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Getting to Grips with the Switch

We were in London to get our hands on Nintendo's next console.

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We walked into the Hammersmith Apollo with our expectations set to neutral, albeit with the Mario theme playing on the old internal jukebox. We were confident in Nintendo's design nous, certainly, and the company's penchant for adding a dash of flair when building hardware is long established. But the Switch also feels like a last roll of the dice for the creative company from Kyoto, and after the near miss that was the Wii U, and with the split focus of handheld (3DS) and home console (Wii U) becoming one concentrated target, this is very much Nintendo going all in on what might be their most ambitious console to date. There's still no escaping the fact that, if it all goes wrong, it might well also be the last.

The sheer variety of features (and the innovative ways that they can be utilised) is nothing short of impressive. This is both a console and a handheld; a portable gaming centre and a tablet-like device. It's uniquely Nintendo, with cleverness and purpose found in every curve, button, and feature. It looks great in standard black or either of the neon variants. It's not just clever; importantly for its long term prospects, it's desirable. Switch is the characterful and polished execution of an idea not dissimilar to what Razer has been working on from the PC end of the spectrum with the Edge; gaming for home, on the go, and wherever you are when you get there.

It's a fantastic concept, and it works. The console itself sits behind a screen and rests inside a dock when plugged into the television, and it can be removed so play can continue seamlessly in your hands. Yet, of all the clever features that they've added, it's the controller that we liked the most. The Joy-Cons are an innovation that opens up all sorts of new and interesting gameplay opportunities. Developers are no doubt looking at the possibilities now afforded them by this new split controller design, and as with VR it could to take some a while to work out how best to take advantage, and in a way, how it might limit them.

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Getting to Grips with the SwitchGetting to Grips with the SwitchGetting to Grips with the Switch
Getting to Grips with the SwitchGetting to Grips with the Switch

When the console is docked, it's a more powerful proposition, and games still looked good when played on the screen. Nintendo has never been about the graphics first and foremost, but we had no complaints about Mario Kart 8 or Splatoon 2, both of which looked great when we played them on the small screen. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild runs in 1080p and at 60 frames-per-second (so we're told -the demo we saw was locked at 30 frames-per-second) when the system nestles snugly in the dock, then once removed and played on the go, it looks fine on the 1280x720 screen (we're not sure what the frame-rate is).

The 6.2 inch screen is lovely, the visuals crisp and colourful. Both Splatoon and Mario Kart played like a dream, with no notable performance dip, both imbued with Nintendo's trademark charm. While it's true that neither title is particularly GPU intensive in the grand scheme of things, both still looked great. It's just about big enough, and the extra screen space you get over a capable smart phone, or even the PS Vita, does make a difference. That extra size means that, as was the case with the Wii U's Gamepad, it'll take a while for your hands to get truly comfortable holding it. It's very much a fusion of Nintendo's most recent platforms and sits somewhere between the two; an expansion on the 3DS, and also a slimming down of the Gamepad.

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It feels solid in the hand, and has a satisfying heft that underlines the quality of its design. When played on the go, flanking each side of the screen you'll have the Joy-Con controllers (unless you put it on a stand, of course, and play with the Joy-Cons either alone or with a friend), and these are fantastic. There's two triggers on the top of each unit, an analog stick, face buttons, plus two additional buttons that run down the side of the controller (these disappear once the Joy-Cons are combined or are added to the screen). There's even plus, minus, home, and capture buttons, so there's plenty of options.

Getting to Grips with the Switch

They're fully stocked with features. You can read your amiibos, grab a screenshot, and use the gyros to orient yourself in certain games. The most impressive feature, though, is the HD Rumble. It's startlingly good, and the "high definition" boast is certainly backed up. We played a couple of games from 1-2-Switch that did a fantastic job of showcasing this neat party trick. One had us twisting the Joy-Cons as if we were safe cracking, waiting to find a tiny notch so we could open the door and steal the loot (and it was competitive, with another player trying to get into their safe before us). In the other you're shown a wooden box on screen and it has marbles in it. You need to move the Joy-Con to simulate rolling the balls around, and you can feel each one rattle from side to side thanks to the sensitivity and accuracy of the mechanisms inside. It's genuinely impressive stuff.

The sensors seemed really sensitive and our actions on screen felt like accurate representations of what we were trying to achieve with our hands. Like the Wiimote there's straps you can add that'll keep the controllers tethered to your wrist and not smashed into the television or against a wall, but they're much lighter (though we don't think they're too light) than their old gen equivalent. Of course you can also link them together via a Joy-Con grip and turn them into a controller. We played Breath of the Wild that way, and while overall it doesn't best the DualShock 4, this is still a decent controller. It certainly didn't feel unnatural or uncomfortable to use.

Basically, we like what Nintendo has done with the Switch. However, although this is undoubtedly a nice piece of kit, its future is far from assured, and a lot needs to happen before we'll be able to call this innovative console a success.

Getting to Grips with the Switch

There's no other way to put it: the launch line-up is weak. If you're not really interested in playing the new Zelda, there's little incentive to buy a Switch on day one. 1-2-Switch is a fantastic selection of mini-games and tech demos that show off exactly what the Joy-Cons can do, but we're astonished that this isn't included with the console. We tried a handful of different experiences and, while we had fun, they're all limited and won't hold long term appeal. It's the kind of thing you'll get out to show people what the console can do, but there's no depth to any of them. Some might be suitable for drinking games, but that won't help you if you're twelve.

There's a couple of third-party games aiming to launch on March 3 (Just Dance 2017 being one example), but overall the line-up is looking worryingly threadbare, and we're going to have to wait a while for more games of note to come along (including Super Mario Odyssey, which judging from the trailers is looking great). We expected to see a couple more of Nintendo's more popular IP rolled out in preparation for the console's upcoming launch. Even if they're not ready in time for March, prospective players will want and need reassurances if they're to part with £280 (or regional equivalent). This isn't a cheap console, with Nintendo sticking to tradition and wanting to cover costs up front, rather than taking a loss on the first round of sales and making a profit further down the line.

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That just about sums it up for the Switch; the hardware is there, but the software isn't. Yet, at least. Judging it against the games we know about, whether they be established big hitters, remakes and upgrades of old-gen favourites, or opportunistic indies; you have to say that there's work to be done if Nintendo is going to bully their way back into what's become a two horse race of late (though that might be being generous to Microsoft as things stand).

Can they do it? That's the big question, and it's one that won't be answered in the next few months. Judging from the hardware, they've got a fighting chance. However, the lack of compelling software at launch has alarm bells ringing. We're fairly neutral about the decision to go back to cartridges, but the relatively meagre storage space is definitely a concern (32GB: seriously? At least we know larger storage options are on the horizon). The online subscription trial - which is eventually going to be a paid-for service - needs to be competitive with what is currently on offer over on Xbox and PlayStation, and at the time of writing we're not sure that it is. There are also no plans at launch to support apps like Netflix, which feels like an archaic decision given the way we consume media these days.

Even though it's not all good, there's still a lot of positives to take away from our first meeting with the Switch. As we saw following the rocky road to launch for the Xbox One, it is possible to undo and unpick faulty elements of a solid overall vision, and that may well be what Nintendo has to do to make sure that the Switch is the success that it deserves to be. This could be the company's next great console, but there's a lot of work to be done if that's how this is going to play out.

Getting to Grips with the Switch
Getting to Grips with the SwitchGetting to Grips with the SwitchGetting to Grips with the Switch


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