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Arms Review Thread

Similar to Splatoon and Overwatch reviews, the game seems to be getting knocked for lack of content at launch.

That's fine for now, but the game promises regular content updates like Splatoon and Overwatch.

So I guess the overall package will be more desirable when more content lands.
 
videogamer.com said:
If you’re not very precise, the character will plant their feet into the ground and refuse to go, like a stroppy teen who’s been told they have to go to their aunt’s house while The OC is on the telly. Blocking feels just as finicky. You have to be deliberate in your actions, because if you’re not, the opposition will strike. Non-responsive controls aren’t conducive to a successful Arms tenure, regardless of your loadout.

arstechnica.co.uk said:
The motion controls are impressively accurate, to the point that playing with a more traditional setup—in which punches are tilted with the left analogue stick—just doesn't feel right. There's a nuance to the motion controls that's missing from the analogue stick, allowing for the launch of late twists and turns that can throw an opponent off guard.

I've played the game. Ars is correct here, and I find other bits in VG.com's review suspect. Are they a trusted source for game reviews?
 
Well they will provide free content. Feels like Splatoon all over again.

Reviewers can't score a promise of content. They're scoring what's here in the box right now.

I've played the game. Ars is correct here, and I find other bits in VG.com's review suspect. Are they a trusted source for game reviews?

I mean, I played the test punch too, and to me the motion controls felt finicky. And VG are more trusted for video game reviews than Ars, who are more known for tech stuff.
 
You can, because a consensus can form more than just the score. How much the replayability weighs on an individual reviewer is where the variance is, not the experience.

Err, I can't quite understand your second sentence. You can't disentangle what you think the replayability of a title is from your experience of playing it. If you think the mechanics of a fighting game is super shallow, then naturally you'd think there's very little replayability.
 
Eh...sounds like something I'll wait to purchase.

should had played the demo...i still hear ppl say the game doesnt look like fun, but had a switch and they could had downloaded it to try it out... how else would anyone know if a new IP is going to be fun for them if they havent even played it before
 
Looks like the game was rushed to fill in the drought.

what makes you say that? the performance by all accounts has been rock solid. 1080p/60fps with no drops and seemingly no bugs at all.

this does not seem like a rushed game, it seems like an incredibly polished game
 
I've played the game. Ars is correct here, and I find other bits in VG.com's review suspect. Are they a trusted source for game reviews?

They are, motion controls were also not my cup of tea unless I was playing with friends for fun

I preferred to use the pro controller

I simply couldn't get used to them, which is fine and they aren't to blame but I experienced the same wonkiness this reviewer had
That's only when I tried to take the game seriously though, with friends I didn't give a shit it was just fun more fun playing casually that way
 
what makes you say that? the performance by all accounts has been rock solid. 1080p/60fps with no drops and seemingly no bugs at all.

this does not seem like a rushed game, it seems like an incredibly polished game

He meant in terms of content.
 
Err, I can't quite understand your second sentence. You can't disentangle what you think the replayability of a title is from your experience of playing it. If you think the mechanics of a fighting game is super shallow, then naturally you'd think there's very little replayability.
Depth is only one part of the equation when it comes to replayability.
 
Scores are pretty much what I expected.
Glad many enjoyed the game. Had a lot of fun in the testpunch myself.
Splatoon's free content roll out was pretty fantastic so I hope ARMS benefits in the same way.
 
Metro GameCentral - 8/10

In Short: One of the most enjoyable and original fighting games of recent years, that fully justifies its use of motion controls – and it’s only set to get better in the future.

Pros: The core gameplay concept works extremely well, especially in terms of motion controls. Great character and arena design with a fun, attractive art style. Surprising depth and variety.

Cons: Not enough content at launch. Limited single-player and tutorial options.

Score: 8/10
 
Great stuff. I can't say I needed reviews after loving the Global Testpunch demo, but the EZA one was encouraging.

The hoops mode sounds like great fun.
 
Sounds like what I expected. Solid core game, light on content, wrapped in the typical Nintendo online experience. I might pick it up down the line when it's on sale, and some updates have happened.
 
what makes you say that? the performance by all accounts has been rock solid. 1080p/60fps with no drops and seemingly no bugs at all.

this does not seem like a rushed game, it seems like an incredibly polished game

I think he says rushed because of all the "lack of content" claims.
 
Had a feeling this would be good, it just looked like a lot of fun when they announced it, glad to see I was right.

This is Nintendo though and they do normally make great games, so not a total shock.
 
should had played the demo...i still hear ppl say the game doesnt look like fun, but had a switch and they could had downloaded it to try it out... how else would anyone know if a new IP is going to be fun for them if they havent even played it before

I played the demo and while I thought it was fun for sure, I'm probably going to wait till more DLC is out so there's more meat for me to chew on. I have other games to play and I'm grabbing Splatoon 2 day one so I'm fine with taking my time.
 
I don't see how that correlates to a game being rushed. pretty obvious that they consciously took a Splatoon approach to this game, as in releasing it with a base amount of content and releasing free updates post-launch.

If they had more time they could add a story mode, more modes, a more interesting ladder system, cosmetic unlocks, and so on.

Some of these things are kinda standard for these games-as-a-service that ARMS seems to be missing, at least at the moment.
 
Sounds like what I expected. Solid core game, light on content, wrapped in the typical Nintendo online experience. I might pick it up down the line when it's on sale, and some updates have happened.
IGN praised the online lobby which was pretty good in the limited test punch.
 
Game is satisfying as hell and has great party-game potential.

A robust single player would have been great but going by what we saw in the test punch the multi-player should keep me satisfied for a few months methinks.
 
Looks like the game was rushed to fill in the drought.

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I'll never really get the need for more story content in a fighting game. Maybe its because I'm old school, but if the core gameplay is great and not easily busted, I'll be there guaranteed. Is there a general aversion to Arcade type games nowadays?
 
8.9 from me on IGN Italia.

Behind its wacky (and absolutely adorable) cartoony appearance, with its peculiar colorful appeal, its delightful cast of characters and its rubbery animations that somehow remind you of Splatoon, ARMS has the heart - and the brain - of a pure-bread fighting game. Deep, engaging, fascinating, fast and far from trivial, this beat'em up shows however one huge merit above its many undeniable virtues: it's a new, completely unique take on the genre, one that will be enjoyable for both fans and newcomers. Another hit for the Big N, scored with a surprising boomerang-punch.
 
My (Italian) review:
Switchitalia.it: 8/10

Quick English summary:
"ARMS is a solid start for a brand new Nintendo IP: it is fresh, original, colorful and deep. The inventive approach to the fighting genre, especially due to the particular management of "punches" trajectories and extensible arms, alongside the attention to details spent by the team on characters, weapons and arenas, make ARMS a must buy for each Switch owner out there."
 
I don't see how that correlates to a game being rushed. pretty obvious that they consciously took a Splatoon approach to this game, as in releasing it with a base amount of content and releasing free updates post-launch.

Considering we just got 2 fighting games that already have a large amount of content AND are getting post-launch updates, it's easy to see how one can think Nintendo should have waited and beefed up the base game a bit more.
 
I don't see how that correlates to a game being rushed. pretty obvious that they consciously took a Splatoon approach to this game, as in releasing it with a base amount of content and releasing free updates post-launch.

Serious question - why would you not want all content in the game at release?

Considering we just got 2 fighting games that already have a large amount of content AND are getting post-launch updates, it's easy to see how one can think Nintendo should have waited and beefed up the base game a bit more.

Yeah, exactly. I don't know why it's okay to release a barebones games and then give updates throughout the year. I would prefer a full featured and jam packed game at launch and even more support going forward.
 
Reviews won't matter to me at all in terms of a purchase. The demo convinced me that that it's exactly my type of game. I'm going to read the reviews just to see how many other people it clicks with too
 
If anyone's interested, here's my review:

https://tiredoldhack.com/2017/06/07/arms-switch-review/

ARMS won't be to everyone's tastes. It originally wasn't to mine but having given it a chance it's really taken me by surprise. I've got a flight to Canada coming up next month and I'm now certain I'm going to be spending much of it playing ARMS instead of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. After spending time with it, I'm pretty comfortable in suggesting ARMS is one of the best original games Nintendo's released in the past decade. No (bad joke alert), I don't think saying that is too much of a stretch at all.
 
If they had more time they could add a story mode, more modes, a more interesting ladder system, cosmetic unlocks, and so on.

Some of these things are kinda standard for these games-as-a-service that ARMS seems to be missing, at least at the moment.

yeah I don't see it. obviously opinions on the game are going to vary but saying it was rushed seems to have no basis in reality.
 
I loved the test-punch sessions and these reviews just tell me I was right to pre-order. Very excited to have the full game in only a week or so with some sweet new yellow joy boys.
 
I've got an eye appointment in a bit, so I'll be out and won't update the thread until I'm back. If that's an issue, I apologize, someone else can pick up where I left off. If that annoys some of you, I'm sorry and
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I'll never really get the need for more story content in a fighting game. Maybe its because I'm old school, but if the core gameplay is great and not easily busted, I'll be there guaranteed. Is there a general aversion to Arcade type games nowadays?

At least for me the big budget and big name in general fighting games that have come out recently have all had awesome single player experiences I enjoyed quite a bit, I mean even comparing the smash games and their varied single player affair what with challenges etc. is just miles better than what's given here in a simple arcade mode

There's a lot you can do with this game I believe, I have no doubt they will do more with it via updates

At launch though in 2017 it wasn't for me content wise
 
Serious question - why would you not want all content in the game at release?



Yeah, exactly. I don't know why it's okay to release a barebones games and then give updates throughout the year. I would prefer a full featured and jam packed game at launch and even more support going forward.

Honestly, just getting used to 10 characters and all the different arm properties as it stands feels like something to chew for me. I'd happily take that now to chew on rather than wait another 6 months and chew on even more at once, instead of just spreading it out instead.
 
Day 1, reviews are about where I expected. Light single player offerings don't bug me as much if the online is as good as it was in the Testpunch.
 
what makes you say that? the performance by all accounts has been rock solid. 1080p/60fps with no drops and seemingly no bugs at all.

this does not seem like a rushed game, it seems like an incredibly polished game

Almost everyone is complaining of a lack of content.

lol what??? please tell me why and list all the modes in the game ? i beat the last of for $60 in 3 days, was that a waste of a gem with little content

Are you seriously trying to do a last of us vs arms argument? Wtf.
 
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