[Aptorian]

Reviews are coming in now. Sort of cautious verdicts. Strong points but a lot of downsides as well. Feels like the expected result of making a hybrid console that both wants to be a console and a handheld. If it was marketed as a handheld that could be played on your TV I think the reviews would have been more warm:

http://www.reddit.co..._review_thread/

[Aptorian]

Zelda is getting amazing scores. It's on a course to be the best rated game on metacritic of all time.

https://www.reddit.c...he_wild_review/

This weekend is going to be a blast.

I'll be doing nothing but playing Zelda and Super Mario World

EDIT: Just saw this screen cap of best reviewed games on metacritic:



It's the highest reviewed game since 2008. Now of course review scores have changed over time and there's a lot of hype for this game, but boy oh boy.

This post has been edited by Apt: 02 March 2017 - 01:08 PM

[Traveller]

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2?

[amphibian]

Traveller, on 02 March 2017 - 11:00 PM, said:

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2?

Absolutely incredible game. Took a great concept and made it a terrific thing to play over and over.

[Aptorian]

Received my Switch today. My impression of the system after messing around with it for an hour and playing a couple of hours of Zelda is that this is a pretty cool package.

When I unboxed it I was surprised by just how small the joycons are. I'd read and seen stuff about them but these things are made for children or people with midget hands. They feel incredibly unappealing to hold seperately. On the other hand, as soon as they are clicked on to the screen portion of the system, everything feels great. The buttons are a bit too small and close to one another but it makes sense given the size of the thing. Sitting with the Switch in your hands feels right and I could see myself bringing this on the commute.

Docked is less impressive. For some reason the menus run in 720p, so everything looks slightly blurry on the TV. The doc is also suspiciously light and flimsy. Speculation was that the dock had magical powers but really, it's just a plastic housing for the Switch to sit in.

The actual systems UI is great. Everything seems sleek and user friendly. It has satisfying little noises and the layouts look great.

One thing that is driving me nuts though is the button positions. Nintendos names for the buttons is the inverted positions of a 360. Furthermore where we in the west typically use the X or A button to select stuff and O/B to cancel stuff, on the Switch it's the other way around. Meaning I am constantly cancelling and selecting when I want to do the opposite. I've also noticed the triggers only click, you can't incrementally depress them to simulate something like speeding up in a car. Doesn't seem to hurt in Zelda though when aiming.

Playing on the TV I'd definitely recommend buying the Pro-controller. It's so much more comfertable than the make-shift joypad you can assemble if you detach the joycons. The Pro-controller is around the size of a 360 pad and, besides the clicky-triggers, it's completely similar, except for some additional buttons in the center that mimick some menu/select buttons on the Switch.

This post has been edited by Apt: 03 March 2017 - 07:44 PM

[Malankazooie]

Have you played any of the casual/social/party games yet? I saw a short demo of the system and it looks like it's trying to recapture that kind of audience (which the launch of Wii grabbed and has since been diminished by android phones/iPhone). The demo was weighted heavily towards those types of games (i.e. a game where you and a friend race to milk cows, a quick draw game, etc).

Also, there was some advanced interest in my neck of the woods because when I went to Best Buy yesterday after work to buy Horizon: Zero Dawn, there was a line already started for when the console went on sale at midnight.

[Aptorian]

Only played Zelda. I'm not interested in any of the party game like experiences like 1-2 or Snipperclips.

Actually come to think of it, one thing that disappointed me is that the e-shop apparently isn't the same as "old game library", that is something called the Virtual Console store. That thing isn't live yet and depending upon the source, might not arrive for a while. That sucks. When their new game line-up is as thin as it is, they should pad their library with older games.

I really wanted to play Super Mario World.

[HoosierDaddy]

was excited. Apt and others ratings out of ten for full tv application?

[Traveller]

From playing HZD at the moment, and being pretty much blown away.. things don't sound as positive as they could?

I get that Zelda will be addictive, and play well - but looking blurry on a tv? Lack of textures? It sounds like the opposite of what I'm playing at the mo. I'm definitely not jumping up and down to get one, just yet anyway.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 03 March 2017 - 08:48 PM

[HoosierDaddy]

I can get season soccer tickets for 2 or this.

Which? (Indy 11 is much less attractive as a USL team, even if it's fun).

[Aptorian]

HoosierDaddy, on 03 March 2017 - 08:23 PM, said:

was excited. Apt and others ratings out of ten for full tv application?

I've only played Zelda so it's hard to answer. The thing about the full TV-application is that it's just the UI that is 720p, the actual games run at what ever setting the developer chose. I assume the resolution will be patched/fixed later.

It really seems like this is a handheld first and console second but the thing works. If what you're looking for is a box that plays games on your TV, the Switch does its job. Zelda just looks like a mid to late generation PS3/360 game.

Traveller, on 03 March 2017 - 08:47 PM, said:

From playing HZD at the moment, and being pretty much blown away.. things don't sound as positive as they could?

