ARMS

[Shay Chaise]

TestPunch begins tonight at 1am, then Saturday and Sunday 1pm and 7pm, plus the same next weekend.

Anyone else staying up for this?

I'm really really looking forward to ARMS, after assuming it would be a bit of a tarted up Wii Boxing. It looks like it feels great, like it's got that Nintendo seal of quality.

I'm going to pick Twintelle and sit right up close to the telly. I might even give myself a Dirty Sanchez to make it feel more real.

[Shay Chaise]

Fair warning: This has a proper learning curve in terms of basic controls. It got better over the course of the hour. Oh, and every mode besides 1v1 is gash.

[Kelvin]

Could you (and did you) play it without motion controls in the test punch?

Disappointed to hear the other modes are shit. I was hoping they played better than they looked.

[Shay Chaise]

Yeah, oddly enough, it got better when I used traditional controls. Or rather, I hadn't expected that. I played with the Pro Controller and then played in portable mode, which was possibly the best because I felt that I could better see what the other player was doing.

I think that a big part of it will be getting used to the controls because there's nothing especially natural about it, besides the punching. I expect that you have to keep moving constantly and trying to work angles but I was spending much of my team trying to aim and curve punches that I was frequently thrown or knocked down by more mobile players.

As a demo, it was set to Party Mode, so you had a variety of rotating games against different people: some 2v2, some 1v1, some free-for-all (it appeared but that could have just been me!) and then the volleyball game. I understand the approach, give you a taste of lots of different things you might enjoy - and I suppose that was my conclusion, I only enjoyed 1v1. I don't feel I had enough chance to get used to one setup, though.

I'm loath to be too down on it because fighting games are about getting the controls hardwired and then getting into mind games, whereas it's much too soon for that, but yeah, I wasn't as thrilled as I'd hoped. I'll still be there this afternoon and evening, though.

[Kelvin]

I hadn't planned to play the testfire, as, after the last Nintendo Direct, they had turned me around on it.

Now, I'm wondering if I should try the testfire, after all.

I did watch GameXplain streaming the American testfire, and was unimpressed by how he described the controls. Tilting just to move backwards and forwards? I've always been okay with motion controls when used sparingly and effectively, but just moving backwards and forwards with them? On top of all the other movements? Sounds like a recipe for disaster, during an intense battle that requires precision and timing.

All that said, the buzz around the game was still good from journalists who have played previews.

[Thursday]

I really just want a demo of this to get a feel for it, I don't want to go online with a fighting game I've never played before.

[Shay Chaise]

Apologies if this sounds more aggressive than intended but what's the reasoning behind not giving this a try? It's free. It's available in short bursts. There's nothing to lose in terms of progress.

I definitely think a Vs. CPU mode would be nice just to have more time to get a feel for it but it's a netcode test, so I understand why it's not there. Regarding playing a fighter online before practising, well, everyone's in the same random chaotic boat at the moment, anyway. No better time to jump in.

And yes, Kelvin, the basic movement is what feels a bit odd with motion controls. I'm sure it'll click but you have to be pretty coordinated (or just moreso than me) to hit the ground running with this, I reckon.

[Thursday]

I do want to give it a go, but I've just missed it because I forgot it was 1pm to 2pm. I know there's more coming, and I understand it's useful to developers, but it's a bit annoying.

[Shay Chaise]

Next one this evening, yep. I'm very happy to say that my updated thoughts are much more positive.

After an hour today, this is probably day one for me again. Gutted that it's over til this evening, in fact. When the server maintenance message came up I felt like I wanted to play more and I was just getting into it. I think because the controls are unique, it feels so unintuitive at first but the last few fights I had then were awesome, proper tactical battle, thinking about the opponent rather than my own controls. The robot girl was probably my favourite, Mechanica or something similar, her giant rubber hammer is great, the trajectory looks quite daft, a proper comical thwack.

If I could give any tips (or rather, stuff which helped me enjoy it more), I'd say keep moving, use dodge liberally and make sure you're closing the distance appropriately. Last night, I was just throwing punches from wherever, trying to curve them toward my opponent. It doesn't really work that way because you can dodge punches quite easily from afar, as you'd expect. I try to use one heavy arm and one that's harder to read. Make them move with your obvious punch and try to blindside them with your elemental damage or boomerang or whatever it may be. It's all about getting the basic movement down, though.

