Nintendo switch thread for mental patients

[t0mby]

Oh, now you're alleging that you were just pretending it was the date and not the time of day...

Look at the date in the corner, that was taken 9th June!

If it's the time then why doesn't it say AM or PM? Next you'll be telling me it's in army time.

You are so full of shit and your damage control is beyond pathetic! Go fuck yourself you nasty little cumrag!

Everyone with half a brain cell knows that 9:06 would either be the time or a Bible reference, it'd have to have the slash 9/06 to be the date.

But keep on fighting the good fight you hairy arsed lemon party hoster.

[Jasper]

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (an XCOM turn-based tactical adventure game) out tomorrow for Nintendo Switch!!!

[flipswitch]

Reviews out shortly. I'm predicting 7-8s.

[Jasper]

It is a very niche game - and an XCOM turn-based tactical adventure game is for sure not going to be for everyone. Can you just imagine an amateur like Candy Arse trying to play such a hardcore game (poor Candy Arse would be so confused and in over his head)?

Nonetheless, it has received absolutely fantastic hands-on impressions from gaming journalists who enjoy the genre.

Some co-op gameplay footage below...

[Hercy]

The previews I've seen from people familiar with Xcom (which are few and far between because most previews are by Nintendo focused journalists who are used to playing games pitched at children) say that the tactical side is much easier than Xcom. This is not a "hardcore" game except by Nintendo standards where extra lives are given like confetti and controllers have a "win" button.

I'm also predicting around 8's.

[Hercy]

It is a very niche game - and an XCOM turn-based tactical adventure game is for sure not going to be for everyone. Can you just imagine an amateur like Candy Arse trying to play such a hardcore game (poor Candy Arse would be so confused and in over his head)?

Candy's got 50+ hours logged on the Xcoms on Steam.

[Jasper]

The previews I've seen from people familiar with Xcom (which are few and far between because most previews are by Nintendo focused journalists who are used to playing games pitched at children) say that the tactical side is much easier than Xcom. This is not a "hardcore" game except by Nintendo standards where extra lives are given like confetti and controllers have a "win" button.

"Nintendo focused journalists"...what, like Destructoid and Eurogamer?

Destructoid:

I was pretty jazzed for Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle going in and it lived up to those expectations in the few hours I had with it. Provided it's as delightful and engaging the whole way through, my biggest problem with it is probably going to be buying myself a Nintendo Switch before it comes out at the end of this month.

Eurogamer:

I've been on board with this game's setting and humour ever since I saw the first cutscene featuring Rabbid Peach, but I'm really pleased to see some depth in its combat. Having played a few of the late-game challenges, it doesn't seem afraid of introducing some real complexity.

[Hercy]

Those sites aren't faceless bots. The previews are written by people who are infected with the disease that causes them to overrate Nintendo exclusives.

[t0mby]

"The previews sound fantastic!" - Jasper, Lemon Party Founder

[F for Fake]

^

It's the cross over nobody was asking for.

[Jasper]

MARIO + RABBIDS KINGDOM BATTLE REVIEWS ARE IN....AND THEY ARE FANTASTIC!!!

Luckily for a turn-based tactical adventure game rookie like Candy Arse, he can snap up a Nintendo Switch / Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle bundle from Big W for just $499 (the game is also available by itself at Big W & Target for just 69 bucks)...

Eurogamer: Recommended

This wonky crossover is the unlikely source of a superbly designed tactical combat challenge as well as a charmingly silly adventure.

TIME: 10/10

It's a fan service fractal that works both as a gonzo strategy masterpiece and series love letter. It's a studio-publisher (Ubisoft) that's been around nearly as long as Nintendo's been making video games, reflecting all the whimsy and allure of a franchise that's sold half a billion copies worldwide. I blaspheme, but if you've ever wondered what an archetypal Nintendo game made not-by-Nintendo would look like, here you go.

Gamespot: 9/10

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle exudes off-beat optimism that never dissolves. It's a consistent delight, no matter how challenging the road becomes, because Kingdom Battle's unique turn-based tactics system is in every way a pleasure to engage with. Coupled with the annoyingly infectious allure of Rabbids, and the always delightful, colorful world of the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is an implausibly engrossing formula that is positively challenging and endlessly charming.[/i][/b]

Hardcore Gamer: 9/10

While not a traditional Mario or Rabbids game, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle contains enough elements from both franchises to appeal to fans of either series. The lighthearted humor and silly visuals combined with a surprisingly deep battle system make this unexpected crossover a delight to play.

Game Informer: 8.5/10

I was as skeptical as anyone when I heard the words “Mario” and “XCOM” uttered in the same sentence, but Kingdom Battle didn’t just prove me wrong – it ended up being my favorite Mario game in recent years. Nintendo and Ubisoft took a big risk working together outside their comfort zones, and that risk paid off.

EGM: 85/10

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle delivers a solid all-around experience that takes advantage of the strengths of both Mario and the Rabbids — making for one of the most surprisingly enjoyable game experiences you’re likely to have this year.

Gamespace: 8.5/10

If you own a Nintendo Switch, you want this game, period. I didn’t know I wanted this mashup, but now that we have it, I can’t wait for the DLC, and I definitely want sequels.

US Gamer: 4.5/5

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is a game that sounds like it shouldn't be any good. On the contrary, Ubisoft has crafted a charming adventure for Mario and its Rabbids. The game streamlines the strategy combat experience while still offering surprising depth. Its world is absolutely beautiful, full of color, life, and hints of Mario's long history. Mario + Rabbids has no right being this good.

Polygon: 8/10

Mario + Rabbids manages to walk a narrow road, offering up a legitimately challenging squad tactics experience without alienating the family friendly Mario audience.

DualShockers: 8/10

While the allure of these two franchises coming together may be the draw for many, the surprising depth to its combat and the replayability that it offers are the real highlights.

TheSixthAxis: 8/10

As strange as Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle sounds on paper, there are some really good ideas in the mix. Having XCOM's battle gameplay presented in a more light lighthearted fashion and greatly enhancing character movement are both excellent touches.

[/size]

[Candy Arse]

It is a very niche game - and an XCOM turn-based tactical adventure game is for sure not going to be for everyone. Can you just imagine an amateur like Candy Arse trying to play such a hardcore game (poor Candy Arse would be so confused and in over his head)?

Candy's got 50+ hours logged on the Xcoms on Steam.

Yep and that's predominantly the first XCOM with the stupidly hard and stupidly brilliant Long War mod.

Then you look at my hours across the Total War games...

Why would I purposefully choose to spend MORE MONEY to play the INFERIOR version of XCOM2 on Switch, instead of spending LESS MONEY to play the SUPERIOR version of XCOM2 on PC?.

A kiddy version of XCOM reviewed by Nintendo-centric "reviewers" vs the real thing on PC for less money and the Long War mod? Please

[Candy Arse]

US Gamer: 4.5/5

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is a game that sounds like it shouldn't be any good. On the contrary, Ubisoft has crafted a charming adventure for Mario and its Rabbids. The game streamlines the strategy combat experience while still offering surprising depth. Its world is absolutely beautiful, full of color, life, and hints of Mario's long history. Mario + Rabbids has no right being this good.

Well there it is - XCOM for babies confirmed.

[Hercy]

I think that the IGN review of Mario Rabbids nails my concern:

All told, there are at least 20 hours of content here – and that’s if you’re not new to this genre. That’s good because I can’t see a lot of replay value in going back to do it again other than to try the same scenarios with less appropriate teams. The only random factors here are whether or not you hit the coin-flip shots at enemies in low cover. To be fair, that can absolutely make the difference between a win and a loss, but since Mario + Rabbids gives you no choice but to reload when you lose, it doesn’t have quite the same drama as in a game with permanent death.

1) the levels are all pre-designed setups, and are more like 'puzzles' which can be figured out and then there is no desire to play again.
2) the difficulty and tension from Xcom comes from the perma-deaths which impact on your next battle(s). Sloppy tactics can ruin dozens of hours of gameplay. But in Rabbids, sloppy tactics just mean you hit restart. In Xcom, you agonise over whether to take a shot at a 50% chance to hit, or use your last grenade for a guaranteed kill. In Rabbids, this tension can't exist because the consequence of failure is to simply try again immediately from the start. If your 50% shot misses and you die, you just restart and next time your 50% shot probably hits. Rabbids is basically like save-scumming Xcom.

[Jasper]

Well there it is - XCOM for babies confirmed.

WTF?

There goes Candy Arse again desperately searching for excuses to not buy a game his heart desperately yearns for...

Gamespot scored Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle & XCOM 2 the EXACT SAME SCORE!!! (9/10). I suggest you watch the below video review as they go into detail of just how challenging Mario + Rabbids is...

I cannot wait to get my hands on this game tomorrow!!! Plus there's plenty of DLC content in the works to keep me entertained for months to come...

[Hercy]

Everyone in this Neogaf thread is complaining that someone who knew what they were talking about reviewed the game for IGN instead of some Nintendo sycophant: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1424400" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I can't believe they got PC master race Dan Stapleton to review this. Jose, Peer, Brian, Sam, Daemon et al would have been far more positive.

What? IGN didn't have one of the Nintendo guys review this game?

I know it just seems like a strange choice to review a Mario game.

7.7 from the X-Com guy is quite a good rating.

I think I'll wait for Jim Sterling's review.

[Jasper]

Dan Stapleton who is the go to guy for strategy games at IGN scored XCOM 2 an 8.8. There's literally only a measly 1.1 score difference between his reviews for XCOM 2 and Mario & Rabbids Kingdom Battle.

Plus I don't think you have any room to talk. The game is getting fucking fantastic reviews for such an incredibly niche game (a lot of the reviews just as good, if not better than XCOM/XCOM 2) and yet here you and your buddy Candy Arse are, trashing the game!

In an above post, Candy Arse was boasting about how he plays other strategy genre games like from the Total War franchise...when the funny thing is that a lot of the Total War games have lower MetaCritic scores than Mario & Rabbids Kingdom Battle!

The truth is you (and ESPECIALLY Candy Arse) wanted this game to score poorly because it's a Nintendo Switch exclusive title! You Hercy have made it crystal clear you don't like Nintendo nor the Nintendo Switch!

I can tell Candy Arse is about to explode knowing there are so many incredible Nintendo Switch games, and that he (a supposed "hardcore gamer") is going to miss out on all of them.

Between now and Christmas, we have four major Nintendo Switch exclusive games scheduled for release (Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, Fire Emblem Warriors, Super Mario Odyssey, Xenoblade Chronicles 2). Then next year there's a ton of fantastic Nintendo Switch exclusive games coming including Pokemon, Kirby, Metroid, Yoshi, Pikmin, Fire Emblem, Shin Megami Tensei, etc. Furthermore developers like Platinum Games & Square-Enix have major unannounced Nintendo Switch exclusive games in development.

Poor Candy Arse is going insane knowing there's LESS than 60 days to go until the release of Super Mario Odyssey, and that he is NOT going to be able to experience the magic of THE FIRST REAL 3D MARIO PLATFORMER IN OVER 15 YEARS...

[Candy Arse]

I think that the IGN review of Mario Rabbids nails my concern:

All told, there are at least 20 hours of content here – and that’s if you’re not new to this genre. That’s good because I can’t see a lot of replay value in going back to do it again other than to try the same scenarios with less appropriate teams. The only random factors here are whether or not you hit the coin-flip shots at enemies in low cover. To be fair, that can absolutely make the difference between a win and a loss, but since Mario + Rabbids gives you no choice but to reload when you lose, it doesn’t have quite the same drama as in a game with permanent death.

1) the levels are all pre-designed setups, and are more like 'puzzles' which can be figured out and then there is no desire to play again.
2) the difficulty and tension from Xcom comes from the perma-deaths which impact on your next battle(s). Sloppy tactics can ruin dozens of hours of gameplay. But in Rabbids, sloppy tactics just mean you hit restart. In Xcom, you agonise over whether to take a shot at a 50% chance to hit, or use your last grenade for a guaranteed kill. In Rabbids, this tension can't exist because the consequence of failure is to simply try again immediately from the start. If your 50% shot misses and you die, you just restart and next time your 50% shot probably hits. Rabbids is basically like save-scumming Xcom.

Wow no permadeath, simplified combat and tactics, only 20 hours to complete.

This really IS XCOM for babies.

Think I'll stick to the superior and cheaper adult version of XCOM on PC.

Total Warhammer 2 also out next month - there goes another 200 hours! That's 200 Jasper, not 20 like your strategy-for-kiddies game

[Candy Arse]

Everyone in this Neogaf thread is complaining that someone who knew what they were talking about reviewed the game for IGN instead of some Nintendo sycophant: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1424400" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I can't believe they got PC master race Dan Stapleton to review this. Jose, Peer, Brian, Sam, Daemon et al would have been far more positive.

What? IGN didn't have one of the Nintendo guys review this game?

I know it just seems like a strange choice to review a Mario game.

7.7 from the X-Com guy is quite a good rating.

I think I'll wait for Jim Sterling's review.

This is one of a number of reasons (being shapeless, smelly pedobears primarily) why Nintendo fans personally offend me.

IGN did the right thing assigning the review to their in-house strategy expert but OMG ONLY 7.7 WHAT ABOUT THE METACRITIC SCORE.

So what we've learned is that this game is grossly inferior to a true hardcore game like XCOM, and it has been completely simplified for kiddy "gamers" like Jasper.

Yeah...not for real gamers like myself. Pass.

[Candy Arse]

Well there it is - XCOM for babies confirmed.

WTF?

There goes Candy Arse again desperately searching for excuses to not buy a game his heart desperately yearns for...

Gamespot scored Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle & XCOM 2 the EXACT SAME SCORE!!! (9/10). I suggest you watch the below video review as they go into detail of just how challenging Mario + Rabbids is...

I cannot wait to get my hands on this game tomorrow!!! Plus there's plenty of DLC content in the works to keep me entertained for months to come...

Can you explain to me why I would buy a Switch plus this inferior version of XCOM when I could just play the superior and cheaper adult version on my PC?

[Hercy]

Using Jasper's favourite metric, being the number of perfect review scores, Xcom 2 has 11 and Mario Rabbids has 1. I think from that it's clear what the best game really is.

[Candy Arse]

Wow so XCOM 2 is 11x better than XCOM For Kiddies. Yep definitely sticking with the superior and cheaper adult version

[Jasper]

Have you two bitter dickheads actually checked to see who scored XCOM 2 a perfect 10/10?

It's the likes of 'Level Czech Republic Magazine', 'IB Times', 'The Daily Dot', etc. Complete irrelevant publications/websites, with not a single 10/10 from any actual recognisable gaming publication/website like Gamespot, EDGE, Game Informer, etc.

And what's hilarious is it's these dodgy reviews that are the only reason why XCOM 2 is only slighty ahead of Mario & Rabbids Kingdom Battle on MetaCritic. You remove those dodgy reviews, and your precious XCOM 2 would 100% absolutely have a significantly lower score than the truly superior Mario & Rabbids Kingdom Battle!

[Jasper]

Considering you boys enjoy reviews from non-gaming websites/publications like 'The Daily Dot', I suggest you read this one from TIME Magazine (a non-gaming focused but yet still very reputable publication)...

Review: Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle Is a Gonzo Strategy Masterpiece

The audacity of Ubisoft's Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle for the Nintendo Switch is to transform Nintendo's most cherished characters into tactical weapons slowed to the gait of chess pieces. It shouldn't work, yet somehow does.

As if Nintendo's classic characters couldn't get any weirder, here is Super Mario hefting a futuristic blaster, with all his plump, plumberly pep distilled to numerics like "area of movement," "dash" or "cleansing stomp." He's joined by brother Luigi, whose steely gaze guides stinging sniper shots over swathes of quirky terrain. Deranged bunny allies (the "Rabbids" from Ubisoft's goofy Rayman-verse) cosplay the famous siblings and other familiar faces, capering across Skittles-bright battlefields like psychotic toddlers. Together they tail a hovering, hockey-puckish robot, dubbed "Beep-o," who periodically interrupts to ground the game's rollicking plot.



The conceit is that Nintendo's Mario-verse and Ubisoft's topsy-turvy Rabbids have catastrophically collided thanks to a child-brainiac's augmented reality contraption that can merge objects. The Rabbids show up in a time-traveling washing machine, the helmet accidentally gloms onto one of the bunch, who kicks off a rash of transmogrifications, hybridizing characters and beloved landscapes before buddying with the usual Mario villains. It's the stuff art team dreams are made of.
Mario's already bizarre Mushroom Kingdom bursts with Rayman-ish peculiarities, like geysering toilets, grooving flowers and ivory pipes with bunny ears and lolling tongues. Zebra-striped treetops share turf with others that sport surreal curlicues. Snow and sand bleed together forming paradoxical biomes. Toy blocks frame a multihued jungle-gym commandeered by a hilarious alternate version of an iconic Nintendo adversary. It's wacky, boisterous and absolutely gorgeous.



To reverse this Franken-tangling, players guide a preselected trio through these adorably absurd vistas, led in all cases by Mario, but with swappable spots for Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi or their loony Rabbids analogues. Levels (10 per each of the game's four worlds) subdivide into zones, each freely explorable and stuffed with trip-the-switch traversal puzzles, secret areas and hidden collectibles you can inspect in the vicinity of Princess Peach's castle, the game's safe zone hub. (Completionists can also revisit and replay levels here.)

To make headway, Mario and pals must win past chessboard-like chokepoints folded into "chapters." Venture into these and the game shifts to combat that plays out on grids and by turns, pitting scrums of mutant Rabbids against Mario and posse. Heroes and enemies wield short or long range weapons, each with collateral effects that can burn, blind, freeze and even knock combatants off the board. New and stronger enemy types shuffle onstage as the game unfolds, ratcheting up the difficulty and thereby the demands of resource allocation, which is what strategy games like this are really about.



Should Mario deploy a Mega Man-ish arm blaster to pick off a distant foe, or swing a Mario Bros. style hammer to pummel a nearby one? Perform a "dash" to dropkick an enemy, or "team jump" off a comrade to increase his maximum range? Hang back in cover, or risk taking enemy fire to slip into a pipe that'll whisk him to high ground? Should Rabbid Peach fire a midrange cannon capable of gluing enemies in place, or dispatch a wheeled bomb that homes in on its target? Conjure a defensive forcefield, or revitalize nearby allies with a burst of healing energy? Jump on an ally to "cleanse" a status ailment or "double dash" to knock down a pair of opponents? Should two heroes activate "react" abilities, while the third lures enemies into a trap that triggers a devastating combo?

Choices like those inhabit countless precursor games, none more famous than Mythos and MicroProse's 1994 category pacesetter X-COM: UFO Defense. A lot of what makes Mario + Rabbids feel idiosyncratic comes down less to tactical novelty than Ubisoft equaling and at times surpassing first-party Nintendo levels of veritably supernatural charm. Hypnosis-by-style is partly what's going on here, in other words.



But it's not everything. The game has a deceptively breezy flow that's even smarter than studio Firaxis's recent XCOM rethinks. This is "you go, I go" for the cinematic, over-the-top action crowd, the pause of a turn just a chance to tee up the next zany acrobatic spectacle. The game's nod to multiplayer, a local cooperative mode that lets a pair of players guide allied teams of two with the Joy-Cons pulled off the Switch and held sideways, illustrates how friendly its learning curve is. My 5-year-old could eke out wins in the first of the game's four cooperative campaigns after just one match with me coaching.

It's almost too easy early on: once you've sussed a match's particulars, winning is a fait accompli. That changes as you fight mid-bosses, then some pretty crazy end bosses. And the difficulty soars by the time you reach the second world's midpoint. Keep going and you'll really feel the vise turn, circumscribed by variables like turn limits (there's a maximum number per battle) and incremental cash incentives (spendable on new weapons) for teams that can soldier through a set of clashes intact.



Win states eventually change, adding variety to matches otherwise about clearing the board. Some courses have literal end zones you simply have to touch to win. Others are escort sprints where you have to guide a vulnerable ally through enfilade fire. Special abilities allow teammates to zip around the map or heal each other, and "power orbs" acquired by winning battles or snatched from chests let you unlock new skills. Study up and these make it possible to execute ferocious multi-character combos.

Ubisoft offsets the sometimes daunting intricacy of team interaction by simplifying targeting rules: enemies are either out of range, half-obscured or fully exposed, offering zero, 50-50 or 100% odds of being struck. It's a slick inversion of conventional turn-based tactics that keeps you moving and focused on maneuvering without getting bogged down in abstraction.



A word about BAFTA-winning composer Grant Kirkhope's score. He's pulled off something with understated elegance here, reimagining quaint Mario series tunes as counterintuitively contemplative orchestral pastiches with Jerry Goldsmith-esque twists and flourishes. You can collect bits of the soundtrack in-game or get it with the (totally sold out) $99 collector's edition, but it deserves a standalone release as soon as possible.

As for the game, it's a fan service fractal that works both as a gonzo strategy masterpiece and series love letter. It's a studio-publisher (Ubisoft) that's been around nearly as long as Nintendo's been making video games, reflecting all the whimsy and allure of a franchise that's sold half a billion copies worldwide. I blaspheme, but if you've ever wondered what an archetypal Nintendo game made not-by-Nintendo would look like, here you go.

5 OUT OF 5 - PERFECT

http://time.com/4914886/mario-rabbids-k ... le-review/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Hercy]

Xcom 2 has a bunch of really low review scores due to some bugs in the game when it launched, which aren't representative of the quality of the underlying game, or the game as it exists were you to buy it today. Those are dragging the Metacritic score down below what it really should be.

The median score for Rabbids is 85 and for Xcom 2 is 90. And this is even allowing you the indulgence of using Xcom 2 instead of the better-reviewed Xcom 1. While Xcom 2 is clearly the better game, the reviews rightfully marked it down for being so similar to Xcom 1 and not offering much new to fans of the first game (a phenomenon which is alien to the inner circle of Nintendo writers).