so i caved and bought the new splatoon. honestly i was going into it not expecting too much- i LOVED the first game, and the second one ended up being a huge disappointment. actually, i never got to play too much because typically my internet connection is pretty bad, and that game took it so rough i barely could stay in a match for more than 30-45 seconds. :P but enough about that. i just want to focus on the third game for a bit, because if i'm being honest, it's reminded me how much i love splatoon in general. so... consider this the world's most informal review? and does this count as a 'first impressions' if i've been playing for nearly a week? doesn't matter. SPLATOON TIME

now i'm no video games expert. i'm not gonna drone on about how much of a technical masterpiece this game is or go into the nitty gritty about the shooting mechanics or whatever. hell, this is really the only shooter i'm good at besides saints row on a good day. my expertise in this game rests solely in my multiple hundreds of hours of wii u gametime, and an inkbrush playstyle that makes you read my splat 1 inkling profile to confirm, of course, this guy's maxed out the 'points inked' total with it.

i guess that's where i can start with this- my inkbrush. i'm still mourning the loss of the splat 1 inkstrike special, it was one of the reasons i found the transition to the next game so rough. as with many 'inkstrike mains,' i became reliant on the gimmick of saving it right til the end of the round. it was cheap, but it worked. then again, it was also a completely different kind of weapon in splat 1- trading sprinklers for splat bombs helps immensely with the offensive strategies i tend to take. the completely reworked killer wail special makes it insanely fun to play as well- almost fun enough to forget about inkstrikes for a bit. i'm just glad i'm seeing more people use it in the wild! i remember in splat 1 it was pretty agreed upon that the inkbrush was just terrible for its range and base damage, but these were also usually coming from people who either mained weapons with MUCH longer range to easily counter it, or people who were so angry they stopped to destroy a sprinkler and ended up getting pushed into an inkstrike, all while the assailant was dashing to their spawn to encourage their much more powerful friends to camp. ah, the joys of being the most annoying player alive..

i don't want to get too sidetracked, maybe i'll spend a post just talking about the inkbrush sometime, since it's my specialty & i want to share how i play that. offense inkbrush was pretty unheard of in 2015-2016 and i'm not sure how much the landscape has changed, since.. well, that was the last time i had any desire to be One Of The Best Splatoon Players Of All Time. i've played against some pretty aggressive inkbrushes recently at least, that has to count for something, right? maybe it's an ego thing then.

aside from the inkbrush, i've been using the splattershot jr! mostly because i play in handheld mode most often, and since my sibling bought the game as well so we could play together, they've been using their one wireless pro controller. i should really pick one up myself, i would be using the inkbrush more, but those dang joycon are so hard to use with my adult-size hands.. at least i've been using an actual gun for a while! i just got the first badge for it earlier tonight, actually, that's how often i've been using it, hehe. i remember hating this weapon before, probably because i thought the splat 1 bubbler was pointless. i mean, why would you want your entire team to stay in one group for its maximum effect? then again, i wasn't very skilled at using splat bombs either.. sub and special preferences from 2016 aside, using this weapon now has been TONS of fun. the spread is ideal for the part of me that loves to focus on inking, but also doesn't ask for quite as much in terms of combat accuracy. i usually fight with my bombs now, anyhow. and using the big bubbler to secure areas- supportive or aggressive in nature- has been my FAVORITE activity. i can tell i've been getting super annoying to deal with, as evidenced by the amount of '#1 popular target' medals i tend to receive.

ANYWAY... i want to talk about salmon run too! i remember trying this mode out in splatoon 2 when it was new and being... supremely underwhelmed. can't remember specifically why, so my best attribution is gonna have to be "it was a new feature and nobody knew what they were doing so we lost a lot." or my flaky internet. either way, i didn't play a lot and didn't see the appeal. splat 3's salmon run, however, is marginally better. i mean this in a very 'the first day or so i played this was really really fun because the loadouts were good and my teams were coordinated, but i have gotten to the point where i haven't finished a shift every day since then, so i'm on strike and convincing fellow grizzco employees to unionize.' basically, it's only fun when weapons you're good at are in rotation- if i have to get left alone with a god damned dynamo roller or e-liter again while my teammates clamor in the corner to rush one smallfry, i may just start chucking golden eggs back into the sea. in theory this is fun, however i am one man and my strengths lie more in inking and rushing enemies that are more my size. might pick it back up when the next piece of gear cycles in. until then? i'm fine in my turf war corner.

i don't have much to say on ranked battles, honestly. i was solidly in b-rank hell in splat 1 so i just kinda cross my fingers and hope my splat zones skills haven't decayed. that being said, every time i remember to play, rainmaker's cycled in... it's fun, but god do those games drag on. and with a second checkpoint? i understand why they added it, but still. that specific mode did NOT need the extra length. again, maybe if i practiced or already had strengths that helped out. i will say ambushing people in it is fun though... ranked battles usually encourage people to travel in a giant clump anyway, at least that's what i assume by how every team i go against in ranked usually moves. wanna see a team's coordination fall apart? toss a splat bomb. instant chaos.

i also want to take a minute to talk about tableturf! i actually really enjoy this little minigame, and i'm honestly kind of disappointed at the way it's presented in game. i SUPPOSE it makes sense that it's out of the way, given it's a brand new game type, but i almost wonder if it's smothering any potential interest. the way characters talk about it in-game imply it's fairly popular in splatsville, but aside from story mode pickups or the occasional shell-out machine drop, it doesn't really exist outside of its back alley location. the game mechanics remind me of blokus, if anyone even still plays board games. the only real difference being you can't overlap tiles among other things. despite me saying i wish it were more overtly promoted, i rarely play myself- honestly i just like to play a handful of rounds when the server/my internet is particularly unstable. i'd like to get better so i can find uses for all my cards or make other decks to play with! my starter deck was fun, but after moving on from the first map shape, it was clear it was built for bigger play areas. if anyone wants to share tips/decks/strats, i'm all ears!

last thing before i go to bed, i swear, but LOCKER CUSTOMIZATION. i remember people practically begging for an apartment or something to decorate for your inkling, and while this is a significantly smaller area, i appreciate it all the same. i don't really have much to personally say about this other than variations of 'OMG I LOVE IT THIS IS MY FAVORITE PART OF THE GAME,' so i'll let my locker speak for me. :)

alright, NOW that's it. in closing... looking forward to playing this game more when i can! and i'm hoping to participate in the next splatfest, i'll probably pick team fire because it's what type my favorite pokemon usually end up being! oh yeah, and i'm usually pretty selective handing out my friend code because i prefer to know who's on my friends list, but i'm still down if anyone wants to play sometime or talk turf war! ^^