Shellcore

A quick look around tells me this got 73% score on Metacritic (critic score) and is a little like XCOM. Sounds interesting.

@Flipbot I think that's a good idea. I think my point is being missed. Treating launch day DLC as extras grinds my gears a little bit. The price for the base game digitally is a lot higher than most similar tiered games. Offer the toys for extra sure, but £70 for a 12-15 hour experience seems very high. Hope you enjoy it. I must admit, if it was priced at £50, I may have bit.

@Flipbot Of course I agree that buying digital is the cheapest way to purchase all the content. I was just saying that I think buying digital is still way to expensive. I know the physical makes it astronomically expensive, but at least you get the toys (for those that want them). As a game, paying that much money for the standard digital edition is insane irrespective of whether there are even more expensive ways to get it. The fact that extra ships effectively net you extra lives also is a little bit devious.

Edit: The game apparently lasts around 12 hours. Is that worth the investment, when you can get Zelda for 30% less new?

@BigKing Not questioning that. I'm questioning the value proposition discounting the toys in general. All in for digital, but that price for the standard version is ridiculous.
@Woosh193 Rationalizing the price of one thing by using a more expensive thing doesn't work in this case. If I cut all the characters out of Smash and linked them exclusively to Amiibo, it would cost hundreds of pounds. The toys are where price should come into it being physical products. Charging at a premium for digital, even if a little less, is still too much imo. Power to you if you feel this is priced appropriately.

Repetitive, grindy, weak story - 9/10

The thing that confuses me is how they think it's worth £70 digital for the standard edition and £90 for the "deluxe" without the toys. Space pirates!

@Yosher The vast majority of FIFA buyers here in the UK are first and foremost football fans. Buying the latest edition keeps them in the conversation and also something to play between attending the actual matches in season. I understand how non-football fans could care less (me being one of them).

I have interest in Starlink, but not at that pricetag. I can see the figures being on CEX shelves before Christmas. I will consider once I work out the cost of the DLC when bought digitally.

It's all a bit strange. Hard to ignore the undertones in this topic. Why do some people have to take an idea and make it creepy. File under Hentai and move on.

Release no information>check backlash>elevate service to match minimal expectation>change FAQ (TBC)>receive praise>job done-back to deluxe editions

A great effort for sure, but sounds like it is a little too challenging for the handheld. Perhaps should have done like Square did with FFXV pocket edition. Simplified engine and graphics with Nintendo extras, like Bowsers castle and Rabbids (we still love Rabbids right?) would help.

Will await the full list of games. The five are decent headliners (well most of them). I would prefer them just being available over PS+ though. Bought Dark Cloud from PS2 era and that was great as I remembered. Would be keen to see more from PS1.

@blockfight my issue with microtransactions is how games can be designed around getting people to buy them. This can be by imposing a grind, splitting the userbase or encouraging a have/have not scenario. Being optional is the great "cure all" when developers are pushed on their inclusion. However, when games have to be rebalanced when these features are taken out, it speaks volumes on how they were actually worked into the game as a package.

Pie in the sky thinking, but Nintendo has the opportunity to get ahead of the game with this. One example could be digital resale by consumers where Nintendo gets a cut of the proceeds. Show some of that famed Nintendo innovation! ...oh, and achievements pretty please.

The best MH on Switch! Shame its a 3DS port. I understand it has extra content, but I have played a lot of the areas on the Vita. Needed a new entry really.

I'd rather pay more for more. If price is an indicator of quality, then $20 seems about right for what we know right now. Being cheap shouldn't be the main selling point.

For a smash direct it was excellent. As a direct in general, it was lacking. I knew enough to understand whether I want to buy it or not from the blowout at E3. Seemed a little irrelevant.

Great to see the video game market is healthy in Japan!

Loved the original. An excellent party game with friends!

@rallydefault Don't be daft. I understand all of that, but you cannot measure the Switch library against that of any other. Again, this is a good thing. This conversation is just that - doesn't have to be so hot and cold. I like that games deservedly sell on Switch. It just surprises me that we act shocked when they do. There are reasons, mainly down to choice and exposure.

Edit: As for passively insulting. The responses to my original post included "plain wrong" and "odd argument". If we cant discuss properly, then what's the point.

@sword_9mm Definitely. I don't think its a strange argument. More choices and more competition usually means sales are spread over said products.
@ricklongo My point is that this title sold less on PC, which has a lot more users. The only difference is that there is more choice on the steam store, for better or worse. This means that there is more to choose from. With the more curated (at the moment) eshop roster games have more visibility. This is a good thing. As more games get added, I think sales will start to be spread across more games.

Not sure why people don't understand the notion that more choice and competition can fragment sales. Didn't think that would be hard to imagine.

Once Nintendo follows through with their 20-30 indie games per week, we will be seeing less and less of this kind of headline. Switch does well due to limited amount of releases (completely natural at this point aside from AAA). Nintendo wants more indie games, so more will fall by the wayside as consumer spending is diluted over many more products.

@Gs69 The price isn't the concern with me. It's what you get for that price and the unknown qualities of the service. I'd rather pay more for more if you get what I mean. Plus the meagre NES games on offer (vs modern) and locking cloud saves behind subscription (only current gen console to do so without offering alternatives). The price is great, but so is the price of a Happy Meal.

The toy gimmick, especially the way all configurations are represented in game (wings attached to each other, weapons on backwards) looks pretty cool. However, the actual game looks rather bland to me.

@Seacliff The review actually praised the battle system, it was more the progression with the 50 or so dungeons progressing much the same way. Looking forward to hearing more hands on impressions.

The Kotaku review is the complete opposite of this one. For those who have been playing it, is it really "grindy, repetitive and full of structural problems"? I will probably buy it anyway haha..the presentation is too good.

@ThanosReXXX That's fine. Probably best to just move on in those cases. People with strong views don't usually back down. Then, it just gets embarrassing.

@onex Yes. I can see that being a positive for people. I enjoyed playing Killzone 3 on PS3 with the move controller/gun attachment. It wasn't that easy for me to control, but it was a fresh experience on that console. On the Wii, I really liked Link's Crossbow Training more than I should have done haha.

@ThanosReXXX Hey man. You responded to my comment. I'm not looking to change your viewpoint. Never disputed that the game was not the best FPS on Switch. In fact I agree. My decision is whether portability is worth the downgrades (that actually impact gameplay) and the 2.5x cost. I need to look into that.

Perfect for a quick platforming fix on the go. The levels are short enough for a blast here and there!

@ThanosReXXX It's all relative though isn't it. I am a multi platform owner that values both how the game runs and portability. It's a constant weighing of both. For you, it's a niggle. For me, it's paying 2.5X more for a product that is inferior on the pretence of portability alone.

Like I said, I will be looking at the best quality videos I can find before I can make a decision. This may the best the Switch can offer at this point. It isn't the best generally in all other areas aside from where I can play it.

I'm gonna find some decent footage online I think. Everything but the guns in the screenshots look really blurry and muddy, making the guns look like they have been pasted in...like a meme or something. Wouldn't be too bothered, but as mentioned in the review, it does effect gameplay. Also, slowdown from 30fps in a FPS!

Edit: "it’s difficult to ignore a visual muddiness that can often make locating and manually acquiring items such as armour and ammunition a frustrating trial and error affair as you scan the floor and wait for the relevant white prompt to appear on-screen".

@oldmanstauf Maybe I would be happier with it if it was just a subscription. I get they need to make money somehow. I guess its just the idea of locking challenges behind a paywall seem like a far too clever way of bulk selling cosmetics to those who otherwise may not bother. I'm not against the battle pass in Fortnite. I'm more cautious about how other companies may use it in full price games. Above, its future inclusion in Rocket League has been noted which isn't free to play. This is the next logical step for the gaming industry. What's happening now is fine, what's on the horizon doesn't look good.

@Dizzy_Boy Apologies, I meant the system itself. For example, how lootboxes went from randomised loot to what they ended up being in Battlefront 2. It was more a compliment on the way Fortnite deals with this system currently, with a watchful eye on how future games integrates this into their systems to extract additional funds through more aggressive means (impact on gameplay etc...) I am glad you have found the community to be mostly agreeable : )
@dougphisig Watch this space. There has been an article over at PushSquare where a senior Sony exec has touched on this. Looks like the backlash has been larger than expected. Maybe a solution is in the works.

@BenAV If that is the case, then that's really good.

@DABYX Certainly. If there absolutely has to be microtransactions, then cosmetics are certainly the least corrosive. Fortnite sidesteps a lot of my peeves due to being free to play. If it wasn't, I'd argue cosmetic unlocks should be part of the natural progression.

@starman292 This is probably my main issue with it. When you find an infinitely purchasable coupon contains material more fun than the vanilla game itself, I would question the designers view. They want people to buy this pass. Does this impact their design philosophy?

@Dizzy_Boy Thanks for the add. Can't wait for devs to come up with ways to make this system more toxic for gamers. I remember when random loot was exciting! My immediate example being the toy capsule machines in Shen Mue.

I don't get why Battle Passes are popular. It's basically bulk buying cosmetics via completing arbitrary tickbox exercises. If people had been buying these since Day 1, it would have cost £40 by now. Guess each to their own, but if people keep buying I worry this practise will be seen as acceptable to other developers as a means of distributing "content".

Edit: Quick Google sees it's already happened with PUBG and Black Ops 4

I agree with the analyst, but it may be more like seven years. At the moment, game file sizes seem large but this is only relative to what has previously been the case. Some consoles ship with a 1TB hard drive and can see the next gen sporting this as standard, with an iteration within a few years going for a 2TB-5TB solution. Download speeds will increase over time and the need for physical products from the younger generations will diminish. I like my physical games, but most just clog up my parents attic. I always think I will play them again (or shock sell them), but I never do.

Glad to see Nintendo hasn't lost it's sense of humour. Brilliantly ridiculous.

@RETRO_J Yes, I believe some of us do want to read this. I had no idea these were Switch only updates. Not sure where you got the fanboy snobbery from.

@SBandy Agreed. Whilst Fortnite has been a win for Switch, it was an even bigger win for NL. Could do without the constant flow of Fortnite news we already get on other sites. I can always just not click on them, but it seems like content for contents sake.

Great to see a quality non-kart racer coming to Switch. Interested.

Hopefully they will release Scythe. I enjoy Carcassonne, but can be a little simplistic.

Nintendo has innovated so much, isn't it time they took at least a few ideas from the other companies. Completely agree that voice chat is a mess on Switch and would be happy to see some improvement in this and every other area of the Nintendo Online service.

@Heavyarms55 "And people need to get over themselves and plan to get a subscription. It is not expensive. 20 dollars a year is extremely reasonable, and much cheaper than rival services."

Yuck. Your opinion would be easier to swallow if we stopped comparing it to rival services which were free and more fully featured than Nintendo's offering twelve years ago. It's cheap for a reason, and it ain't good. I'd rather pay more to have a platform that was up to par. Also, telling people to get over themselves makes my skin crawl.

Enjoy the clicks.

Oh Ubisoft...

Feel sorry for the devs. Walmart need to crack down on this.

What old ports were supposed to be doing well the second time around? Wouldn't have put my oar in, but a lot of demeaning comments today. Nintendo can only coast on rereleases for so long before people stop wanting to pay full whack for old hat. Plenty of new, exciting games around...which shows in the sales charts.

@MoonKnight7 For £17.99 new in stores. Ours forever!

I don't want to fall into arguing about Wii U ports, but its telling that they are all that the Switch is offering in the Top 10. Soon, Nintendo will lose that crutch and hopefully that will signal more original content. Again, not an argument against ports, just one in favour of more new games in the truest sense (not new for Switch owners).

Shame. Not one for me anyway, but welcome any game that could bring a new audience for Switch, which could then translate into more same day third party releases.