Category: Nintendo Switch

Nintendo and their OLED Switch?! What’s the deal?

12/7/2021

uest Blog post by Adam Foster @AngelicWiganer / @snoopfozziefozz

Meet the Nintendo Switch (OLED Model)

Cast your minds back to just a few months ago. All the hype regarding E3 and the upcoming Nintendo Direct we was about to see. The rumour mill going wild. Would we see Metroid Prime 4? Would we see Bayonetta 3? However, the main one swirling around the gaming community was would we see a revision of the Switch? Would Nintendo finally dip their toes into providing a Switch which would provide 4K visuals when in docked mode, and an overall more powerful version? Sadly, the answer to all of these three questions was No.

Was I disappointed? I would have to say No, for me I have a PS5 and an Xbox One which can provide those ultra-smooth visuals and processing power for the bigger badder games which are out now and the future ones which will be released. The Switch and Nintendo in general for me has always been about software. Nintendo we have seen over time, never follow the norm, they always want to be innovative rather than just follow the normal trend which is out there. Side Note, I would LOVE Nintendo to do a Stars gimmick for their in game achievements similar to Trophies and Gamerscore. Again don’t hold your breath.

So back to the present day, it’s a few weeks after E3, we’re happy in the knowledge that we’re getting a new Metroid in the form of Metroid Dread. We saw updates for Breath of the Wild 2 and there is so much more games to be looking forward to such as Shin Megami Tensei V. Then suddenly we get an announcement from Nintendo, a revision to the Switch. But not the revision we hoped for.

The New Switch is now the OLED version. It comes with a brand new, bigger screen of seven inches, which will provide sharper visuals when in handheld mode. It has a bigger stand and it has a LAN port. That’s It. Oh and for the privilege of having this model it will set you a pretty £349.99. That’s a £70.00 increase on the standard base model.

Nintendo Switch Oled

Am I surprised by this revision? Not in the slightest. If you look back through time Nintendo have always made revisions of their consoles without actually increasing anything to the hardware. I can only think of four consoles where they have never made an actual revision of the console. They are as follows. The GameCube, the N64, the Wii U and the Virtual Boy. Just four consoles over a near forty year period. That’s a lot.

We had two versions of the NES. We had two versions of the SNES. God knows how many variations of the Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, DS, and 3DS, Three Versions of the Wii and now Three Versions of the Switch Family. You know why they do it, because they know people will buy it. Why change a business formula which has worked for nearly four decades.

I’m not angry about it nor does the OLED Switch excite me. I just think its standard practice that Nintendo always do to increase the life cycle of the current hardware that’s out there. I do find the price point a bit cheeky though. Maybe I’d be happier if they reduced the base model to say £229 and then have the OLED model come in at say £289-£299. As a consumer I’d be happy with that.

No doubt the OLED will fly off the shelves come October upon its release. I won’t be buying it, I just can’t justify playing that amount of money for an improvement just in handheld mode. I prefer to play my current Switch in docked mode. I always have. I prefer my handheld gaming to be taken up by my 3DS XL which I have a wonderful library of games for.

What intrigues me most about Nintendo is the future. Clearly the Switch cannot go on forever, it’s a wonderful system and you cannot doubt for one second that it’s been a huge success for Nintendo. It’s their next foray into a new piece of hardware which I want to see. How can they compete with Sony and Microsoft going forward? Can they compete? Can they make something truly innovative for the years ahead? And can they bloody finally make a new F-Zero!

Thanks for reading and until next time. Keep Gaming.

Guest Blog post by Adam Foster @AngelicWiganer / @snoopfozziefozz

Click to enter The Lady Lounge

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Pipe Push Paradise (Review) - A Multi platform puzzle adventure to behold

21/2/2019

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Guest Blog Post by Jack @ThePnutbean and YouTube

Pipe Push Paradise Review - Available on PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC and Xbox One

Please note: This review will contain dramatic and experimental prose, irony and cynicism for comedic effect and the entertainment for you, the reader.