I get that Zelda will be addictive, and play well - but looking blurry on a tv? Lack of textures? It sounds like the opposite of what I'm playing at the mo. I'm definitely not jumping up and down to get one, just yet anyway.

The Switch definitely wont impress you graphics-wise but you could say the same thing about the Wii and Wii U. Zelda and other Nintendo titles are going to be all about the gameplay and the experience. I put some more hours into Zelda and it's definitely fun. Like somebody took Farcry and smashed it together with Dark Souls.

This post has been edited by Apt: 03 March 2017 - 09:53 PM

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

Still on the fence. It's my birthday and Alli actually want is to play zelda. That is unfortunately the only game I give the slightest shit about on the whole system. If I wait for christmas I can get a bundle, more games will be out, and maybe there will have been some hardware improvements by then.

But if I'm not being practical, I want it.

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

What are the must-have accessories?

[Traveller]

Apt, on 03 March 2017 - 09:29 PM, said:

HoosierDaddy, on 03 March 2017 - 08:23 PM, said:

was excited. Apt and others ratings out of ten for full tv application?

I've only played Zelda so it's hard to answer. The thing about the full TV-application is that it's just the UI that is 720p, the actual games run at what ever setting the developer chose. I assume the resolution will be patched/fixed later.

It really seems like this is a handheld first and console second but the thing works. If what you're looking for is a box that plays games on your TV, the Switch does its job. Zelda just looks like a mid to late generation PS3/360 game.

Traveller, on 03 March 2017 - 08:47 PM, said:

From playing HZD at the moment, and being pretty much blown away.. things don't sound as positive as they could?

I get that Zelda will be addictive, and play well - but looking blurry on a tv? Lack of textures? It sounds like the opposite of what I'm playing at the mo. I'm definitely not jumping up and down to get one, just yet anyway.

The Switch definitely wont impress you graphics-wise but you could say the same thing about the Wii and Wii U. Zelda and other Nintendo titles are going to be all about the gameplay and the experience. I put some more hours into Zelda and it's definitely fun. Like somebody took Farcry and smashed it together with Dark Souls.

Yes sounds like every other Nintendo console in that respect. I would love to play Zelda, it does look great and it is a Zelda game after all... but playing Horizon at the moment is making me feel totally spoiled for a quality open world game. If I was bored with what's on offer at the moment, I'd be seriously tempted, but Horizon hit at just the right time to make me think twice about buying a new system for one game.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 05 March 2017 - 06:47 PM

[Aptorian]

Raymond Luxury Yacht, on 05 March 2017 - 05:52 PM, said:

Still on the fence. It's my birthday and Alli actually want is to play zelda. That is unfortunately the only game I give the slightest shit about on the whole system. If I wait for christmas I can get a bundle, more games will be out, and maybe there will have been some hardware improvements by then.

But if I'm not being practical, I want it.

If all you really want to play is Zelda (and Mario come Christmas) I'd just wait I think. I'd argue that Zelda is actually worth buying the system for but you'd need to have the disposable income to justify such a luxury. I certainly don't regret buying the system.

Raymond Luxury Yacht, on 05 March 2017 - 05:53 PM, said:

What are the must-have accessories?

Depends on a lot of things. If you're travelling a lot you'll want to buy the AC adapter that allows the Switch to be charged on the go.

If you're playing on the TV you'll definitely want to buy the pro-controller, since the make-shift controller is awkward (think size of the the PS3 controller but thinner).

If you're interesting in more than 2 player multiplayer you'll need to buy more joycons.

If you're the type downloads and installs a lot of games, you'll probably want to buy Micro SD card for the extra memory. Personally I bought a 200GB Micro SD.

Traveller, on 05 March 2017 - 06:44 PM, said:

Yes sounds like every other Nintendo console in that respect. I would love to play Zelda, it does look great and it is a Zelda game after all... but playing Horizon at the moment is making me feel totally spoiled for a quality open world game. If I was bored with what's on offer at the moment, I'd be seriously tempted, but Horizon hit at just the right time to make me think twice about buying a new system for one game.

Feels like I'm drowning in Open World games.

Just finished Mafia 3, currently playing Zelda, will be playing Horizon and Ghost Recon and soon Mass Effect drops.

[Aptorian]

It's connected via HDMI. Mo idea if it's capable of streaming images.

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

Fuck it I'm waiting. Should be able to get a bundle at Christmas and there will be more games at that point.

[HoosierDaddy]

Considering prices I have to, too. Seriously ridiculous with most stores out of stock they are at $800 level for just the system.

I was ready to blow $400 and 50+ for the game. But nah. No thanks.

This post has been edited by HoosierDaddy: 08 March 2017 - 12:07 AM

[amphibian]

I'll ask my friend who has one if he thinks the controllers are fragile. He loves this console enormously at this early juncture, but I'm waiting to get a more sober review after the "newness" dies down.

I'm still going to get one in April or May though.

[Serenity]

I watched this review of Zelda last night and it said there are some serious frame rate issues when playing it with the Switch docked, whereas it's completely smooth when playing portable. Is this true? To be fair, they still think the game is amazing.