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[Griss]

It really does sound incredible. All right, that's enough for me. I'm out.

Now I'm really upset that I can't get a Switch at launch. Wii U will have to do...

The problem with Ubi-towers is that they fill your already-complete map with quest markers, killing a sense of discovery. BotW doesn't seem to do that. In Zelda, your map literally shows nothing on it before climbing a tower.

It's the same basic idea. Climb tower, reveal map. BotW doesn't reveal map markers because it doesn't have any, because it's a more systems-driven game.

 

[takriel]

GameXplain hinted that the story has a depressing, dark tone based from their current progress. Says that those who loved Majora's Mask will love the tone of the story of BotW.

Holy shit. But expected based on the trailers.

 

[Polygonal_Sprite]

Limited to the first five hours of gameplay is the guideline, and yes, there is a sprawling list of specific exclusions. It was tough getting this video together

Thanks a lot. How was the framerate, a drop here or there or were they regular and annoying? Also was the game patched beyond 1.0 ?

 

[Mike Double U]

Oh shoot. If I can ride deer, does that mean I can register it at the stables as well?

 

[GinoFelino]

Hey, so, there's this thing I've been wondering about.Maybe one of the people with a Switch preview unit can help me out here.

Have any of you tested how the Switch performed plugged into the wall in handheld mode?

In theory, this could provide dock-level performance but at a lower 720p resolution, improving the framerate.

 

[Fliesen]

Horizon will be just fine.

I do know what you mean though. This might be one of the biggest release weeks in gaming history. It's a hell of a one-two punch.

It will do perfectly fine, sales wise. that's why i wrote "as a game". I feel like, as a player, i won't do the game justice because i'd be playing it to keep me 'busy' from Mar 1st to Mar 3rd, most likely not allowing myself to get fully enveloped in the story and its game world.

 

[MikeBison]

Any mention of using HD rumble? I might have dreamt it up, but I was under the impression that someone said this game would use it in some creative ways.

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

Gamecentral's:

http://metro.co.uk/2017/02/24/the-l...the-wild-hands-on-preview-eye-opener-6470487/

Some exceprts:

Nintendo has talked about how they went back to the very first NES game for inspiration, which sounds like hyperbole given the technology gulf between 1986 and now. But actually, the comparisons are entirely valid.

Having just completed it, we couldn't help but think of Horizon Zero Dawn while playing Breath Of The Wild, and how simplistic it now seems compared to Zelda. You also have a bow in Breath Of The Wild, but you have to account for how arrows arc through the air, rather than it just acting like a low-tech sniper rifle. Boomerangs have to be caught manually on their return and the best way to defeat the skeletons that appear at night is to chop of their head and punt it into a river, like a goalkeeper trying to make a clearance.

You always expect a Zelda game to be good, but the attention to detail and willingness to innovate in Breath Of The Wild is well beyond our expectations. We wouldn't suggest that any of this necessarily has anything to do with the Switch though, as the game was originally designed for the Wii U. As such the graphics are certainly not a match for the likes of Horizon, with often very simple geometry and textures. The frame rate sometimes becomes a little syrupy too, and there's obvious object pop-in if you look for it.

We're doing our best to find faults here but the truth is we're hugely impressed. We already know some things we can't talk about here, and other secrets that have been hinted to us by Nintendo. At this stage we'd shocked if this didn't turn out to be the best Zelda since Ocarina Of Time. It may even surpass it, and since many still regard that as the best video game ever made it becomes almost impossible to overstate just how good Breath Of The Wild is.

 

[dkeane]

So excited. Next week is going to feel so long.

 

[BFIB]

Horizon will be just fine.

I do know what you mean though. This might be one of the biggest release weeks in gaming history. It's a hell of a one-two punch.

Even more so we have:

RE7
Nioh
Horizon
LoZ
ME Andromeda
MLB 17 (Even a non sports fan would love RTTS)

Might be the best 8 week stretch ever.

 

[ElTorro]

Niiiiiice.

As if my hype wasn't huge enough already.

 

[13ruce]

GameXplain hinted that the story has a depressing, dark tone based from their current progress. Says that those who loved Majora's Mask will love the tone of the story of BotW.

Dark Zelda game Like MM and TP?
Wooohoooooo

 

[The_Lump]

One 'bad' thing about this thread is that all suspense about how this game will review is over. From the tone of these articles, it appears that it'll be the presumptive GotY contender with a 90+ meta.

It's a shame that we'll be denied a proper stonking review meltdown thread, but I guess a GotY Zelda game is some small consolation.

I mean - in the nicest possible way - if that's your bag then maybe should avoid preview threads dude. Kinda their MO.

 

[Forkball]

Me: "Oh I can't wait to embark on a fun and whimsical journey through Hyrule after playing NIOH!"

Previews: "LOL I DIE ALL THE TIME FROM ONE HIT KILLS!"

Me. "Oh."

The Nioh of Zelda

 

[random25]

Any mention of using HD rumble? I might have dreamt it up, but I was under the impression that someone said this game would use it in some creative ways.

Only ordinary rumble. No HD rumble unfortunately.

 

[Enduin]

It definitely won't be today. Maybe it'll be on the 2nd when reviews come out but if Nintendo's embargo doesn't count tech/fps analysis as a "review" it'll be the 3rd. I can imagine they're working on it right now.

Figured as much.

 

[jtar86]

Does the Wii U version allow you to play on just the game pad?

 

[big_z]

in person does the game look like you're viewing it through cataracts? it looks so washed out and hazy.

 

[The Elite]

Even more so we have:

RE7
Nioh
Horizon
LoZ
ME Andromeda
MLB 17 (Even a non sports fan would love RTTS)

Might be the best 8 week stretch ever.

Yeah. It's been a ridiculous run. Still playing Yakuza 0.

 

[MHWilliams]

Can you talk about tweaking the UI ? Or in general what are the settings accessible ? Thanks

You can invert vertical and horizontal camera, mess with camera sensitivity, turn aiming with motion controls on or off, switch the jump button from X to B, Fix the minimap direction, change the HUD to Pro (no control icons or indicators for sound, temp, and time), and change message window transparency. That's it.

 

[bomblord1]

A lot of previews compare the game to a Miyazaki Film and talk about the focus on Nature, Ancient Technology, and Rebirth as central themes.

That's really cool

 

[Griss]

I mean - in the nicest possible way - if that's your bag then maybe should avoid preview threads dude. Kinda their MO.

No, my whole point is that it's usually NOT this obvious how a game will be received, but here the consensus is blatantly overwhelming from the off. People are loving this game. Usually you don't get this kind of sense from previews. I haven't with the Horizon ones, for example (though I do think that'll do well).

 

[Zedark]

Even more so we have:

RE7
Nioh
Horizon
LoZ
ME Andromeda
MLB 17 (Even a non sports fan would love RTTS)

Might be the best 8 week stretch ever.

TOB & GR2 am cry

 

[Lunar15]

I've played barely 15 minutes of it, but I've watched someone I know play it for a bit.

1. The world is big, there's a lot of neat puzzles hidden within the world and most of the time it feels meaningful to explore. There's a lot of that "nintendo polish" that comes through with things being cleverly placed to keep you moving.

2. So far, weapon durability sucks. I've had to change weapons up to four times in a fight. I'm sure this gets better, but I still don't enjoy it.

3. I like that a lot of people tell you directions or give you vague hints of where to go rather than always using map markers. There are map markers, but having quests where you have to find stuff based on a picture and a clue are really fun to me.

4. That said, early previews of open world games are always deceiving. There's always a general sense of wonder and awe at scale the scale and finding new things that defines your first few hours with an open world game but his feeling rarely lasts, and what separates the good games from the bad ones is often how compelling the core elements are longer into the game. Game journalists are absolute suckers for open world games for this exact reason, and it's why we have such differing opinions a month after these games come out.

I have questions about how the game will sustain itself: There haven't really been any new items past the ones you get very early on, and I don't think you'll get many new ones. This isn't a requisite of a good Zelda game, but as someone who has always liked item progression, it's potentially worrying.

I have a strong feeling this game is going to be extremely divisive. Maybe not at launch, but a few months out I think you'll have two distinct camps. If you really like open world games like Far Cry or even Xenoblade X and gain satisfaction in exploration over a linear story and progression, you'll be pretty happy. But if you get bored by those types of games easily, nothing I've seen in Zelda (so far) makes me think that this will be the game to cure that. Personally, I like that it's doing new things, but I also think it's going to turn off a lot of people over the long term. It depends on how that back half goes.

 

[phanphare]

It will do perfectly fine, sales wise. that's why i wrote "as a game". I feel like, as a player, i won't do the game justice because i'd be playing it to keep me 'busy' from Mar 1st to Mar 3rd, most likely not allowing myself to get fully enveloped in the story and its game world.

maybe you should just wait on Horizon until you can fully invest. it sounds like that game is really great, I feel like you'd be doing yourself a disservice by playing it just to pass the time until Zelda.

 

[Milennia]

Do any of the previews give mention to the story at all?

 

[The Elite]

You can invert vertical and horizontal camera, mess with camera sensitivity, turn aiming with motion controls on or off, switch the jump button from X to B, Fix the minimap direction, change the HUD to Pro (no control icons or indicators for sound, temp, and time), and change message window transparency. That's it.

There is a god.

 

[Dragonslayer_023]

One 'bad' thing about this thread is that all suspense about how this game will review is over. From the tone of these articles, it appears that it'll be the presumptive GotY contender with a 90+ meta.

It's a shame that we'll be denied a proper stonking review meltdown thread, but I guess a GotY Zelda game is some small consolation.

Was there any doubt that a Zelda game would get a 90+ meta regardless of quality?

 

[CharminUltra]

So the game is decent?

Spoiler

ZELDA MOTHER FUGGERS

 

[ekim]

German Preview:
http://www.gamepro.de/artikel/zelda...azit-zur-nintendo-switch-version,3310243.html

They mention FPS drops in Dock mode which are not to be experienced in Handheld mode.

 

[IlGialloMondadori]

"Having just completed it, we couldn’t help but think of Horizon Zero Dawn while playing Breath Of The Wild, and how simplistic it now seems compared to Zelda. "

Shots fired.

 

[othersteve]

Thanks a lot. How was the framerate, a drop here or there or were they regular and annoying? Also was the game patched beyond 1.0 ?

Nope, still 1.0.0. And the frame rate does include some occasional drops, but like I mentioned in my preview, they're pretty rare, and they didn't bother me much at all. Normally it happens while it's raining and lots of things are going on around you.

 

[akashhhhh]

Trying once more as more preview authors have joined the thread:

Can anyone answer whether changing the system language changes the game language? In other words, are all the languages present on the cartridge? I may need to buy a copy not in my home country, but want to make sure I can still play in English.

 

[Frostman]

From my preview:

Interesting, I like the thought of having to experiment with different weapons, usually I would find 1 I like and stick with it. This would take me out of that habit.

It will be something I'll have to play around with and form my own opinion.

Good right up though!

 

[Strictly]

The world reminds me so much of The Last Guardian. Its glorious.

 

[HeelPower]

these previews, man ... i feel so sorry for Horizon as a game, because Zelda is seriously suffocating my hype for Horizon.

Its suffocating your hype because Horizon is a new IP. It has nothing to do with the quality of either games.

I am actually feeling sorry for Zelda right now.Nintendo is hyping this up so much,but its barely catching up to open world/souls-like game design ,and it looks two gens behind.

 

[Salex_]

There were some people in the Horizon thread hoping Zelda would review badly for its stature so they could see the meltdown, hope they are utterly disappointed right now.

I've never seen any post say that and I've clicked on that thread whenever it was on the first page.

I don't see a reason to try to create drama to fuel this stupid fanboy war.

The thought of people feeling threatened by having multiple great games coming out in the same week is weird.

 

[aaronsoup]

This is how wack the Switch screenshot capture tool is (spoilers for a really nice moment in the game's prologue): https://puu.sh/uhQkg/88e586796e.jpg

On the console this scene is crisp and gorgeous. That screenshot... isn't.

 

[VendettaRed07]

From Gamexplain: NPCs have schedules, react to changes in weather, even more dynamic than Majora's mask schedules

 

[KingSnake]

Man, the previews are glowing. So much praise. This Zelda will be something to remember. Can't wait for it.

 

[Trago]

A lot of previews compare the game to a Miyazaki Film and talk about the focus on Nature, Ancient Technology, and Rebirth as central themes.

That's really cool

Caught that too....

Goodness, I have the biggest smile on my face right now. This is gonna be a long week.

 

[foxbeldin]

Hey, so, there's this thing I've been wondering about.Maybe one of the people with a Switch preview unit can help me out here.

Have any of you tested how the Switch performed plugged into the wall in handheld mode?

In theory, this could provide dock-level performance but at a lower 720p resolution, improving the framerate.

Don't have a switch but know someone that does. From what he witnessed, framerate issues are in dock mode only. Handheld mode is fine, so there's no no need for extra performance in 720p.

 

[TheDinoman]

Was there any doubt that a Zelda game would get a 90+ meta regardless of quality?

A lot of people are worried it's gonna get around 85 or something due to "critics being harsher than before" or whatever.

 

[jxN3]

Was there any doubt that a Zelda game would get a 90+ meta regardless of quality?

Dunno, seems pretty hard to break 90+ these days.

 

[Coffinhal]

Timelapse form the Polygon video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojsc6dg1sjE

 

[Rehynn]

in person does the game look like you're viewing it through cataracts? it looks so washed out and hazy.

As about a million previews have already stated: No. The effect appears in some places, but it's never nearly as bad as some make it out to be.

 

[Skittzo0413]

It's the same basic idea. Climb tower, reveal map. BotW doesn't reveal map markers because it doesn't have any, because it's a more systems-driven game.

There are a wide variety of map stickers you can place at points of interest, like enemy camps, treasure chests, mountains, ruins, etc. The point of the map unlocking is to show you terrain only, you have to place these stickers and markers if you want.

So there are certainly "map markers" which point out places of interest but you have to place them yourself. It's essentially the same as the Witcher 3, but they aren't on the map by default. You need to explore to find them.

 

[Nickle]

Its suffocating your hype because Horizon is a new IP. It has nothing to do with the quality of either games.

I am actually feeling sorry for Zelda right now.Nintendo is hyping this up so much,but its barely catching up to open world/souls-like game design ,and it looks two gens behind.

The salt begins

 

[MHWilliams]

in person does the game look like you're viewing it through cataracts? it looks so washed out and hazy.

Yeah, like I said, I don't know what causes it. Happens occasionally. Either lighting or a draw distance thing. I have no clue.

2. So far, weapon durability sucks. I've had to change weapons up to four times in a fight. I'm sure this gets better, but I still don't enjoy it.

It doesn't. It doesn't at all! >=(

 

[Milly Osworth]

Gamecentral's:

http://metro.co.uk/2017/02/24/the-l...the-wild-hands-on-preview-eye-opener-6470487/

Some exceprts:

Nintendo has talked about how they went back to the very first NES game for inspiration, which sounds like hyperbole given the technology gulf between 1986 and now. But actually, the comparisons are entirely valid.

Having just completed it, we couldn’t help but think of Horizon Zero Dawn while playing Breath Of The Wild, and how simplistic it now seems compared to Zelda. You also have a bow in Breath Of The Wild, but you have to account for how arrows arc through the air, rather than it just acting like a low-tech sniper rifle. Boomerangs have to be caught manually on their return and the best way to defeat the skeletons that appear at night is to chop of their head and punt it into a river, like a goalkeeper trying to make a clearance.

You always expect a Zelda game to be good, but the attention to detail and willingness to innovate in Breath Of The Wild is well beyond our expectations. We wouldn’t suggest that any of this necessarily has anything to do with the Switch though, as the game was originally designed for the Wii U. As such the graphics are certainly not a match for the likes of Horizon, with often very simple geometry and textures. The frame rate sometimes becomes a little syrupy too, and there’s obvious object pop-in if you look for it.

We’re doing our best to find faults here but the truth is we’re hugely impressed. We already know some things we can’t talk about here, and other secrets that have been hinted to us by Nintendo. At this stage we’d shocked if this didn’t turn out to be the best Zelda since Ocarina Of Time. It may even surpass it, and since many still regard that as the best video game ever made it becomes almost impossible to overstate just how good Breath Of The Wild is.

Wow... :O

I really can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111111111111111111111111111one