Anybody played Splatoon for the Wii U?

[VideoGameCritic]

I'm interested in the game, but not interested in playing random strangers online.
Does anybody know if this had a local mode and/or single-player mode? Are they any good?

[David]

It has a single player mode, and local co-op, but after playing a little of the tutorial level I quit and moved into multiplayer. I *think* the local co-op only supports two players though, and it really is built for 4v4 matches. Fun game though. Map selection is limited, and they rotate between two available maps at any one time, but the matches are short and entertaining. I've found the game works best in short bursts, which may be a positive or negative.

[ActRaiser]

The only local play is 1 on 1. Someone uses the TV and someone uses the Wii U controller. There is no online co-op mode.

I think I've played about an hour or so. The maps seem extremely limited. My one saving grace is I tried out Best Buy's 20% off Gamer's Club which shaved $12 off the price. The single player campaign seems alright. I made it to a boss fight that was pretty fun.

It's polished although it feels like the lack of maps and no chatting will make any real use of team work difficult to pull off. It's fun in the same way de Blob was fun. There's something appealing about changing the world to match your colors.

[DaHeckIzDat]

I haven't played it, but I've watched a few gameplay videos and reviews of it. I see lots of people calling it the most unique shooter in years, but I just found that it reminded me a lot of Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare. I'm sure they play completely differently, but watching one just makes me think of the other.

[ActRaiser]

Yeah, that's not a bad way to describe it. It's goofy fun.

A few nitpicks so far are the lack of off screen play and no voice chat. In a heavy team focused game - I don't get it.

One weird pro is that while you're waiting for a new match to start you can play a mini game on the controller. It's a simple jump, reach the top of the tower before you drown game with an ever rising pool of water beneath you. If the water touches you it's game over. As you're a squid, it makes about as much sense as Kid Icarus not being able to fly or at least float a bit either. IMHO it's idiotic but works. You're playing for score. While the concept of a mini game while you're waiting isn't new (see Tekken and Galaga on the PS1) it makes killing time a bit more palatable. I only wished they offered a few more choices than the one provided as it quickly becomes stale.

They released a new Ranked mode but I haven't had time yet to play it. If there was an off screen mode I might be able to try it...

[David]

Actraiser - How do you feel about the game requiring the gamepad? I don't mind the gamepad in general - it's pretty comfortable for being so big - but I've come to love using the pro controller every opportunity I can. The game strangely forces you to use the gamepad exclusively, except in local multiplayer, where the second player can use the pro controller. I like being able to look at the map with the pad, but that could easily be placed in a corner of the primary display as well.

[Verm3]

I wouldn't buy Splatoon unless one is into online play and online updates; the base game is apparently pretty bare in both SP and MP, but Nintendo are releasing weekly content updates for the next couple of months (already a new map, new game mode and a couple of new weapons).

[ActRaiser]

Actraiser - How do you feel about the game requiring the gamepad? I don't mind the gamepad in general - it's pretty comfortable for being so big - but I've come to love using the pro controller every opportunity I can. The game strangely forces you to use the gamepad exclusively, except in local multiplayer, where the second player can use the pro controller. I like being able to look at the map with the pad, but that could easily be placed in a corner of the primary display as well.

I don't own a pro controller so I can't really say.

I only use the gamepad so I'm fine with it.

The one feature that could be easily moved to some other function is that when you spawn you can elect to launch to a teammate. The way they do that is via the gamepad. You look at the map and then select the teammate you want to jump to and it will take you there. So far that's the only feature I see with the gamepad, well, that and a mini game while you wait between rounds. I love that idea but am already sick of the current mini game they have. I'd prefer a few simple options such as play Mario Bros or something.

Oh, and you can't play Ranked Mode until you're level 10...so there goes that idea of trying it out.