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From the Splatoon Direct.

(You must download the demo from the WiiU Shop to participate)

Excited for it?

And of course, once it's playable, please share your opinion on the game.

Guess I'll be plugging my Wii U back in now.

Guess I'll be buying a Wii U now.

I downloaded the demo, and I have to say Nintendo's done of a good job of piquing my interest. I don't normally enjoy shooters, but Splatoon has my attention. The fact that I can support a team and play a platforming campaign mode (without the pressures of screwing up my team) is enough for me to consider the purchase at some point over the summer.

But if the testfire ends up being a lot of fun, then I may just go ahead and preorder it.

The thing I'm really scared of is whether this game will have the same problem Smash and Mario Kart 8 have, which is consistent matchmaking errors due to the Wii U being picky with routers. Lots of people have this problem, and it may drive this game into the ground.

That's what Testfires exist for.

SOON

HYPE

T minus 50 minutes and counting. Hopefully it will give me something to smile about.

If you ain't about squid kids, then what exactly is your life about?

OH MY GOD THAT WAS AWESOME!

That was the best time I had on the Wii U, even in Smash! If I had the money, I'd pre-purchase (or pre-order, but pretty sure Nintendo changed the name due to the stigma it carries) it RIGHT NOW.

The only odd thing is that you can purchase gear in the Global Testfire, but it won't carry over to the full game. Kind of pointless, IMHO.

But to be honest, I don't think it would've mattered anyway. I can't wait for May 29th!

Welp, I sucked. 8W – 12L, GG
Roller is super OP and the charger is useless
Got to level 10 on the minigame though c:

Lost track of time. Got two games in. Netcode seemed pretty solid, no noticeable lag. Perhaps it's because everyone's equally inexperienced, but I actually got a few frags in. Hell, I almost had an even K/D ratio! Don't worry, I know the goal for turf war.

Looks like there's four different weapons in this demo. The gun you're given in the tutorial is basically a garden variety assault rifle. (If your garden has them, of course.) There's a "junior" version of it as well, which I think is shorter range, but fires faster. The paint roller is sort of like a shotgun/melee weapon, and whatever the fourth one's called is more or less a chargeable sniper rifle. Charging it leaves an ink trail, so make sure to do that. Except it's pretty worthless next to the OP'd rollers.

I think Turf War is the only game mode in this demo. With that in mind, said paint rollers dominate the map included, which has very tight corridors and walkways that are just wide enough to be totally covered by it. Though I've yet to try it myself, I think there's going to be some major rebalancing needed here.

Also squid girl. Adorable.

I don’t normally enjoy shooters, but Splatoon has my attention. The fact that I can support a team…is enough for me to consider the purchase at some point over the summer.

But if the testfire ends up being a lot of fun, then I may just go ahead and preorder it.

 

But if the testfire ends up being a lot of fun, then I may just go ahead and preorder it.

---

So…it has come to this.

Not only did I do pretty good for a person who generally hates shooters, but I really enjoyed it. And I got a little frustrated with people obviously better than me (especially that dude that camped out by the spawn point…), but not too much to not enjoy it. I'm really looking forward to the full game.

And can I just say "Well done, Nintendo?"

Nintendo doesn't really "do" shooters, but that felt pretty good to me. And I didn't have any issues with lag or anything.

I didn't know where to check wins/losses, but I SUCKED at the first few. Later I won some, lost some, the usual.

Then I used the Splat Roller. >:D Only lost like 2-3 after that.

That Charger though: EVIL. Even more than the Roller, because you can stand on top of a box and shoot the other team and they either don't see you coming, or you can't them fast enough.

I disabled Motion Controls when I went into the options, though. I thought it wasn't good for the game.

Roller OP! Everyone got flattened by that thing, its ridiculous! Can't wait till tomorrow.

I was planning on doing this but when I looked at the clock it had just ended. Most likely can't do it tomorrow as well. Oh well, I'm pretty sure I'm buying it anyway after seeing the Direct and it won't be too long until release. Also, good thing there's no lag as people said. Hopefully it'll stay that way because I can hardly stand Smash's online because of that. (MK8's is fine though)

The main thing I'm worried about though is that I'll be awful at this game. I have basically 0 experience with shooters and I tend to be bad at games in general so I'm guessing I'll be massacred. Joining online only to get raped every time pretty much sucks the fun out of doing online in most games for me (for example just trailing along in 8th place with no chance of catching up in every Mario Kart race isn't exactly entertaining, and neither is getting 4th in every Smash round, you get the picture). I hope with Splatoon I'll at least be able to survive enough to find some enjoyment. By the way the battle system works and since it's team-based battling I doubt I'll be too bad off.

