I read or watched a few reviews each for the Switch hardware and the newest Zelda game. It sounds like there's more excitement for Zelda than for the Switch, but it could just be that they started releasing hardware reviews without a full operating system, eShop, etc.
One confusing thing I keep reading about Switch is that, "This is what the Wii U was supposed to be." I'm sorry, but I OWN a Wii U, and WANTED to own one in 2012. It's hard to say the same thing about the Switch. On Wii U, I knew they were trying to let you incorporate a "tablet" as a bulky player 1 controller. I haven't gotten deep enough into my game library to see what it's like "switching" to a Pro controller as your main interface. Just from a technical perspective, I'm not sure which one is more powerful (you'd think a Switch, right?), or if Wii U should've started as just a tablet that plugs into an HDMI docking/charging station.
Some of the reviews will say, "Gone are the cartoon bubbles [from Wara Wara Plaza] of the Wii U." That would actually be a "negative" in my book. The regular Wii was essentially a screen with "apps" (I think they called them "channels"). You had to open up one of the apps to see a parade of Miis that sort of showed you a first draft version of WW Plaza. Plus, can't you just put that set of tiles on the TV, send the Plaza to your tablet, and then turn off the tablet screen?
I guess Mii characters are still a thing, even though I read rumors somewhere that they might disappear (because of their link to the Wii branding). I'm just not sure why they would be useful with this system (do you play as a Mii in "1, 2 Switch"?).
There's an argument I saw in the IGN comment section where you shouldn't have to choose between fancy graphics and solid gameplay anymore. It's weird to me how Nintendo seems to stick with the lowest possible video standard for the year when the console releases. You could argue that many of their first-party games wouldn't benefit from looking like real people, because the art styles aren't trying to imitate real life, but then they can't draw in the third-party titles that used to release on every system.
I was at a Toys R Us the other day, and they had a display, but no Switch itself. I didn't stick around to watch all of the videos. The trailer for "Super Mario Odyssey" looked GORGEOUS on that screen in the store. Maybe I'm too easy to please? We don't have the fastest Internet connection, so I wonder how that affects the quality of game trailers. Even after playing multiple Wii U games on a 768p TV set, I haven't felt a WOW moment yet with their graphics.
So, still not sure on the system itself. One thing that disappointed me was how the dock might not have ANY USB 3.0 ports. The newest standard should be 3.1 or higher. It's hard to buy an external hard drive without a USB 3.0 port. For other accessories, I'm not sure if 3.0 would matter. It's just stuff like that, and STILL having 32 GB as the internal storage (too small for anyone who wants to download more than a few games) that feel like Nintendo are being too stingy. I mean, Mr. Iwata said something a while ago about how the latest graphics aren't a big deal (to make a machine with those specifications). Do they just not want to make a device that costs $500 and would still barely "compete" with a PS4 or an XBox?
On the Zelda side of things, it's got a 98 score on Metacritic, and lots of people saying 10/10. I am a fan of the Zelda series, but I tend to disagree with how people bash "Skyward Sword." I'm not done with the whole game yet. I'd say that it's the entry in the series that looks closest to the art style in "Breath of the Wild." The motion controls were cool to me, because they made you pay attention during a mini-boss or a dungeon boss fight. I'm not sure how big the world was, but it didn't bother me to keep flying back up to the main hub in the sky. There's a rumor/spoiler that every area eventually connects. I wonder if making them separate was just a way to keep the game "big" without long loading times or not being able to store everything in the RAM all at once. There isn't a fairy trying to get your attention all the time, but you do have "Fi" that lives inside your sword.
Based on some reviews and videos from "BotW," I'd hesitate to call it a Zelda game??? They do mention how there's no fairy to bother you (removing a "negative" from previous games?). You also can't keep chopping up blades of grass to get hearts and rupees. I would probably like that, because it got annoying to me in previous Zelda games. Why was it so "easy" to keep collecting hearts or ending up with so many rupees that your wallet was full for a majority of the game? Not only that, but there was hardly a reason to SPEND the rupees once you collected them.
Without playing the game, it's hard to tell, but there might be some "negatives" for me. Your weapons can BREAK, and then you apparently lose them. It also seems like there are weird conditions where you have to catch your boomerang after you throw it, or it gets lost? On the breakable side of things, Link is supposed to be a SWORDSMAN and/or an ARCHER. Why would a sword break apart, unless it was metal or a plastic lightsaber toy? With a bow and arrow, I wouldn't expect the bow part to "break." Maybe a string, or you could understand running out of arrows.
Fighting ANY kind of hostile creature looks much harder, but they keep telling you which button to push. I'd have to see if that makes the game better or worse. The kind of cheap thing that ended up happening with the first few 3D games was that, as long as you could see an enemy, you just "targeted" them and your attack landed.
This game is an "open world," but when I saw videos with Mr. Aonuma and Mr. Miyamoto playing, or commenting on someone else playing the game, it looked like you can just walk around and not see things that are important to the story. Yeah, maybe there are geese, and you spook them, so they fly away. That's relevant, because ... ? You can glide over a bunch of trees. Is anything important on the ground in that area with the trees?
Then, there's what looks like a new power of "magnesis." Basically, Link becomes the mutant Magneto and keeps moving metal objects around to solve puzzles? It's kind of bizarre, and I'm not sure if they've had a similar ability in the other games. There's one item where it mirrors your moves, but this looks like you get to pick stuff up or release it before it follows your movements.
It could be a neat game. I didn't read many people coming down hard on "Twilight Princess" in the comments about BotW. In my mind, THAT GAME is overrated. To make it harder, you would have to avoid learning special moves, like the helm splitter, or some kind of sidestep and rear attack. Once you learn those, and fight five to ten of the "Darknut" soldiers (toughest enemy besides a boss), you know the pattern. There were other things story-wise that didn't impress me. Why does a midget keep insulting me and riding my wolf form like a horse? I would try to buck her off on purpose by crashing into walls. As a wolf (which you're forced to be for certain parts of the story), you only bite things or use a shadowy hand to reach out and do attacks for you. The main enemy isn't the real boss, and he goes from feeling like a real threat to being a court jester or someone in a mental hospital. The last few dungeons felt too small, and the final two bosses weren't that hard. One fight basically makes you repeat battles from other dungeons where you already know the pattern. Then, the final guy repeats a battle from "Ocarina of Time," plus the special technique that makes it easy to beat a Darknut.
I guess there will still be Wii U until the battery can't hold a charge, or they stop selling replacements. Not to mention how I'm backlogged on a bunch of Mario, DK Country, and even Metroid games.
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WWE 2K18 ROSTER & MATCH TYPES | ||||
If you see multiple of the same name, it just means different versions that can be in the ring together. Names highlighted in blue are Cruiserweights | ||||
1 Up Man Adam Cole Aerostar Aiden English AJ Styles Akam Akira Tozawa Albert Aleister Black Alexander Wolfe Andrade "Cien" Almas Andre The Giant Angelo Dawkins Animal Apollo Crews Ariya Daivari Arnold T101 Austin Aries B Brian Blair Bam Bam Bigelow Baron Corbin Barron Blade Batista '10 Beautiful Bobby Eaton Big Boss Man '91 Big Boss Man '99 Big Cass Big E Big Show Big Show '00 Bo Dallas Bobby Fish Bobby Roode Booker T Braun Strowman Bray Wyatt Bret Hart '97 Bret Hart '98 Brian Kendrick British Bulldog Brock Lesnar Brutus Beefcake Bryan Danielson Buddy Roberts Butch Cactus Jack '92 Cactus Jack '98 Captain Jobber Cedric Alexander Cesaro Chad Gable Chris Jericho |
Chris Jericho '00 Christian Col Sanders Cole Quinn Curt Hawkins Curtis Axel Daniel Bryan Dark Link Darren Young Dash Wilder DDP '92 DDP '98 Dean Ambrose Dennis Condrey Diesel Doc Louis Dolph Ziggler Donatello Drago Drew Gulak Drew McIntyre Dude Love Dusty Rhodes Earthquake Eddie Guerrero Edge El Mago Elias Enzo Amore Epico Colon Eric Young Erick Rowan Fandango Finn Balor Finn Balor Demon The Godfather Goldberg Goldust Gorgeous George Gran Metalik Greg Valentine Hawk Heath Slater Hideo Itami Hurricane Jack Gallagher Jake Roberts Jason Jordan JBL Jeff Hardy Jey Uso Jim Brunzell |
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VALETS & MANAGERS Anyone above can be a "manager" plus... | ||||
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Mr. McMahon Paul Ellering Paul Heyman |
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MATCH TYPES | ||||
*** ONE ON ONE *** Normal |
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*** FATAL 4 WAY *** Normal |
*** TWO ON TWO *** Normal *** 8-MAN *** Tag Team |
*** 6-MAN *** Tag Team *** HANDICAP *** One on Two Tag |
MATCH MODIFIERS | ||||
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Over the Top Rope On, Off K.O. Last Man Standing |
Perform Finisher to Win On, Off First Blood Climb out of Cage (Cage Match Only) DQ |
Rope Break (Automatic) On, Off Ring Out Elimination |
Falls Count Anywhere On, Off Time Limit Entrance Interval (Chamber/Rumble) |
SUPER SMASH BROS. ROSTER & SETTINGS | |||
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BATTLE TYPES TIME BATTLE: All characters battle for a set amount of time scoring one point per KO and LOSING one point each time they are KO'ed. STOCK BATTLE: All characters have a set number of lives and when they run out, they're done. When combined with a time limit whomever has more lives left when time runs out wins. COIN BATTLE: For 2-4 characters ONLY! Coins are knocked out of characters as they battle. After a fixed time limit whomever has the most coins wins. SETTINGS TIME LIMIT: Can be from 1 to 15 minutes. |