Splatoon Testfire - Aug 21 15 A
13Well, here's the least I can do, I suppose, since people were requesting Splatoon a bunch. For whatever reason, Nintendo sent out a post-release Testfire (not a Global one this time, it seems). I'm not sure how popular it was, or how many people were actually veterans who jumped in, however.
Nintendo says this is for the last weekend of summer before school starts. While this would've been true for my high school it always began on the last Monday of August), it would've been nowhere close for any of my other schools or colleges (which ran on the quarter system and thus would've begun in late September). And it's nowhere close to the real end of summer, which is on the Autumnal Equinox about two-thirds through September. I know that's besides the point though.
As I think most of you not only know a lot about Splatoon, but can lecture me on the game's mechanics and finer points, I don't think a brief description of this game is necessary. Nevertheless, if you have any questions, feel free to ask as a comment. I won't always be able to answer, but some passers-by might.
Now, the first thing I want to talk about is why I lingered so long on the Press Start screen. I forgot which buttons the ZL and ZR ones are. With that out of the way, and customization of our little Inkling for the Testfire (such a sad and fleeting existence), we get to the tutorial. As long as the Testfire is played at the proper time, it will always begin with this tutorial. Pretty clearly, I needed it. And it should be painfully obvious to you that I had never played this game prior to now.
Also, it's painfully obvious that this game needs to go online in order to do anything. I'm not really bothered by it as you need to download the Testfire to use it, but I do now wonder how little the game business thinks of people who do not have fast enough Internet or a strictly wired network. As I live right by the projects, I see Internet-free households all the time.
As you may have spotted, I used the tutorial as a chance to snag a few more samples for my cryptanalysis project. It was at this point that I recognized some words enough to be pretty sure I was on the right track. I also am not too sure about what sort of urban environment would have unusual topography like what I'm seeing in the tutorial...but I also question the use of areas like Urchin Underpass and Bluefin Depot.
With the tutorial done, I noticed you get to use four weapons: The Splattershot Jr., the Splattershot (not Junior), the Splat Roller, and the Splat Charger. Somehow, I thought you'd be restricted to the Splattershot Jr. only (which is how the in-store demos and Nintendo's room at the Marriott during San Diego Comic-Con were like), so it was an interesting surprise. I chose the Splat Roller as it was the least shooter-like. To that end, I delved headfirst into the matches, as what this Testfire was supposed to be.
Match #1
Saltspray Rig
Oddly, I was the only Splat Roller user on my team. Still, you can see how much, or how little, I got out of that tutorial. Certainly, I think I had the controls memorized, but aiming yourself proved to be more difficult than I had thought. I thought when you're using the Roller, you'd control like a 3-D platforming character. I didn't know my Inkling would automatically strafe when the Roller is on the floor. That, and the camera is the result of playing sitting on the floor while I have a computer jutting out right in front of me on a low table: A naturally high-angle GamePad stance with no real room to move!
Match #2
Walleye Warehouse
These are the two stages available in Testfire. I'm guessing they're the two simplest, most straightforward stages. Now, I've watched a lot of Splatoon, so I've done a lot of armchair strategization and spectating a lot of it too, so I figured some good places to aim the Killer Wail in this stage. Didn't expect to Splat most of the opposing team though! A walleye, or Sander vitreus, by the way, is a North American freshwater fish popular for fishing and as food, especially in Minnesota and Saskatchewan.
I got disconnected and couldn't get back in, so I used that opportunity to switch out my Mii for Blythe from Littlest Pet Shop (hence the LPS tag—it’s not a clan, though I can make it into a Littlest Pet Shop clan if I wish) and also changed to the Splattershot Jr.
Match #3
Walleye Warehouse
That was pretty neat for a teammate to provide cover fire via a Killer Wail, clearing the path of opponents for me to finish slathering a hallway with my team's chartreuse. Also, that Brandon had the audacity to mosey up to our team's respawn point, where we're invincible.
Match #4
Saltspray Rig
You know, I never expected that I'd carry teams in some of these matches. It's a weird feeling in this last match of the session.
In any case, this represented about an hour of the Testfire, and I got bored so I switched over to acquiring Replays in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
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