@Sam

The last shooter I've played was Halo 2, and my friend gave me a controller where the camera automatically turned without my input. He would just wait until the camera turned away from me and then shot me.

That's about 90% of my experience with shooters. The other 10% is this testfire.
 
I think you'll be just fine. There's a platformer-like campaign mode that lets you practice your skills at your own pace, and even when you get to online battling, you will be matched with people at about your skill level (which will increase and decrease based on your performance.)

And while people are harping on the roller for being OP, it really is a great beginner and experienced player weapon. It's pretty easy to use (Run and hold the button). But it's useful in the actual player-vs.player fighting, but it's most useful in covering a large area of ground which will help your teammates get around and help you win Turf Wars (where the aim is to cover the most ground in your ink anyway.) So if you can learn to be sneaky and avoid confrontations, then you might be the most important person on your team without actually doing much "shooting."

I couldn't do the first one because that would be like super late at night for my timezone, but it looks like I'll have something to look forward to soon.

ARE YOU READY?!

No..nonononono!! I'm getting the error! ;A; WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME, LORD?

>tfw you ran out of room on your Wii U because your brother got a 10 GB Donkey Kong game from Club Nintendo and you don't have an external hard drive so the demo probably won't fit and you'll have to buy physical

No..nonononono!! I’m getting the error! ;A; WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME, LORD?

Get better interwebs, d00d.

Due to my internet acting up, and me being really tired as well, I could only get two matches in. But what I had played was definitely great. I also wouldn't be too surprised if Nintendo also released a small pat of the single player as a demo later on.

I've missed the first two so I'm only going to be joining the third one, which is annoying, but I'm super excite. Heard good things.

I've never been more happier with a shooter since TF2.

I overslept and missed the second one…

Actually, it's almost luck. My internet hates me, and I only missed like 4-5 matches.

And considering it usually breaks every 30 minutes, that's worth celebrating for me. (and no lag either, O_O)

I’ve missed the first two so I’m only going to be joining the third one, which is annoying, but I’m super excite. Heard good things.

You won't be disappointed.

Also: it uses the Gamepad's Gyroscope to move the camera. You can turn it off and use the R stick instead. Just some advice

Its live!

Got to play, wasn't disappointed. can't wait for the whole thing.

As of this Post:
Top 20 in Amazon in the US
Top 3 in Spain
Number 3 In France
Amiibo Bundle Top 10 in the UK

#SYSTEMSELLER

I got to play the second and third hour yesterday, and it was certainly fun. The gyroscope aiming works suprising well, but I think I'll stick with just R-stick in the full game.

The game itself is pretty easy to play. Once I got used to the Splattershot Jr, I got the highest score of my team nearly every round. The Roller is fun, but a bit too boring and feels just like walking with DLC. Then again, unlike others, I don't think the Roller actually is OP. Like those demo maps are great to use the roller, but for example the more open maps in the full game like the skate park, I doubt the Roller is gonna help you much there.

I played for like 30 minutes and unlike I thought before I was pretty moderate in skill. I either wrecked the opponents, they wrecked me, or it was a pretty even match all distributed evenly. My kills and spreading of paint were also pretty good. Looks like this is one game I'm not extremely bad at.

And I love the game. I was waiting to see what people thought of it and stuff but I'm preordering that shit now.

In case you really wanted to play with more Squid Kids or you don't own a Wii U and you wanted to see what the fuss was about, there's a demo to be at select GameStop locations in the US this Saturday from 12pm to 3pm.

I don't like other people, and gamers smell bad, so I'm just going to wait for the game.

Odds are I'll just change this into a Splatoon thread this Friday.

I hope you don't live in the UK btw:

http://www.gamegrin.com/news/nintendo-delivery-truck-stolen-cancelling-splatoon-amiibos/

Well not ALL of the UK, since my copy just arrived a day early. The hype is real.

My local GameStop never has anything I pre-order early, but at least the games always been there on-time. I have to work, but I'm going to get to Target early that morning to try to pick up a Jigglypuff amiibo once it opens and GameStop a little later on once it opens to pick up my pre-order.

I'm looking forward to the new customizations and single-player mode myself.

Got it all downloaded and ready to go. Can't wait for midnight!

Alright, I've played enough to give a general first impressions, so here we go:

First of all, all the criticisms you're seeing in the reviews, they're right. The game is lacking in stuff to do, not counting the local multiplayer and amiibo, there's only two big modes, turf war and single player and turf war comes with only 5 maps. There's enough variation that I'm not getting too bored though, it's still as fun as the testfire, even if I can't help feel as though they used their two best maps there. Hopefully the updates come sooner rather than later. Also notable that I've had a mix of really quick matchups and oh my God this is taking forever matchups, plus you can't leave until the timer's up if it IS really slow, which massively sucks. Plus the fact that you can't change weapons and clothing in between matches is a huge oversight, I like Squid Jump and all but I would rather gear changing. These are some really basic slipups and they DO have a noticeable effect on the game's enjoyments, hopefully this gets fixed post launch, Nintendo are usually good for that.

Other than that, there's the single player, which is a fun distraction but I still find myself enjoying the online more. It's decent, it's just a tad too easy and not really as fun. Doesn't mean it's bad at all though, I still had a lot of fun playing.

That's kinda the thing overall, outside of the small little things, the game is still fun, if it wasn't I wouldn't be playing, just a lot of room for improvement. If they fix those though, then I love it.

EDIT: Just to drive the point home because people can and will take this the wrong way, I''m loving the game overall, tons of fun, but there are problems which need to be addressed, though minor

@21

…So you're saying you hate Nintendo.

 

Overall, I think most professional reviewers agree with you. Most of the complaints are about voice chat, a lack of gameplay options at the moment, and how the game handles the time between online matches. I haven't read any complaints about the gameplay outside of one that prefers the games weapons have more range and act/aim more accurately like guns (I personally disagree with that, but it's a fair opinion.)

Pokemon has a similarly long matchup process, and that gets annoying, especially if it times out. Once you're online, you can't switch your party; only the order of your Pokemon.

I get the feeling that a lot of these features and gameplay being added in after the launch is because Nintendo might not be confident that Splatoon will be a big hit in terms of sales. They probably don't want to spend a lot of resources on a small userbase.

Or they're simply waiting to add those features when it seems to be a priority.

• If, say, 5 kids are playing with blocks, then it's not a high priority to make sure those kids get super cool blocks.
• But if, say, 25 kids are playing with blocks, then you might feel it's important to spend your time on blocks to make sure a greater number of people playing with blocks are enjoying blocks.

Just change "blocks" to "Splatoon." That might be Nintendo's thinking.

---

I'm having to take the morning to get some errands done, so I'll pick up the game in the morning. I probably won't play it until that evening. But if you don't already have it, you folks should add me if you haven't already. I prefer not to put my info out there, so I might have to PM you.

I can't wait for the august update so we can all properly play together and I can dominate you all. Hopefully you're right about the update stuff too. I also think I'll go ahead and change the thread to just Splatoon General now.

EDIT: Featured cause fuck you

But first, because I love you, have some useful map tips (these are done with roller in mind, just so you know):

- Blackbelly Skatepark actually has a little nook on the left of the right hand section (left on the enemy turf). Apparently not many people know it exists, so it's a good iea to use that as a base to stage an attack on the enemy. If you have one, put a Squid Beakon up there so you can quickly get back there should you die. It's handy for getting a jump on the enemy too.

-Walleye warehouse is made for the roller, as you may know. This is actually a good map to just tank it right on through. If you can get right into the enemy base, and hold it there for a good amount of time, you will do well

-Arowana Mall is actually probably my lest favorite map :/. A good idea for that one is to focus on the nook and crannies, trying to get into enemy base if you can like with Walleye Warehouse. Your Mileage may Vary with that tho

- Saltspray rig is largely based on getting the center area covered. Try to get to the center as fast as you can, keeping that bit of neutral ground kept defended while you or someone else takes care of inking the main part (this is where voice chat could REALLY come in handy). It's a good idea to keep the defence up on this place, not leaving to take over other areas just in case the other teammates leave and another team gets in (again, voice chat).

- So in Urchin Underpass, you know that little alleyway on the left hand side of your section? I found that a good idea for this is to try and get into your enemy's by inking up the wall (it's handy if you get here as quick as possible using the shortcut on the right of your section). Using this, it's pretty easy to get into enemy base.

