Hands on the Nintendo Switch – RTX Sydney 2017
If you managed to brave the long lines and have the patience of a Saint, then you managed to check out the Nintendo Switch and its assortment of games at RTX! Luckily if you didn’t, Paul James and Adam Rorke did that for you so you can sit back and have a quick read about our early impressions of some of the games on show! That’s just how much we care.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Battle Mode – Adam Rorke
When Mario Kart 8 came out on the WiiU it was near perfect. Awesome tracks, nods and additions from our favourites from yesteryear, running at a smooth 60 frames per second and a stable and fantastic net code for online play! But … where in God’s name was the battle mode arenas? This has always been a staple of the series and to not have it in Mario Kart 8 felt like the biggest brain fart of the century.
Well, fret no more, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will come with a proper battle mode and it was on display at RTX Sydney! Picking up the joycon controller, I played split screen with another lucky attendee on the switches tablet. The game felt nigh identical to its Wii U counterpart, the controls were smooth and responsive and the screen didn’t ever seem to drop a frame. There was only one playable battle arena map available and a few things became very apparent that I hope can be modified or changed upon its final release. Namely the only item you can get was a Bob-omb, driving through multiple item boxes gave me additional ones that I could accumulate though, no shells, stars or banana peels could be seen though and I think it’s important to realise that this isn’t a launch title and we’re hoping to see this added before its final release.
The other potential issue is that we were forced to play with a bunch of other AI opponents. This could be because the demo was only setup for two people, but it would be a shame for them to deny the return of the 1v1 or 4 player free for all that we all fell in love with years ago. All the parts seem to be there, now it’s in Nintendo’s hands to deliver us something golden.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Paul James
Well, it seems I managed to do some things that the Aussie Nintendo representatives were yet to have seen. After the opening sequence concluded I abandoned the defined mission in favour of exploring the vast Hyrulian landscape… and man, it is certainly vast! It wasn’t long before I had my bow and quiver, and had decided that gyro control for it was far superior to the frankly far too sensitive analogue sticks.
I then took off into the field to see what I could do. I replicated the moment from the trailers where Link rolls a boulder down a hill onto unsuspecting Bokoblin, I quickly acclimated to the inclusion of jumping and sprinting controls and took down a Bokoblin fortress that rewarded me with a serious OP club! When compared to the weapons at my disposal to that stage, this Spiked Club in my possession was a monster and suddenly I was one-shotting a number of your stock standard enemies.
The inventory system is quite simple to navigate but appears to have a tonne of depth to it. I didn’t get an opportunity to play with the cooking system, but I also didn’t find any ingredients lying about that could cook. I did however, pinch some cooked meat from a downed party of Bokoblin’s barbeque – sucked in! Zelda has now gone gold and I’m quite bullish about the fact that Breath of the Wild is set to redefine the series’ future and perhaps in some ways set a new standard for the genre.
ULTRA Street Fighter 2 Turbo – Adam Rorke
As of writing this article, Street Fighter 2 just hit 26 years of age. Yes, this makes me feel old, but it brings back so many wonderful gaming memories of arcade gaming that I’m willing to look past this and give this game a chance.
If you ever picked up the SF2 HDR remake that came out in the last console generation, you’ll know what to expect here. Graphics and sound can be switched back and forth between the new and old and all your old favourites are there. That isn’t to say there isn’t anything new here, in addition to two new characters (Evil Ryu and Violent Ken) it appears that Capcom is adding new/old systems. One that became readily apparent is the ability to tech throws!
This one will be a launch title and even though it’s perhaps just one for the die-hard retro lovers like myself, that doesn’t mean that it won’t be enjoyable. Check this one out on March 3rd.
