Topic: Nintendo Switch --OT--

Downloaded a couple smaller games recently.

Smashing the Battle - It's kinda like a quick fire (as in the levels only last a few minutes) Warriors/Senran Kagura style game, with a sci-fi theme (something about a worker fighting her way through a multi floor skyscraper to escape after a hacker takes control of an army's worth of construction "buildbots"). All levels have the same aesthetic, but it's managed to keep things surprisingly fresh by adding new enemies & hazards pretty regularly. I've played through 25 of the 30 missions in the first story mode, but there's apparently another character with her own 30 mission story afterwards, plus a challenge mode which also has 20-30 missions of it's own. There's a bit of a grind involved as the cash you earn by completing levels is used to upgrade your character's stats, but completing in game achievements also nets you large sums of cash as well. You also earn keys by completing levels with a perfect score (bosses sometimes randomly drop them as well), which are used to unlock story logs & fan art. It's a bit grindy (and heavily fanservicy if that type of thing bothers you), but it's a fun enough time to fire up every once in awhile to work through a few levels.

RXN: Raijin - Just got this last night. It's a sci-fi themed shmup, and while I generally suck at the genre I do enjoy playing them from time to time, and luckily this one lets you save inbetween stages & you can level up your ships, so hopefully I'll be able to work my way through this one.

Mario + Rabbids is 15 quid on the Nintendo store. I'm finding it hard to ignore at that price. I mostly play my Switch not docked, does any one know how the game plays not docked?

@JohnnyShoulder it’s fine, a little blurry I found, but the same when it’s docked and it might be a bit intentional. I paid full price for it, didn’t complete it and kinda regret spending that much but I’d say it’s worth £15 for sure.

@JohnnyShoulder It's fine. Not quite native res (600p, I think), but still looks good. The image is just a tad soft.

It's absolutely gorgeous on my (non-4K) TV, but I also spent a lot of time playing in handheld mode.

Enjoy. It's one of the best games on the system!

@Ralizah @kyleforrester87 Cheers guys! Looks like it will be my next Switch purchase!

Decided to put in an order for the LABO VR Starter Kit

Impressions over on NL have been pretty positive, including praises from a user who owns both a PSVR & Oculus Rift as well. Apparently the art direction goes a long way to hide the issues with the resolution (apparently it's noticeable, but not a big deal), and the blaster that comes with the base kit is apparently awesome.

The PSVR/Oculus owner said the tactile feedback with the blaster's pump action & recoil mechanisms is the most fun & most immersive control they've ever experienced in VR, and it would be a shame if neither Nintendo or a 3rd party made something a little meatier with it in mind.

@RR529 Well, some people like everything that says Nintendo on the box

And that goes for every company by the way.

I have a hard time believing it can be as immersive as a high-end Oculus or Rift for example. I'm sure it's great fun for $40 though.

@Octane, to be fair, that user is JaxonH, who seems to fall in love with EVERY release, so he's probably laying it on a little thick, but for the same reason in that he does buy everything, it definitely means he has PSVR & Oculus as well, and if he says it's not **** in comparison, it probably does have some truth to it.

@RR529 We'll see what you think!

I have seen BotW in VR (well technically, just 3D), and it actually looks pretty good!

I just played the Gamexplain video with the side by side screenshots with my phone in my Google Cardboard and the depth effect came through beautifully. My phone does have a 720p screen as well, so it may be a good indication of what it'll look like. Of course we'll have to see how things look in motion to fully judge, though.

EDIT: I got my own LABO VR kit in the mail as well today, so I'll try putting it together tomorrow (at least the goggles, the blaster will have to wait for the weekend).

Finally got this today,

Super excited to play it again (played and finished it on both the Xbox 360 and PS4) but couldn't resist the collectors edition. Along with the game it came with a CD of the soundtrack, a Fidget Keychain plushie and a Sword flashdrive, all in an oversized box

I haven’t used my Switch for a couple of weeks and the battery ran completely flat. It won’t turn on now - I’ve connected it directly to the wall socket and the Nintendo logo comes up, then the charging icon appears but it stays at its minimum level and if I unplug it it just turns off. Left it plugged in over night and it’s not charged. Tried holding power button for 12-30 seconds and did a few other bits as suggested by Google but no dice. Bit of a weird one!

@kyleforrester87 Have you tried contacting Nintendo and set up a repair? From what I have heard they do have great repair service.

@Tasuki naw not yet, I’m going to exhaust a few other options when I have a bit of time over the (long) weekend. It’s out of warranty so I guess I’ll be charged something for sending it off if it needs it. If it’s a significant bill I might consider getting a new one later on in the year. My screen has a couple of scratches that I put on it before I got a screen protector that have been annoying me! Hopefully it won’t come to that though.

@kyleforrester87 Well if the rumours are true of a new Switch model being released this Autumn, the standard version will probs come down in price.

I built my LABO VR headset this morning. Took me about an hour because I wanted to make sure I didn't screw anything up, but everything turned out good & it was actually pretty fun.

Decently impressed as a PSVR owner so far. The lower resolution is noticeable, but the simple art direction works well within it's limitations (and I'd assume the lack of external headtracking diminishes the threat of motion sickness, which I haven't experienced). I've only played a couple minigames in the VR playground area though.

And yes, I can confirm that VR/3D videos on YouTube do work, sort of. If the video is set to side by side format by default it will have depth, however as Google doesn't officially support it you can't use the system's gyro to look around in 360°, and if the video isn't set to side by side format by default there's no way to switch it like there is on your phone. This is easily something they could patch in via an update though.

Well I put my Switch in the dock and it started up no problem so go figure. No problem with the other cable and wall plug I was using as it’s charging the controller. Weird!

Anyway, I got Katana Zero for it - Just played a couple of levels, it’s very cool!

What I've seen of Katana Zero makes me think of a side-scrolling, more eastern-inspired Hotline Miami.

@Ralizah it’s channeling Hotline Miami big time, which is no problem as that games fabulous. The fact he’s a ninja is kinda odd. Cool, but odd. I basically told a hotel receptionist I was cosplaying since she called me out for dressing weird. It’s set in the west though, I believe?

Anyway, for <£15 it’s great so far.

I really don't mean this to be such a negative observation, but I was at my partner's the other day (he got New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe and yeah, there's no way in heck I'm ever playing that beyond the first set of levels... were 2D Mario games always this impossible?) and in a spare moment, I looked at the "Most Recent" tab on the Nintendo eShop.

Is it me, or is it 90% mobile phone shovelware for everybody else, too?