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GAMING FEATURE

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INK BIG!

So much of Splatoon is about style, and Nintendo are letting loose some accessories to doll up your Splatoon 3 experience.

The big daddy is this super desirable special edition Nintendo Switch OLED. Splatoon 2 had a

al in 2015,

since its arriv of Nintendo’ With Splatoon 3

stunning special edition Pro Controller for Switch, and now the pink and green makes way for yellow and

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blue on this latest model. On the go? The new Splatoon 3 Carrying Case matches perfectly, looking after your precious device, just like the must-have screen protector that’s also included.

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Words Amy Flower

I t’s fair to say that Nintendo wasn’t short on big, eminently exploitable franchises when they launched the Wii U console back in 2012. While we did see the famous likes of Mario, Link, Kirby and more doing their stuff in style on the console, some young blood at Nintendo had plans to introduce something new. That big new thing eventuated, third-person shooter, but swapped out the more un Nintendo bullets ‘n’ warfare realism for a cartoony future Earth world of cephalopods, cute characters, ink and Nerf-ish weaponry. It worked a treat. With fun the initial name of the game, Splatoon evolved from a black-versus-white tech demo that featured boxes with ink-shooting schnozzes rather than characters. Once the team had nailed the enjoyment aspect, the search was on for characters to populate this inky new world. After a brief dalliance with rabbits, the idea of squids came to the fore, offering a handy solution to the need for the game’s inhabitants to be able to hide in and glide through the seas of ink that were central to the game. When they needed to shoot, they morphed into humanoid shapes, before returning to their squidliness when hiding. Hello, Inklings! obviously, as Splatoon . It was basically a classic multiplayer

engaging single-player story mode and multiple multiplayer options, Splatoon ’s arrival brought a palatable take on the shooter concept to a broader audience, and it was met with great reviews. So far, so good! The game saw several substantial content updates and special ‘Splatfest’ events, but the writing was on the wall for the Wii U. After the successful launch of the Nintendo Switch, a Splatoon sequel was a safe bet, and Splatoon 2 , already in development before the console’s launch, arrived soon after the

Joining the ten previously-released

Splatoon amiibo is a cool triple whammy, featuring a blue Octoling, yellow Inkling and a Smallfry.

new portable/TV-based hybrid, in July of 2017. A direct sequel to the

first game, Splatoon 2 stuck with the formula of a single player campaign coupled with numerous multiplayer romps. Knowing that they nailed it first time out, this was more of an evolution of the original, adding new moves, weapons and

post-apocalyptic Splatsville, and story-loving single players can look forward to the return of mammals to the inky world – and just after peace was achieved! With the return of Splatfests, a new Tableturf card battle game and the promise of game expanding DLC down the track, there’s a lot for Splatoon fans to get excited for in Splatoon 3 .

collectibles, while new modes – such as the wildly popular co op-fest Salmon Run – found their way in. Many more themed Splatfests also followed. As you’re likely quite aware, it’s now September 2022, and a long-overdue sequel is with us this month. Splatoon 3 promises a further evolution of all that we’ve loved about the series, including new single and multiple player pursuits. We can once again get ready for an array of new weapons joining the established favourites, including the very cool Tri-Stringer ink bow. Location-wise, we journey from Inktropolis to the desert-based, more

• Splatoon 3 is out on Sept 9

Featuring everything from a load of fascinating and super-stylish lore to an

SEPTEMBER 2022

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