Thoughts on the Switch

I'm off on a wee European jaunt next week and I didn't want to take my laptop, but I will want to game. How to escape this conundrum? With a Switch ofc.

I picked one up retail 3 weeks ago, but only really had the chance to get stuck in over the weekend, so this is based off a few hours with Zelda.

Setup was a breeze as you'd expect. It did forget the Wi-Fi password once, but otherwise was just dandy. The TV to handheld transition is seamless, although I understand the screen can get scratched if you're not careful.

In handheld mode it's comfortable to use and the screen is a decent size. Zelda looks surprisingly good. The jury is out on the controllers a wee bit, as the position on the right analogue stick isn't ideal... can report back after an extended play.

Overall I'm rather chuffed with it at this point. It'll do a bang up job for this trip I'm sure and if there's no niche for it when I return it should be a trivial job to sell it.

Comments

Thanks mate, have you got any other peripherals for it?

brainwipe's picture

I managed to try out the switches local multiplayer for the first time at the weekend played two player split screen fast rmx (basically wipe out) with the sideways joycons worked pretty well we just slid out the joycons propped the switch up on it's kickstand and then had two player fun while enjoying a fruit tea.

It was almost right out of nintendo's marketing blurb. Next I need to get invited to a hipster rooftop party where I dazzle other hipsters with the switch, discuss zelda at an airport, skate board and or basketball then have a 4 player mario kart game, and finally participate in a pro gaming arena tournament that is inexplicably playing splatoon rather than overwatch or lol or dota or starcraft.

Evilmatt's picture

while enjoying a fruit tea

Who are you and what have you don't with EMW?

Was it completely seamless, was there no faff at all?

brainwipe's picture

to be fair it was more a fruit smoothy I didn't actually find any tea in it. The tea bar place was more in the bubble tea sort of tea bar than than a proper tea bar that actually uses tea leaves.

yeah it was very straight forward you just took the controllers off the thing held the top buttons down to switch it to two player mode (which it prompted you to do) and then just set up a multiplayer game and away you go

Evilmatt's picture

The more I read about the Switch, the more I like it. I think I'm going to have to wait until the house is reorganised as we "lose" the computer room to Naomi when she needs her own space.

brainwipe's picture

Having been caught out by Nintendo before (the Wii), I think the question you have to ask is;
"Is the Switch good, or is Breath of the Wild good?"

babychaos's picture

I have only two games for the machine one of which is breath of the wild the other snake pass so hard to say at this stage. Whether the machine is great will depend on how well it's supported by nintendo and third parties. They do have the habit of just abandoning machines or losing 3rd party support such that for the wiiu there were few great first party games now and then but the rest of the time it's an elaborate paperweight

Breath of the wild is pretty good definitely in the 7/10 range a lot of fun mechanics (horse riding, gliding, climbing, skating on shields down hills, creative dungeons, lovely graphics) a lot of really annoying ones (weapon durability, bollocks motion control puzzles you can't switch off and use the thumb sticks for, surfaces becoming infinitely slippery when it rains, having to deequip every piece of metal when it thunders or else get struck by lightning)

The switch is a solid little machine it delivers on the portability promise and the transition from portable to tv console is seamless. The local multiplayer is a nice feature but will need more games that support it. Mostly it's potential at the moment breath of the wild is a good start (and has supposedly sold more units than there are switches which is a bit odd) but it will depend on what sorts of games come out for it in the future how well it does.

Evilmatt's picture