt has been well documented in the annals of Silver Bit.  The game looks absolutely incredible.  I have been looking forward to Witcher III ever since it graced the cover of Game Informer just over two years ago and we are less than a month away until its release.

Just recently, CD Projekt RED announced the expansion pass for the game.  Before you get up in arms over another DLC pass like everybody did with the Arkham Knight season pass, Witcher's expansion pass is unlike other passes on the market.  While most DLC for games nowadays adds a few hours of extra content, this expansion pass will add around 30 hours of content to the already expansive Witcher III.  At 25 dollars, you are getting well over five times more content than the typical season pass.  Plus, CD Projekt RED is offering 16 free pieces of DLC in the year following the game's release.

It may be a lot of money to drop on one game, but I trust the guys and gals at CD Projekt Red to deliver.  I feel it is a worthwhile investment to get the most out of the grandest fantasy RPG ever created and help support these incredible developers create more great RPGs in the future.

Video of the Month
I have a problem.  I just can't stop watching Honest Trailers, be it for video games or movies.  They are just too funny.  I devoured the older ones throughout late March and early April.  Now, I impatiently wait for new ones to be posted.

To show you how great this YouTube series is (and maybe get you addicted as well), enjoy the newest Honest Game Trailer for Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire.