Splatoon 2 Global Testfire

First impressions of Splatoon 2 on the Nintendo Switch

A few weeks ago Nintendo offered a “Global Testfire” for Splatoon 2 on the Nintendo Switch. What this meant was that you could download the game and then jump online to play during allocated times. I downloaded the game and made sure my Nintendo Switch was fully charged. You’ll remember at the pre-launch of the console I harped on about the beauty of Splatoon 2.

Some hard truth

Splatoon 2 Global Testfire

I love my Nintendo Switch. I think it is a fabulous console BUT it isn’t getting much play time from me. I’m not a Zelda fan (I know, shock horror) and 1 2 Switch as well as Just Dance is only fun with friends. There have been no new releases and I haven’t really had enough reason to have the console with me. Until the Global Testfire.

Splatoon 2 Global Testfire

I was charged. I was ready. I set an alarm for 10pm. I got ready to play the game and… couldn’t. Turns out my LTE line was just not strong enough to support Splatoon 2. No matter how hard I tried the connection wouldn’t allow me to get on a game. I went to bed broken hearted.

Splatoon 2 Global Testfire

The next day (a Sunday) I had to be at Mettestate to host the Twitch stream so I decided to go through earlier and jump on the 100mb Fibre line in studio. At 2pm exactly, with my Switch on and ready – I logged on to the server and finally had a chance to play Splatoon 2.

Splatoon 2 Global Testfire

It was everything I hoped it would be. I thoroughly enjoy the game and could play it for hours on end. It isn’t anything new. Teams of 4 compete against another team of 4. You basically have to cover as much of the map as possible in your particular colour of ink. You have a selection of “weapons” to choose from. My chosen weapon is the giant roller. You can also splat ink and let off ink bombs. Imagine CS with two Utils and only one gun choice going into a game. I never played the first Splatoon but I’m told the weapons have been upgraded somewhat and offer a few new options in game. There are also some rumours about smart device integration to allow voice chat in game which should be rad.

CSGO for idiots

Splatoon 2 Global Testfire

I really had fun with Splatoon 2. It is a very simplified zero violence version of CS or any FPS actually (watch CSGO players everywhere roll their eyes at me). There are similarities between the two which I enjoyed. From studying the map, using utils in attacks (ink bombs for the win) and taking up different positions on the map to try cover as much in ink as possible. The biggest downfall to Splatoon 2 is the inability to talk to your team mates so I’m glad that is something they’re going to work on for the game

Esports tie in

Splatoon 2 Global Testfire

There is no doubt that Splatoon 2 will make an Esports entry. I’ve lamented about this on Red Bull so I’m not going to repeat myself but bottom line: expect Splatoon 2 to be a competitive title. The Global Testfire only allowed multiplayer comps so it was encouraging that sort of play style. I was limited to public match making which I enjoyed. However, it meant that two games were lost when my team was clearly over matched. Hopefully with the launch of the game they’ll have some sort of match making criteria set up to ensure you’re evenly matched. Two of my games were complete walk overs (over my team) with the other side completely covering the map and just destroying us. Granted, I learnt a few special little tricks.

The weapons

Splatoon 2 Global Testfire

You’ve got the Splattershot, which I hate. Great at close range but not my first pick as a weapon. The Splat Dualies are new to Splatoon 2 and they’re rather rad. Great in close combat and they have a dodging ability which is useful. There are chargers and you can now retain a charge while in ink, so you can sneak up on enemies which is fun. My favourite is still the Roller, like I said before. There is something rather fun about covering the map in thick stripes on ink and just rolling over your opponents. However, it is important to remember that Splatoon 2 is not about killing the other team but rather about covering as much of the map in your ink as possible.

Verdict?

Splatoon 2 Global Testfire

Splatoon 2 shares some potential awesomeness. It is a really rad game to play and I’ll be excited to get my hands on it when the full game is launched. I do hope they introduce some sort of voice chat though for multiplayer. The winning formula for this game is going to be how the online platform delivers. So the jury is still out.

I really just want this game to come out soon though so I can abuse my Switch a bit more. No doubt I’ll spend a lot of time on this one. 

 

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