I’ll be honest, Splatoon was a game that I had NO IDEA about. I didn’t get a chance to see Nintendo’s Digital Direct on the day E3 started as our hotel’s bandwidth did not allow me to stream it, so when I showed for my appointment at Nintendo’s E3 booth didn’t know what I should see, sans the obvious Wii U Smash Bros viewing. It was recommended that one game I should check out was Splatoon, a new IP that Nintendo was spotlighting and one that was not going to be released until 2015.  I was like Spla…what?  So, with zero expectations I walked on over, picked up the GamePad and dived in.
Splatoon is an 8-player (4 vs. 4) third person shooter game. Its focus seems to be online, but at the show the game was wired in a LAN set up. You do not use regular guns and bullets as you shoot paint, and no, it is not a paintball game either. The goal for you and your teammates is to get paint all over the level (on the ground) during a three-minute time period and the team with the largest part of the level painted in their colour wins. You can also dispatch your opponent while painting the level too by hitting them with your paint gun or other weapons. It’s a simple concept but there is more than just mindless shooting, and that is where more fun comes in.
What really makes Splatoon more than just some generic take on the shooter genre is the strategy. You’re not just running around spraying paint on things for the sake of doing so. One of the more neat ideas that have been incorporated into the game is the ability to press a button and turn into a squid like creature. Where the strategy lies here is that your opponents cannot see you as when are under the paint and you move faster when swimming in said paint. You can only “swim” in your own coloured paint though, so be aware of that. While swimming in the paint you can also swim up walls as long as there is a path of your colour going up the side of it. It adds the ability to flank or sneak up on your opponent and makes for some crazy action.
You also get to use other types of weapons, such as grenades, bazooka and even a giant paint roller, all having their strengths and weaknesses. For example, the grenade is great for throwing around corners or up on ledges, and a well timed throw after sneaking around in ‘squid’ form can allow you to take you multiple enemies and then paint over their colour. Again, strategy can be key when using the right weapons.
If I had one complaint during my short time with the game it was the control. It wasn’t that it was bad, just took some time to get used too. The default control takes advantage of the GamePad’s gyroscopic features. You tilt the gamepad to shoot up or down, and use the left analog stick to aim left or right. The right analog stick controls the camera so you can put it behind you as you move. I found that my ‘traditional shooter control’ brain needed to really concentrate to control things on screen. My first match took more brainpower in this area then the second match, but regardless it took some time to get used too. Like I said, it wasn’t unplayable, but man it was a learning curve for me. You can switch to strictly analog control, but even that was a strange feeling at first. You’ll also find that there is a map on the GamePad’s screen too, and it shows how much territory you have covered in your paint, and how much is covered in your opponents paint.
What really struck me during time while I was playing against another team is the fact that beside the crazy name, Splatoon is fun and I can finally play a shooter with my kids who have not been able to experience this genre with me in the past. The visuals are quite vibrant and you know this is a Nintendo made game given how the how everything just jumps off the screen and the fact that it is “family-friendly” looking for a shooter. With that being said, just because it looks family friendly doesn’t mean the gameplay is boring or dumbed down, as there is a bit more tactical play in such that you just don’t run around mindlessly shooting each other. It will be interesting to see how development comes along and how online play is technically implemented. I can say that this is yet another Wii U game that is worth watching as its development continues.
You can check out the gallery below for a hint of where the game is at currently and what is to come:
