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GAMING FEATURE

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HOW’S SPLAT FOR VALUE?! The newly released Splatoon 3 bundle is a great way to get up to speed if, up until now, you’ve missed the splat-tastic boat. It includes a Switch Splatoon 3 game card, as well as an expansion pass

code that delivers a bunch of extra content. The first DLC blast, Inkopolis , sees the return of the famed inky metropolis from the original Splatoon as an alternate hub world. It brings classic services, new shopkeepers, a Squid Sisters performance, and lots more. The second slice of content is Side Order . This one adds a new single player mode starring Agent 8, from Splatoon 2’ s Octo Expansion , where you tackle the Spire of Order and its many secrets. If all of this juicy extra content isn’t enough, the bundle also includes 90 days of Switch Online individual

Since its arrival back in 2015, Splatoon has become one of Nintendo’s most successful franchises. With a cool new Splatoon 3 bundle having us inking big once again, let’s take a quick look at where the series has taken us… so far! Words Amy Flower I t’s fair to say that the Nintendo folk weren’t short on big, super-exploitable franchises when they launched the Wii U console in fascinating and super-stylish lore to an 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! late 2012. While we did see the famous likes of Mario, Link, Kirby, and more doing their stuff in style on the console, some of the young blood at Nintendo had plans to introduce something new to the mix. That big new thing

membership, so that you can try out multiplayer (it’s good!) or add to your existing subscription.

• Slatoon 3 Bundle is out now!

The game saw several substantial content updates and special ‘Splatfest’ events, but the writing was on the wall for the Wii U console. 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 new portable/TV-based hybrid, in July of 2017.

eventuated as Splatoon . It was basically a classic multiplayer third-person

shooter, but it swapped out the more un-Nintendo bullets

their way in. Many more themed Splatfests also followed. In September of 2022, a long-overdue follow-up dropped. Splatoon 3 delivered a

Splatoon

and warfare realism for a cartoony future Earth world of cephalopods, cute characters, ink, and Nerf-ish weaponry. It worked a treat. With fun the 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 playability 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! Featuring everything from loads of

Splatoon 2

Splatoon 3

further evolution of all that we loved about the series, including new single and multiplayer pursuits. An array of new weapons joined established favourites, including the very cool Tri-Stringer ink bow. Location-wise, we journeyed from Inktropolis to the desert-based, more post-apocalyptic Splatsville, and story-loving single players encountered the return of mammals to the inky world – and just after peace was achieved, too! Splatfests, a new Tableturf card battle game, and game expanding DLC all followed Splatoon 3 ’s release, offering fans all manner of wild inky fun.

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 collectibles, while new modes – such as the wildly popular co-op-fest Salmon Run – found

30 AUGUST 2024

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