OR

The method I actually use for this map is pretty simple: Keep at home base. At first for about a minute or so I'll go out using method 1, but in the last few minutes I'll come back and focus on inking all the floor in your own base, while maintaining defence. You have no idea how useful it actually is in this map in particular just to make sure your base is 100% covered.

In general, I'd say put a focus on getting all the little nooks and crannies, the corners of large areas, making sure everything is covered while you have a chance. When the enemy comes, they're usually too preoccupied with fighting you off to worry about the small stuff. This means that even if the enemy does come and kick you all out of an area, you might still be able to win based on all the small nooks filled with your ink that the enemy simply overlooked in their rush.

I should have preordered it, but woops, probably too late now that it's half-way through Thursday for me. I kept telling myself I would but I put it off day after day. Oh well, I guess tomorrow I'll just pick it up, which I was hoping I wouldn't have to do since I'm guessing even in the afternoon stores will be swarmed with amiibo zealots (my least favorite people). So I guess I'll post my thoughts tomorrow if I end up getting it. I know I'm getting it soon though.

My only issue is…

PLAYERS TOO FOCUS ON KILLING AND NOT INKING TERRITORY!

But, yeah, got quick matches. Hope I can unlock more clothes, probably can once I level up more. I find myself using the splatgun with the minibomb things a lot and spamming the super when I can.
The roller is fun, but I suck at it.
But, like I said, players need to focus on the things around them, not charge towards the enemy team. You can get them once our turf is inked.

Player issues aside, no lag, no problem teaming up. Wish we had more maps and game modes. Maybe, that'll be unlocked when I level up or in future patches and dlc?

I say, erm, 7/10. Maybe more or less once I start leveling up more. Right now, I'm only level 5 or so. I noticed you can unlock weapons as you level up. So, that might make or break the game for me. Well, not break it. Can always go back to the splatgun for "seriousness" and the roller for shits and giggles.
So, I say a good start for a new IP.

I'd actually say that killing the enemy is important, charging towards them keeps them distracted enough for you to sneak by. Also something that helps is an item of clothing with the ability ninja squid, that seriously helped me, since it means people can't see you while you swim.

Also, bonus tip for Urchin Underpass, people often forget about than little section to the rightof your area that I mentioned, so if you break into the enemy base, put a Squid Beakon in there's and no one will know.

I'm planning on picking up the game later, as soon as I finish some morning errands. Thinking of picking up an inkling amiibo, though I doubt I'll actually find one around the time I decide to pick up the game.

Got the game and an Inkling Girl amiibo today, and played an hour and a half of it. So far:

+Fun multiplayer with plenty of variety in weapons to choose a playstyle you like best
+Encourages team loadout variety since trust me I know from experience a team of three splat rollers was not nearly as OP as I thought (we lost by a wide margin on that round)
+Graphics and sound design are all top notch
+Single player is pretty fun, with interesting levels and cool bosses

-As of this comment there are only two maps online at the moment, the mall and skatepark. This is only a temporary negative as we already know more maps will be online soon and will be completely free (plus we'll get more gear and weapons too)

So yeah so long as they get those other maps online soon I don't have that much to complain about, it's just a lot of fun so far.

After my errands, I picked up my preorder. I also happened across the Splatoon amiibo set while going to Target for a Jigglypuff amiibo. Pretty good day.

Before going into work, I played a couple of rounds of Turf War. I got a skatepark map, which was really different what with all of the half pipe and elevation. Won the first match and lost the second, scoring 3rd most points on my team for each match. Not bad considering I began at Level 1 with standard gear and stuff. Still as fun as the testfire. Can't wait to get back and play more of the single-player mode to get gud.

God this game is just a bundle of fun, my only complaint would be the amount of maps and content in general. Though thankfully we'll get free updates in the future to fix that.

I just found out about how map rotations work in Splatoon, a bit of information I somehow missed. Apparently maps just rotate out every few hours, so earlier it was mall and skatepark, now it's probably something else (I haven't had the chance to hop on again today, personal matters).

So guess my one negative isn't as bad as I made it seem, since sure maps are still kinda limited right now, but more is coming soon at no charge.

Unfortunately it's looking more and more like there is no point in me buying this game until I get a new router, as it seems the one i'm using is NOT compatible with the Wii U for the most part.