This game is amazing and addicting. Must buy!

Kids love it.....well worth the money

Splatoon is a real tour de force when it comes to introducing online multi-player battling to the WiiU. Nintendo have never been supportive of online battling for the hard-core gamer and so it is unlikely we would ever see the likes of COD on the WiiU. Where Nintendo do hold their own is in good 'clean' family fun and franchises with loveable characters; both markets will have something to gain from this game. Whilst the settings are beautiful and the characters are adorable, there is no compromise in the form of competition with currently two types of online battles for 8 players, 2 teams of 4, and a two player offline mode. Players run around battlegrounds aiming to either protect zones, claim the most 'turf' or pop balloons with a range of wacky and wonderful weapons, all firing brightly coloured paint. That chararcters are loveable and it's not just the weapons that can be customised but also the clothing and accessories of that characters. If you need more ink, to hide or to move fast then your character can transform into a squid. The single player mode is innovative and is a great way of getting used to the control system. There are options of motion controls or stick for aiming and I suggest trying both to see which is more intuitive for you. Online there is ranked and regular battles with the option to join people from your friends list (much like in Mario Kart 8). Ranked battles are not available until you have had enough experience to reach level 10 but offer a harder gamer experience. As with Mario Kart, there is the future promise of further DLC which will include new maps, weapons and battle modes. Unlike Mario Kart which offered these as an, albeit cheap, upgrade, Splatoon offers these for free; there's a big download due in August 2015. The only criticism I can currently level against the game are that there is currently no way to communicate with friends during battles, unlike with some other games and consoles. It's unclear at the moment whether this is due to Nintendo's wish to keep the game family friendly, or if this is a feature that will be available for people on your friends list later on. All in all a thoroughly enjoyable and addictive game and with matches of 3 minutes each, something that you can hop in and out of. One warning though. This game is highly addictive and those 3 minute matches can add up...to hours!

Splatoon feels like a new type of shooting game - a nice blend of non-kill-focused strategy but with enough challenge and tactical complexity that you can't afford to be lazy. Multiplay game types currently include unranked Turf War (cover as much of the map with your teams colour) and ranked Splat Zones (King of the Hill for specific points on the map). Both require different strategies and consideration, with Splat Zones being a little more aggressive. The range of weapons on offer is broad and the design makes reading both the environment and characters easy, though of course it's nice to be able to hide away from enemies when necessary. It looks lovely and runs really well - Nintendo does some of the most gloriously colourful games in the business. Have already had a lot of fun with the multiplayer though the initial week did feel a bit like there was a lack of content and levels, as maps are rotated in and out on a daily basis but overall it's still good fun to dip into - and there's a nice incentive to get your Fresh rank as high as possible with consecutive wins. The single player campaign is surprisingly substantial and reminds one of Mario Sunshine, and indeed many N64-era platformers. Not a bad thing. I need to spend more time with this (which is a testimony to the multiplayer) but so far it's been interesting and intelligent, with lots to unlock and conquer. Hopefully the plan to roll out portions of content in the form of levels and modes over the coming months will keep people interested. However I can't say that this has been a major problem for me as after a week of regular play there's still plenty to discover and techniques to learn.

I enjoyed this game a lot, it combines an original take on MP shooter action with super slick mobility which reminds me of Jet Set Radio, one of my favourite discontinued series. It also has that game's bright and fresh Shibuya-style design aesthetic. More than anything else though I'm glad to find out there is such a fun and unique single player mode which uses the paint mechanics to move quickly through the environments. I would seriously buy a standalone game with an extended version of something like the Single player mode. Nintendo may have the start of a great new platformer series with this game!