[Barry Admin]

One question here: does it actually feel like boxing? An immersive boxing game using motion controls (or the like) is all I've wanted for about 15 years now. The options have been bizarrely slim, with the best being an Eyetoy mini game, and the Kinect Sports 1&2 mini games.

[Kelvin]

One question here: does it actually feel like boxing? An immersive boxing game using motion controls (or the like) is all I've wanted for about 15 years now.

Obviously Shay can speak to this better than I can, but I very much doubt it feels "realistic". Boxing is all about speed, whereas ARMS looks (and has been described) as slower and more methodical. The long reach of the arms/attacks means players have time to dodge, counter and block far more than they would in a conventional boxing game. One journalist described it as being as much about moving than punching; both dodging attacks, and working out how to trick your opponents into harms way.

[Consignia]

Well I've never boxed, but I didn't find it particularly immersive. It still suffers from the worst of motion control, that you are waving your hands around without any real haptic feed back. The rumble in the joycons adds little.

I love Nintendo for trying things, but I'm afraid this is a miss from me.

[Shay Chaise]

Nothing like boxing, really, not even Wii Boxing, despite the obvious influence. It's as Kelvin described, it's quite an unusual thing. It's all about setting up your opponent and neutralising their attempts to do the same, it can feel like you're just throwing loads of punches at the times but you're likely to get beaten quite quickly that way. As I spent more time on dodging and creating openings or making my opponent move, I started to get a much better feel for what it is.

Consignia, I definitely understand what you mean about haptic feedback and motion controls, especially with a fighting game but I think HD Rumble at least gives some pretty direct feedback and different arms seem to have a different sense of weight and impact. To be a bit of an apologist, in the game world, it's almost like you're firing off attachments, rather than using your fists so there may not actually be any sense of impact for the fighters. ;p

Feel free to tell me to eff off. Hehe.

[Consignia]

Consignia, I definitely understand what you mean about haptic feedback and motion controls, especially with a fighting game but I think HD Rumble at least gives some pretty direct feedback and different arms seem to have a different sense of weight and impact. To be a bit of an apologist, in the game world, it's almost like you're firing off attachments, rather than using your fists so there may not actually be any sense of impact for the fighters. ;p

That is true, you are doing rocket punches, I didn't think of it like that. I still felt like I was just flailing randomly rather than actually being in any real control of the character.

I'm a bit divided though, I think throwing you straight into the action isn't the best, I'd love a bit of single player to get to grips with how to control the character. So I'm still considering buying it to give it a real chance to grow on me.

[Shay Chaise]

Totally agree with that. If you delete your Testpunch save data, you can play the Vs. CPU tutorial again (dumb, I know but it's an option). As above, though, it's a network test rather than a demo so I understand why they want to throw people into matches and modes. You can have thirty seconds or so between games if you press +, I'm sure you know, to get a bit more of a feel for it.

Again, my advice would be to try to get the basic movement down and dash/dodge more than throwing out punches. I'm really looking forward to this evening's session and pummeling some wagglers.

[brat-sampson]

That was pretty fun, though I'd easily go from starting to think i knew what I was doing to getting *bodied* the next round.

I didn't even hate the Volleyball. 3P vs can screw off though, too often you just end up with one person getting dicked on.

[Thursday]

That was good fun, I was playing with a Pro Controller, no motion controls for me, so surely you can turn them off if you're on joycons? Maybe that's why I was doing surprisingly well... or I was playing against children... hmm that would explain the 2 perfects I got.

Still even though I did find that fun, I'm not sure I see myself dropping full price on this, Doesn't seem like the kind of game I'm going to keep returning to. There is a surprising amount of depth to it, so it's not a flaw with the game, just that fighters aren't really my thing.

I found the 3 player games interesting, felt like you got some good games to me.

[brat-sampson]

Yeah, it works fine in Handheld mode or with JoyCons inserted into the grip. I guess there should be a way to opt for non-motion even free-handed but I didn't really investigate. Played the whole time with the Switch either sitting up on my desk (motion controls) or in my hands (handheld mode) and thought the controls were fine either way. Just reminded me again of the versatility of the li'l bugger.

[Shay Chaise]

Glad you both enjoyed it. I had a great time there. I racked up about 85pts in just under an hour and only lost two 1v1 fights so there's a bit of a skill ceiling to it, for sure. I found that a lot of players were pretty static, like I was last night, and so I absolutely battered most by just keeping mobile. When I came up against someone who knew what they were doing, it got really fun and very tense.

Stuff I found a bit irritating: Grabs seem pretty OP. I know you can just punch to block their arms but I found that I was nevertheless vulnerable to grabs too often. Any match I lost seemed to involve being grabbed a lot. I assume they'll balance things over time, and I'll figure out how to counter them much better, too. I'd like more music tracks, too.

Stuff I liked: Variety of arms, hits connect when you expect them to, seems like good hit boxes. Movement feels pretty slick once you get into it. Mechanica's Super is phenomenal. Ribbon Girl's party popper is fun. I think it looks great, lovely garish almost plasticine art style. The lobby system seems class.

[Thursday]

It did seem like a lot of people just hadn't noticed the value of the jump and dash buttons at all. Couldn't believe how often I was landing grabs... not to mention a lot of my misses were largely because I had a bad habit of leaning on the analogue stick a bit, directing my punches and grabs away when I didn't want to.

[Consignia]

OK, I've given it another go without motion controls this time. It's MUCH better. I think I almost get it. It's still a pretty sharp learning curve, but I went from losing consistently to winning consistently. I think I probably will pick up the full game, but it's not instantly playable game unlike Splatoon where you felt like you were in control straight away.

[Thursday]

Important announcement you can be the girl with the arse in the testpunch this time

[Shay Chaise]

I had a quick go with her but she's not actually very good, or I'm not feeling it today. In fact, I've just turned it off because I think the grab stuff is a bit overbearing now. I definitely saw more variety last weekend but it seems that there are a lot of people just playing fast dodging characters spamming grab relentlessly. Most fights have been reduced to me knocking grabs away until one gets through.

I'm going to see how they balance this because it's currently a bit of bullshit. All it would take is longer recovery on a failed grab and these fools would have to make a decision.

[Thursday]

In fact, I've just turned it off because I think the grab stuff is a bit overbearing now. I definitely saw more variety last weekend but it seems that there are a lot of people just playing fast dodging characters spamming grab relentlessly.

Yeah, sorry.

Thing is, I was doing that as Twintelle who isn't even the best character for it. And often I'm trying not to just throw too-much, but even trying to do a quick 1-2 punch seems to grab people a lot of the time. It just seems easier to land a hit that way, so I'm not really sure how else you're supposed to play.

There was one player I came up against who actually seemed to be able to deal with it, so I had to try slightly different strategies, so that was good, but I just don't think there's enough variety to this.

[Shay Chaise]

It's OK, I'm just pissed off that I won almost every match last week and lost almost every match today. I'm a total hypocrite because in SF4 I completely abused Ken's kara throw, which was basically a glitch which meant I could throw every other character from just outside their throw range. Glory days. At least that was one move out of a range of about thirty or so options on both sides. In ARMS, there's like five things that you can do, and grab is the best option almost every time.

As you say, better players than me will be able to deal with it and punish but it's made me realise I'm shit tier.

[Shay Chaise]

The ARMS finals at E3 have been quite interesting and show that it's a different game to the one I've seen and been playing. It's basically all about movement, the second you stand still, you're a sitting duck. That makes sense to me on a 'footsies' level, thinking about Street Fighter. I also see how jumping is an important part of that. I'll be getting this at midnight or whenever, defo.

Anyone else?

[Kelvin]

There's apparently some sort of ARMS reveal coming today on the Nintendo E3 stream. Probably a DLC announcement.

[Shay Chaise]

Nice one. Seems from reviews thats it'll be welcome. Supposed to be fun but limited in modes and content.

[Shay Chaise]

Well, I got this from the Japanese eShop so just about to jump in. I love this region free business.

[Kelvin]

The boss character is coming as free DLC next month.