It’s a cold winters day and probably an awful day at work -the one that pays, yet ultimately destroys spirit and humanity- when I check my mobile phone for to see if I have any messages regarding the death of or dying family member; the only time I ever get a message. To my astonishment I had received an email, though not my typical email of a refund from organization I’ve never dealt with, or the gold mining company in Beliveau that need £1000 transferred to their account, so they can set up their business and pay you back in millions; an offer no idiot can refuse. This email was from the publisher Digirati and the opportunity to request a review code for Pipe Push Paradise. Pipe Push Paradise is a 2D puzzle involving, you’ve guessed it pipes.

You have arrived on an island your uncle lives. Your uncle being the islands plumber has been out of action for the pass few days and the island needs running water. It’s up to you, a silent protagonist to fix the islands plumbing problem.

It was about a week later when I received the code. When I got in I rushed to my switch and typed the code in. ‘This Product is not available’, but it is available, I can see it on the store, it’s right there. I email the contact at Digirati explaining the situation and… Nothing.

Very few games capture the essence of being on vacation somewhere exotic quite like Pipe Push Paradise. It’s bright or tropical colour pallets mixed with this simplistic childish character design that seems to be popular in warming climates just sets that tone. If the visuals do not do that for you, the relaxing guitar melodies will. It’s freeform style of play only heightens this relaxing nature, the guitar playing is free, and taking its time, and just going nowhere in a hurry, it says “Hey relax, you’re on holiday, just chill out”.

After a further two weeks, with no contact out of nowhere I received another email. “Sorry for the delay, it has been crazy here, please find new code below”. I had not been forgotten. The anxiety, the worry of feeling that the developer may think I’ve done a fast one had subsided. Once again, I rushed home to enter the code.

In theory, Pipe Push Paradise is simple. You have one section that has water coming out, and using the surrounding spare pipes you must put them together so the water flows into the exit pipe (or is it entry pipe as the water flows in?). However, the talented developer Corey Martin takes this concept and develops it extremely well.

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Super Mario Odyssey Review - The Nintendo Switch in its finest hour

24/1/2018

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Blog post by Gemma @ Juicy Game Reviews / TheGebs24

Super Mario Odyssey Review Nintendo Switch

Super Mario Odyssey Review - The Nintendo Switch in its finest hour

Back in 2017 The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild was coined Video Game of the Year based on the people’s choice. Super Mario Odyssey secured the second spot. The Nintendo Switch had an amazing launch year in 2017 and at the time of writing this the Nintendo Switch sold over ten million consoles world wide. For a video games console that hasn’t one been out for 12 months that figure makes my head spin. 2018 is set to be just as good of a year for the Nintendo Switch with some prominent Nintendo Wii U games launching on the console within the first six months.

Having spent a lot of time with Super Mario Odyssey over the last couple of months I feel I’ve got a lot to say about Mario’s latest adventure. In fact I would go as far to say that Super Mario Odyssey should have taken him the title of Video Game of the year (2017). You might not agree but I urge you to read the remainder of this blog then let me know your final thoughts in the comments. Now before we go any further we have to note the Breath of the Wild is a masterpiece. I am a huge fan of it despite initially feeling sceptical. In fact I was also sceptical about Super Mario Odyssey. Some of the earliest footage I saw was with Mario running around a city approaching business men! “This is not a Super Mario game!” Fast forward to now and I can honestly say that I was wrong to judge. Super Mario Odyssey serves up a beautiful 3D experience of ploughing through bustling kingdoms and moon hunts. Odyssey offers up a tasty menu of new characters too with Cappy being the most notable. Cappy amplifies Super Mario’s abilities within the kingdom’s enabling him to jump higher, morph in to enemies and leap to the highest ledges. Super Mario feels more super than ever before. Again I was apprehensive about Mario’s new top man but Happy really does add a lot of value in to Super Mario Odyssey.

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