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Arms Review Thread

10/10 by cheat code central
Cheat Code CentralJun 7, 2017
100
It's difficult to describe just how good ARMS is. The best analogy I can come up with is that it is to fighting games what Splatoon is to third-person shooters. ARMS is a bright, colorful, and welcoming game. Newcomers can easily hop in and enjoy most of the matches and modes available. Meanwhile, the more dedicated will find themselves developing complex strategies based on characters and ARMS loadouts and captivated by the opportunities to challenge others online.
http://www.cheatcc.com/switch/rev/armsreview.html


9/10 from spaziogames
SpazioGamesJun 7, 2017
90
ARMS is the first new Nintendo IP on Switch, an unusual fighting-game that's both competitive and entertaining. The character design is beautiful and the game mechanics are well-balanced, even if some abilities are easier to use than others. The only problem is the single-player offering, which is not as interesting as the multiplayer one.
http://www.spaziogames.it/recensioni_videogiochi/console_nintendo_switch/20920/arms



Most reviews giving low scores are complaining about the lack of modes, not gameplay. And considering that the former will be addressed in the next few months, sounds like people are describing a pretty damn solid game, not an "extremely average" (lol) one.
 
I think Splatoon is a good comparison point, particularly as they seem to be following similar paths.

Review Splatoon now versus when it launched and you can see the parallels.

Think this will be worth the investment. Nintendo rarely makes new IP it doesn't believe will last.

Also note the "story" in splatoon came in unexpected ways and is continuing to. Overwatch has unexpected story as well. Think this will be a trend.

Finally, I feel like alt control schemes that are new always get a -1/-2 point average. It makes sense. These are gamers reviewing this stuff. We're used to buttons and a "2d" control mechanism where all the buttons/sticks are on the same plane. Motion tends to scramble reviewers brains a bit because it's much more personal and subjective.
 

As far as responses to obvious drive-by posts go this is 10/10

It is when you are talking about Nintendo as of late.

I like how lot of these reviews complain about a lack of depth yet fail to mention some of the more complex moments and skills in the game.

A huge portion of reviewers don't play competitive fighting games or even competitive games in general the same way the intended target audience does. Why do you think the FGC never gives a shit when a fighting game embargo is lifted? It's why NetherRealm are critical darlings in the genre because they fluff up the game for people with only passive interest in the genre.

Now obviously ARMS is less dedicated to a hardcore audience so it's lack of content stands are more of a problem here than something like Street Fighter would have to deal with but I still got the Splatoon effect from the Testpunch where the core of the game is super solid and structured enough that I'm comfortable playing until updates drop.
 
On one hand:
-Don't like how the gameplay looks in trailers at all
-Don't like the lack of singleplayer
-Needed the reviews to blow me away and they haven't

On the other hand:
-Nintendo almost never botches core game design and this team made MK8 - a masterpiece
-I haven't played it for myself, which in a gameplay-centric game like this makes all the difference
-The music and art are fantastic

Really hope they do a demo for this one day, where one day means "after I'm able to get a Switch".
 
It should've had a story. The characters all have unique personalities and would make for interesting little stories to tell but I guess they either didn't think it was worth it or didn't have the time.
I did expect a bit of story stuff, at least some interactions between characters. They appear to have really thought out the character relationships in some cases (eg Mechanica as a huge Ribbon fan) so it's unexpected for me.

Mario Kart doesn't need a story because it's a zany spinoff.
 
As someone who has been waiting for a really great exclusive to sell me on getting a Switch, this game isn't really making the best case for itself from all I've seen and read. Motion control focus is a massive turn off for me.

Back to waiting for Mario Odyssey I guess :/
 
Really people underestimate, how much time the developers need to spend into testing to figure out, if a game-mechanic is fun or not. That's why games with unique mechanics, have rarely a good single-player or a lot of content, the developers put most of their budget into creating good gameplay. A sequel gives them finally the time and money to build on there base and develop something bigger.

Injustice 2 has such a big single-player, because NetherRealm Studios could use a lot of mechanics, code and systems from their previous titles. Even for Mortal Kombat the basic gameplay and even lore was already developed over decades. Fighting games at that time had the benefit, that there most basic-form could be developed for and bought from Arcades. After that the publisher could put the money into a console-version (for example Mortal Kombat or Tekken). That's also why Street Fighter 5 was such a disappointment. Capcom had no excuse for their lack of content, since they weren't reinventing the wheel.

This lack of tacking risks and the big demand of players has the negative consequence, that many publisher take less risks with new mechanics. It's easier to take known mechanics and modify them as put a lot of time and money into the development of new game-mechanics. Which could burn a lot of money and maybe never create something fun.

But on the other side i can understand, if people think, that this isn't there problem. That's why, i hope Nintendo keeps this in mind and either create a lot of free content, until the game is big enough for more players. Or they use this base as a starting platform and make a bigger sequel next time. So a 7 out of 10 would be okay for such a game. ARMS actually getting 8/10, shows how promising the mechanics are.
 
As someone who has been waiting for a really great exclusive to sell me on getting a Switch, this game isn't really making the best case for itself from all I've seen and read. Motion control focus is a massive turn off for me.

Back to waiting for Mario Odyssey I guess :/

The traditional controls are perfectly fine as many can attest to, including myself. Hell, a lot of people even prefer it.
 
If this was on any other console it would be a early 70 at best.

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As someone who has been waiting for a really great exclusive to sell me on getting a Switch, this game isn't really making the best case for itself from all I've seen and read. Motion control focus is a massive turn off for me.

Back to waiting for Mario Odyssey I guess :/

Uhm i beat nearly everyone with a pro controller i only lost like 2 times in 1 vs 1.
 
It should've had a story. The characters all have unique personalities and would make for interesting little stories to tell but I guess they either didn't think it was worth it or didn't have the time.

I would've loved a story mode, maybe with some more adventure-like sections with multiple enemies.

As it is I don't think I'll be getting this since it doesn't really have enough single player content to hold me over. But I'll keep an eye on the free DLC updates.
 
As someone who has been waiting for a really great exclusive to sell me on getting a Switch, this game isn't really making the best case for itself from all I've seen and read. Motion control focus is a massive turn off for me.

Back to waiting for Mario Odyssey I guess :/

All control options are available. The focus comes from you.
 
It would be nice for it to have standard fighting gameplay mechanics. However I can see how it wouldn't work. They could get creative and add something to make it more fun for me.

I think it can be done without getting too complex like Gundam VS which they took inspiration from:

5ZPZM7S.gif


But you'd have to introduce another button to be held or some sort at the very least to incorporate a shift in long range to close range attacks. But from a design perspective, I can understand why they didn't go that way. No need to obfuscate what is inherently a niche way of playing a fighting game.
 
As someone who has been waiting for a really great exclusive to sell me on getting a Switch, this game isn't really making the best case for itself from all I've seen and read. Motion control focus is a massive turn off for me.

Back to waiting for Mario Odyssey I guess :/

Some say the game is better using standard controls. I performed about the same.
 
Good reviews so far! It scored a bit lower than I thought but that's ok because Splatoon reviewed in a similar way and end up being my most played Wii U game and one of my faves from the last 5 years. Too bad I still don't have a Switch :(
 
It should've had a story. The characters all have unique personalities and would make for interesting little stories to tell but I guess they either didn't think it was worth it or didn't have the time.

I can agree with this, the characters are practically begging for it

hopefully they do some lore building in the future
 
This looks like its going the way of the first splatoon in terms of overall reception, the most advisable would be to wait for a couple of updates but seeing the splatoon track record i wouldnt fault anyone for jumping right .in
 
SFV had Character Stories & Survival on Day 1, too.

Dude, those character stories were a joke and if they didn't get you fight money they wouldn't even be worth spending your time on. Arms may be launching bare but they're going to do like they did with Splatoon and greatly expand Arms with updates. Having said that, I definitely see myself skipping Arms at least for now anyways. Arms gameplay just didn't grab me (which is surprising as I love Virtual On). It seems like a game that I would initially enjoy and then get really sick of after spending about a month with it.
It doesn't help that I hate the motion controls (I gave them a fair shake... lol) but also as we all now know the traditional controls are inferior in some crucial ways where that alone just makes me not want to play the game. Either way, I'm curious to see how this game does and I hope it does well as I like Nintendo stepping out of their comfort zone. I'm sure it'll do great in its first month because people are just absolutely starved for games but I wonder how many people will stick with it after Splatoon 2 launches.
 
How does this game lack modes when it has like... 6... What were they expecting...? 12?
They don't know what to expect because it's a new IP, I feel bad for ppl who won't give this a try because of others opinions but for 90% who played the textpunch agreed to be there Day 1
 
I think I'm going to keep my preorder. I was on the fence about getting a good amount of time out of the game before Splatoon comes out, but Arms is only costing me $40, and it seems like I can play this for a few weeks and not be overwhelmed with the amount of content. So hopefully I won't feel guilty when I set it aside next month.
 
I think it can be done without getting too complex like Gundam VS which they took inspiration from:

5ZPZM7S.gif


But you'd have to introduce another button to be held or some sort at the very least to incorporate a shift in long range to close range attacks. But from a design perspective, I can understand why they didn't go that way. No need to obfuscate what is inherently a niche way of playing a fighting game.

Yeah, I think the only mechanics that seemed "missing" that I would have appreciated was:
1. Some sort of close range mode. Maybe even if when you were close your arms animation/effect changed. Wouldn't need another mode, but it would need to be clear if you were in range for "close range"
2. Some kind of tech-ing. It's just odd hitting the ground and not having a quick "rebound" if you shield on impact or something
 
Little Mons†er;239505395 said:
slaytendo stays winning with yet ANOTHER HIT on their arms

when will your washed up faves?

careyitsds.gif

I can never tell if popgaf is just on a higher level of irony than me or if they're exactly as presented.
 
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