I Got A Nintendo Switch
By BlackRedGaming 0 Comments
Despite my previous question seeming pretty against the Switch, I eventually decided to get one. So I woke up at six in the morning, got to target at around 6:30 A.M., sat in a small line for one and a half hours, and got one of only ten Switches sold that day at that Target. Also, since everyone is getting 'Just Dance 2017,' I decided to be different from everyone else and get 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.' After spending some time with the system, here are the things I have to say about it.
One of the biggest surprises that I should have seen coming from a mile away is that, for at least BOTW(Breath of the Wild,) the game ran better on portable mode than on the screen. Not only that, but the screen is very nice. It is vibrant in colors and it's hard to see that the screen is 720p. But since the screen is smaller in size and is only 720p, the game ran generally better on the screen than on my 21 inch monitor.
The system-from what I can tell- is all in the tablet. This one is a no-brainer, but I say this because I thought that the dock would add some more performance to the game, but know it just seems to me that the dock is just a charger and a usb-c to cdmi port.
The tablet with controllers on are surprisingly light and durable. The material used for the controllers are nice. But the kick stand is pretty bad, which made tabletop gaming to me seem like the worst way to play. Despite having the controls free from the system, the kick stand and the fact that you are farther from the screen made it kinda bad to play that way. Speaking of the screen, one other thing to add is that the screen was a bit smaller than I expected, but I am not mad about that in any way. It is small, but it is big enough to get the job done.
The joy cons are fun to use. I didn't have any issues with the left joy con at all, but the thumb stick on the right controller felt too low for me. I also thought using the grip that came with the system was only okay as well. All of those problems slowly faded away as I used them more, to the point where know I find them fine. On top of that, having the controllers be separate was actually kinda great, as for I could have my hands wherever I wanted. But it was still good that Nintendo added in the option to go to a normal controller mode as well. Also, even though it sounds stupid and funny, the rumble in the controllers do feel rather nice.
The home menu was very clean. it reminded me of the PS4 home menu, which I liked because they are both to-the-point. It shows you what you want to see and what you need to see and that's that.
The boot times and Switch times are super fast. By switch time I mean the time it takes to switch from tablet to screen and vice versa. It's so fast, you can't really even count. Also, getting the device out of sleeping mode was super fast too.
The cartridge is tiny. No I have not tasted it(nor do I plan to,) but one thing I can say is the thing is tiny. You can barely read the logo on the cartridge it's so small. So if you get the system, I hope you don't lose it.
These are the things that I have witnessed with Nintendo's new crazy idea. Their are still more things to find, but this is what I have found day 1. But the big question to ask is, should you get one? For me, I have had a blast with it, but I cannot objectively tell you yes or no, so here are some questions to ask yourself if you are considering.
-How patient are you? Their are not a lot of games out for the Switch, so do research on the games that are out and ask yourself how badly you want to play those game.
-How much do you care about performance? Despite being really cool, the Switch is underpowered compared to other consoles, so you should ask yourself how much value do you put on the aspect of performance.
-How badly do you want to play AAA games? The Switch will most likely not getting many if any of the major games that are releasing for other consoles. Instead, expect the market to be mostly Nintendo games and indie titles.
-How big are your hands? I have normal sized hands, but really long thumbs. I bring this up because the joy cons are not that big in size, so if you have monster hands, than bring that into consideration.
-How mobile are you? Despite some meh hardware, the Switch still makes a great portable device, so if you are constantly travel, than you should think about that as well.
-Do you prefer to buy games digitally or physically? The system only comes with 25 gb of space available. But you can buy a micro sd card and upgrade up to 2 tb. So the two options are really buy games physically, or buy them digitally and get an sd card.
But to wrap it up, I feel that the Switch is a great portable device and a mediocre console. But I still enjoy playing on my monitor. Despite some flaws, I still had a blast with BOTW and some of those flaws were things I got used to. Despite only having one single player game, I do feel that this is a great system for parties as well. In the end, I think that Nintendo has brought in a new way to play games, and if they can handle the following years right, then their new system may just be one of the best in this newest generation of consoles.
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