I’m sure this came up already at some point, but if I want to get my Switch plugged into Ethernet, will any old USB dongle work? Anything specific to seek out or avoid?
I have a friend who is into competitive stuff and I think he had to buy a specific adapter. I will ask him next chance I get.
geggis
4516
To add to Andy’s response and to talk in your language: Splatoon is one of my favourite online shooters alongside Titanfall 2. The single-player campaigns are alright (the bosses are excellent) but the multiplayer… oh man!
So the big thing is the ink. In Turf War, covering the map with your colour is the aim of the game, but it’s so much more than that mechanically. Your own colour ink is your friend. It’s your main mode of traversal, it’s a hiding place, it’s your territory and the sole way of reloading your weapons. Enemy ink slows you down and hurts you so it’s really important to maintain your own inked territory or ‘turf’ so you and your team have space and can move around freely. Mobility is a huge part of Splatoon. Transforming into a squid allows you to swim through your team’s ink which is much faster than running around on foot. You can even swim up inked walls which allows for all kinds of sneaky flanks. Sneakier still, you can submerge yourself and lie in wait for a surprise attack on unsuspecting enemies. Each weapon set in the game comes with a special and to charge it you have to ink the map to expand your turf. When your tanks are empty, dunk yourself in the ink to top them up!
You’ve got weapons like rollers, paintbrushes, umbrellas, ‘splatling’ guns, buckets, sprays and all sorts of others. These are paired with secondary throwables and other abilities, and then there are your special attacks which are awesome. There’s a capture the flag type mode, control (splat) zones, Clam Blitz and a type of escort mission called Tower Control. They’re all brilliant.
Splatoon’s smart design hasn’t changed that much since the first game and with each new game they’ve essentially been adding and building on that incredibly confident and bold foundation. It’s got loads of personality and is just a great time. Oh, and the motion controls are a revelation. Undoubtedly the closest thing I’ve felt to mouse and keyboard on a pad and it makes me sad that it hasn’t been more widely adopted by other console shooters.
Welp I’m downloading the thing now. Thanks y’all.
geggis
4518
Oh I forgot to mention Salmon Run! It’s an intense and bananas co-op horde mode which used to be on for a limited time but with the third game it’ll be available all the time. Can’t wait.
So I just did the tutorial for Splatoon 3 and enjoyed it very much, but playing it with the pro controller with the thingy I usually use to mount it to the pro controller was no bueno.
So I did some research and got this:
Which looks way better for portable mode, which is how I exclusively play it. Very excited to try it.
My son just pointed out that during Splatfest, all of the stages are at night, when they’re normally played in daytime. I love touches like that!
Thraeg
4521
The Split Pad Pro is great. It’s way more comfortable than the joy-cons, and the rear buttons are very handy. I’ve used it almost exclusively for the past couple years.
BUT, since you’re interested in Splatoon 3, you should be aware that it does not have motion sensors, so you can’t use it for gyro aiming. That’s a feature that is irrelevant in 99% of games, but Splatoon is the one glaring exception.
That’s fine, I’m not sure I liked the gyro aiming.
Ah so I switched (ha ha) back to the original Joycons and the gyro aiming is SO MUCH BETTER. I’m still excited about the split pad as I find the joycons a bit small overall, but for this Splatoon test this will be way better.
I had zero idea the gyro aiming could even work at all with the hori pad pro. So there is a little something inside the switch itself as well I guess.
Omg you guys the Hori Split Pad is AMAZING. So damned comfortable, fits like a glove, great, smooth sticks and lovely buttons and a dpad!
LMN8R
4527
I’ve been hearing about that hori split pad for years. Finally bought it because of you @BrianRubin shakes fist
Oh wow, I hope y’all like it as much as I do.
Kickstarters and Switch stands aren’t necessarily exciting items these days, but this one looks like a winner. It’s a little pricey at $30 IMO, but I do think there’s more utility in this stand over a number of others because it looks like you could do a more permanent setup with it on your desk.
http://kck.st/3K4p9Fr
Not only the best Switch launch performance, but the best launch sales ever for a video game in Japan. The previous top spot was held by Animal Crossing: New Horizons. On top of that:
Japan is Switch country, but more than that, it seems like it’s Splatoon country.
Took them merely 30 years to get onboard the FPS train!
Nintendo marketed the hell out of it. Expect many, many complaints about how dizzy the game makes people in the coming weeks.
