Speaking of the weapons, did everybody try them all out? What did you like/dislike?
Brandon: Let’s talk about them. Rather than picking up weapons in map and adapting on the fly, Splatoon has you chose your setup and stick with it throughout the match. Once you pick a loadout, however, you’re using it for the duration of the match. No switching classes or weapons like in Team Fortress 2. We were given four different loadouts to choose from, most of which were particularly enjoyable. For myself, I’d have to say my personal favorites are the Splat Roller and the Charger. The Roller goes without saying at this point, as it’s not only a strong offensive weapon, but proper use can instantly turn a match in your team’s favor. And while the Charger may seem like just another sniper rifle, it can actually be a great tool to get to a vantage point quickly. Charge up, shoot a trail of ink, swim to the end, and repeat until you’re in a good sniping perch. If there was one weapon I didn’t like as much, I’d have to say it’s Splattershot Jr. It’s a shorter-range version of the already short-mid range Splattershot, so I skipped it a lot. If I want to get up close and personal to my opponent, I’d rather have the Splat Roller. Does the same job, but quicker.
Andrew: I liked using all the weapons, but especially like the Splattershot Jr. and Splat Roller. The ability to change the look of the Inklings was also a feature I liked, and I enjoyed seeing how others customized their Inkling.
Jacob: I made sure to try out all four weapons at least twice during the one-hour window I had to play Splatoon. The Splat Charger was not fun for me to use. It’s supposed to be the sniper weapon of choice, but I could never use it efficiently in Turf War. The Splattershot, Splattershot Jr. and the Splat Roller were fun to use. The Splattershot and Splattershot Jr. were nearly identical. From what I could tell, the Splattershot Jr. shot out ink splats faster than the Splattershot. These two weapons are the most balanced as you can take out enemies and spray ink on both the ground and wall. When I first used the Splat Roller, I found it to be broken at first as it can easily take out opponents and easily cover ground. While it does lose ink quicker than the other weapons, it still did not prevent a tag team of two splat rollers from covering all ground. The one weakness with the Splat Roller is it cannot cover up walls with ink, only the ground. There were two times I ended up on a team of four Splat Rollers and both times, we were defeated badly. If a team has two Splat Rollers, it guaranteed victory, if a team had all Splat Rollers, it guaranteed a loss. The secondary weapons were fun to use, as well, but they were better for strategy than combat.
Tyler: Sometimes there are certain classes or weapons that just speak to me the instant I see them. Team Fortress 2’s Medic or Monster Hunter’s Hunting Horn, for example. For Splatoon, I knew one weapon would be the one for me the instant I saw it: the Splat Roller. You may notice that some of examples I used prior are somewhat support-centric options, as is often my preferred play style. I found the Splat Roller to serve much the same function in this case. I’ve never been a particularly aggressive player in online games, and the Roller gave me a much more specialized role that allowed me to avoid the heaviest combat while also being useful to the team. With the massive streaks of ink I was able to lay down, it was incredibly easy to cover our space early in the game, retake territory that got covered in stray enemy ink and even quickly dispatch opponents that I managed to get the drop on. I did try out the sniper rifle-like Splat Charger, as well, but, unfortunately, I agree with Jacob. This was not the weapon for me, as I simply wasn’t a good enough shot to take out opponents effectively, and it certainly didn’t do much good in claiming more turf. In the future, I’ll let more skilled players do the fighting while I serve as the backbone keeping the arena slathered in our team color!
Daniel: What I really like about this point in our conversation is that at least three of the weapons felt very different and have very unique purposes depending on what role you want to take in the game. Want to take it to the front lines? Use the Splattershot or Splattershot Jr. Want to provide cover and help keep the enemy team at bay? Use the Splat Charger and get to a good vantage point quicker. Want to support and paint to your heart’s content? Splat Roller with that cool Killer Wail special weapon. And a lot more weapons are in the game and surely coming as DLC. That’s some good variety there.
So, final thoughts? And will any of you be buying the game in a few weeks?
Tyler: Well, it’s kind of a moot question now, as I already pre-purchased the game after the 12-1 p.m. test ended yesterday. To be honest, when Splatoon was first announced almost a year ago, I was pretty ambivalent towards it. It was certainly a novel idea, but it just didn’t “wow” me immediately. The more I saw of it, though, the more I warmed up to it. For the past month or so, I’ve actually been getting pretty keyed up. The Testfire, though, really pushed me over the edge. Getting to experience the game firsthand — trying out the weapons, playing with other human teammates and seeing how smooth and gorgeous the gameplay is — there’s no way I couldn’t finally throw my hat in. The demo was a fantastic taste, and I can’t wait to really sink my teeth into it soon!
Daniel: Same here. That’s what happens when it’s a new IP; they sort of fly under the radar, even though Nintendo has slowly but surely been making the game a bigger focus on this year’s plan for Wii U. I wasn’t going to get the game, but will definitely be buying at launch or close to it. And those damn amiibo, too… if I can find them.
Andrew: I really loved this demo. I just think it was really fun, and I can’t wait to play more on launch day. Will be buying for sure.
Jacob: I won’t be able to buy the game right away, but I do plan to make this a purchase sometime down the road. The game was fun and it surpassed my expectations. Hopefully, the remaining portions we have not seen yet will make the game a great multiplayer experience. This could be up there with the Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. online communities if people are willing to give Splatoon a chance. It reminded me of the days when I would go outside with a Super Soaker and try to spray my friends and neighbors in our Super Soaker wars, but Splatoon ups the ante with ink.
Brandon: If you haven’t guessed by now, I’ve already planned on picking up the game. Not only is it built on a very solid foundation, but it’s an absolute blast to play. The only times I’ve found myself laughing in matches in the Uncharted games and the like, it’s because my ragdoll landed in a funny position. Here, I was laughing because two players with Splat Rollers played a game of chicken and collided head-on creating two simultaneous explosions of ink. As I said before, whoa! Splatoon is just too fun. I’m counting the days until it comes out.
… OK, I was going to buy it the second they announced Mii Fighter costumes for Smash Bros. on pre-order. Nintendo knows exactly how to make me buy their games, those monsters.
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Now it’s your turn. Let us now what YOU thought of the demo in the comments and if you’re planning on joining us on May 29 when the game releases to the masses.
Splatoon is available for pre-order on Amazon:
