Splatoon, a Watered Down Shooter?

[Newtonjar]

Now, my friend said this to me, and I didn't know really how to counter it. When I told him about the 1 million dollar tournament and how splatoon had real potential to become an e-sport he told me that splatoon was a watered down shooter. The issue is that I have never played another shooter seriously so I really couldn't argue against him simply because I didn't have anything to reference to. keep in mind that he has played tf2 and cs:go. now I am curious to here counter arguments against this, which is why I made this thread.

 

[Griff]

I think Splatoon really has its own unique place in the genre. It brings a fresh take on the third person shooter. It plays well, is thematically brilliant, and is unlike anything I've played before or since. I also play TF2 and CS, and I dont see how they can be compared to Splatoon in any way other than the fact that they're shooters. They're first person games and both handle really differently to each other and Splatoon.

I cant really see his argument in it being a "Watered down shooter". If you could ask him what he meant by that, then I'd love to hear it. Just sounds like he's closed minded about new things, honestly.

 

[Andrew]

Has HE played Splatoon? If he hasn't then you can counter him with that fact. Plus, Splatoon is a very unique shooter mainly due to the fact that the whole goal is mainly to ink turf, not get kills like almost every other shooter. Plus I have a friend who is obsessed with Team Fortress 2 and Splatoon, and he says that for some reason they feel similar to each other which is why he likes them both.

 

[Newtonjar]

I think Splatoon really has its own unique place in the genre. It brings a fresh take on the third person shooter. It plays well, is thematically brilliant, and is unlike anything I've played before or since. I also play TF2 and CS, and I dont see how they can be compared to Splatoon in any way other than the fact that they're shooters. They're first person games and both handle really differently to each other and Splatoon.

I cant really see his argument in it being a "Watered down shooter". If you could ask him what he meant by that, then I'd love to hear it. Just sounds like he's closed minded about new things, honestly.

The thing is, is that he really isn't, which is why I was taken kinda back. He does view nintendo as being a primarily casual company, this doesn't mean he doesn't like the games, in fact the wii u is his only console. But his belief in them being casual might be why he thinks that

 

[Griff]

The thing is, is that he really isn't, which is why I was taken kinda back. He does view nintendo as being a primarily casual company, this doesn't mean he doesn't like the games, in fact the wii u is his only console. But his belief in them being casual might be why he thinks that

My initial perception of Splatoon was that it was an incomplete game that wasn't worth its 60 dollar pricetag. Honestly, I still think it would be better suited to being 30 USD, but after giving the game a go it really proved it's worth to me. A fresh and unique multiplayer experience is tough to come by nowadays, and Splatoon nails that and with frequent and free content updates the price is much more reasonable. I would tell him to give it a go himself, ESPECIALLY if he can find the game for a reduced price somewhere. I'm sure he would be surprised by the mileage he would get out of it.

 

[Dish]

Lol definitely not. Sure the graphics aren't realistic but the skill ceiling for splatoon is definitely up there, thanks to ranked battles.

 

[LMG]

Lol definitely not. Sure the graphics aren't realistic but the skill ceiling for splatoon is definitely up there, thanks to ranked battles.

On the graphics, realistic graphics don't really make people take a game seriously, it just makes it look more real (and they tend to end up looking dated as time goes by, unlike some "artistic" graphics). On the skill ceiling, I'd say it's pretty high due to the mechanics of the game, not really the ranked battles themselves (I mean, even the ranked battles are built around the mechanics of the game)

 

[Dreamy Luigi]

Splatoon is the most creative shooter I've ever seen. It's not about killing, it's about using Ink to your advantage.

 

[picopepin]

Re: re: graphics, additionally realistic graphics are a cheap way out of creative storytelling and world building (not in all cases but as an argument for "better games", absolutely)

i think its hard to argue it though to someone who hasnt played and its especially difficult to argue to someone who hasnt been through the grind of ranked play and squad play and all that jazz. its kind of like how i KNOW that league of legends is a ridiculously complex, competitive, interactive strategy MOBA but by not playing it my range of knowledge is only that it's an world-renowned esport and not why.

 

[aceofscarabs]

Not watered-down, Inked-up!

 

[Nukichuu]

Who dfck compares Splatoon with Egoshooters

 

[Newtonjar]

just to clarify, he didn't compare the shooters, I was just info on his background in shooters

 

[DarkGold777]

I'll admit I have no real experience playing any shooters not called "Splatoon", but I feel I can confidently say that he's wrong; Splatoon is just different, not watered-down. It is colorful, it's got great concepts for modes, it has a wide variety of weapons, it has a great amount of customization, and because of this, it's gained a great competitive and casual fanbase.

 

[Summer1401]

Just to argue with the main point of the thread. When you say watered down you mean less of a thing or without nit and grit details. (it's the anti-idiom to the phrase nitty-gritty details). So a water downed shooter would be a shooter with less features, which is not true. So just explain the turf mechanic and that puts it above most other shooters. The only thing Splatoon is missing is a spectator mode so you will have to concede that, but if a spectator mode is what puts one shooter ahead of another then I think the shooter genre is really shallow (close-minded might be a better word). Of course they not mean exactly what water down means so like a person earlier said ask what he means by a "watered down shooter".

 

[Lyn]

>CS:GO
>TF2
That's all you have to say.

 

[Glass Eater]

If someone told me that I would simply respond: "Oh yeahhhh?! You must be that jerk who always played Odd Job in Golden Eye 64 back in the day, hu!?"

 

[RespawningJesus]

No, it is not a watered down shooter. It is actually a lot different to other shooters. Simple and childish at first glance, but it has some form of substance when you spend some time with it. For example, the ink and movement mechanics, and when you team up with others, your team composition.

 

[missingno]

There's not really much you can say to such a vague and meaningless statement. Can't give a rebuttal when there's nothing there to be rebutted. Ask him to try and elaborate and be specific about what exactly is "watered down" about it.

 

[StayPuft]

Watered down shooter? Nah man, it's an inked down shooter.

Just because Splatoon isn't what someone is familiar with in a shooter does not mean that it should be considered "watered down". The only way I could maybe think he has a point is the weapons... cause honestly there's not a TON of variety. This weapon shoots farther than the other one. This one has a different sub and special but the same main weapon. This roller is slower but has greater flick range. This roller is really fast. This roller is the basic one. etc etc. Compared to something he's used to like TF2, which has 9 different classes each with their own variations on their own main, sub, and melee weapons, and allows you to mix and match them as you wish, I could maybe see where he's coming from. But Splatoon's core mechanics also help it stand out from the crowd of other shooters. You can turn into a squid to quickly move around in your own turf and scale up to otherwise unreachable places. When you shoot you are literally claiming turf as your own (making it harmful to enemies even), all the while fighting opponents so you can have some of their turf. I find Splatoon to be a very interesting and welcome addition to the shooting genre.

 

[Litagano Motscoud]

Watered down shooter? Nah man, it's an inked down shooter.

Just because Splatoon isn't what someone is familiar with in a shooter does not mean that it should be considered "watered down". The only way I could maybe think he has a point is the weapons... cause honestly there's not a TON of variety. This weapon shoots farther than the other one. This one has a different sub and special but the same main weapon. This roller is slower but has greater flick range. This roller is really fast. This roller is the basic one. etc etc. Compared to something he's used to like TF2, which has 9 different classes each with their own variations on their own main, sub, and melee weapons, and allows you to mix and match them as you wish, I could maybe see where he's coming from. But Splatoon's core mechanics also help it stand out from the crowd of other shooters. You can turn into a squid to quickly move around in your own turf and scale up to otherwise unreachable places. When you shoot you are literally claiming turf as your own (making it harmful to enemies even), all the while fighting opponents so you can have some of their turf. I find Splatoon to be a very interesting and welcome addition to the shooting genre.

You're right on the money with weapon variations between guns of the same type. That's one thing I don't like about Splatoon, besides different weapon types, there's not much deeper variation inside classes other than "this one shoots farther but does less damage".

The game mechanics, however, are really fun and, dare I say it...fresh. geddit?