Of all the new games Nintendo demoed last week, Arms stood out as the one with the most potential. Nintendo seems to be presenting the game as a brand new flagship IP title in the same vein as Splatoon. The response seems to be great so far. It looks a little goofy at first but it looks like it could be another sleeper hit.
Polygon
Techradar
MyNintendoNews
Rolling Stone
Evening Standard
iDigitalTimes
NintendoLife
USgamer.net
Goombastomp
Waypoint
Destructoid
TheVerge
Youtube
Source Gaming
NintendoTank
DigitalTrends
Gamespot
QUOTE=samred;228832846]I'd recommend adding this video to the OP: It's Nintendo Treehouse's 31-min overview from yesterday (1/20) full of single-player and 2P battles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGCqdZZeFtM - lots of explanations and comparisons of the various fighters and their particular hands.
Also, if Nintendo staffers are reading this: PLEASE let players hide which hands they're picking before a round. (Hold UP to pick the top one for a particular hand; hold DOWN to pick the bottom one; let go of joystick to pick the middle option; and let the HD rumble serve as a hidden confirmation that you're selecting a particular hand.)
Watching this video convinced me that this is a day-one purchase, not to mention a reason to blow another $80 on a second pair of Joy-Cons.[/QUOTE]
I'll add more as I find em
Polygon
Its all very intuitive, just as Wii Boxing and other, similar motion control-heavy titles were back in the day. The difference is that the Joy-Con feels like a smaller, lighter, overall better evolution of the Wiimotes. Holding them in my fists and punching didnt feel silly, like it often could with the less precise Wii controller. It felt gratifying, as did the nuance afforded by the Joy-Cons more advanced feature set.
Even better: Arms can be played using buttons, too. Although the one-on-one fighter, whose roster is full of fantastical, superpowered characters with names like Mechanica and Ribbon Girl, is better served by a big screen, I was told it works perfectly well in tablet mode, too. And either way, if a player ever gets sick of throwing punches, the buttons are there so that they dont have to stop playing.
Techradar
This is essentially Wii Sports boxing mode, spun out into an entire game, with rock-em-sock-em robot visuals. You'll be able to pick different power-ups for each arm (controlled by a Joy-Con component in each hand), jumping and throwing flurries of punches at a split-screen opponent. At present, it's hard to get a grip on just how much skill is involved, as opposed to the flailing limb equivalent of button-mashing trying to tactically dodge a press event opponent who was windmilling, we didn't stand a chance.
MyNintendoNews
It feels smooth and reactive when throwing punches, while angling them for a neat Boomerang shot was a real treat to master. Arms shows a lot of promise for a quick pick up and play title, though hopefully four-way matches are included in an online multiplayer mode to boost the intensity.
Rolling Stone
Arms, that ridiculous cartoon fighter shown off at last night's presentation, is probably the best 3D motion-controlled fighting game yet, excising all the awkward floatiness you remember from Wii Sports.
Evening Standard
The demo version used motion controls, with a two-player battle requiring two sets of joy-cons. Holding one half-controller in each hand, the movement controls to punch, block, and move were simple but effective. Behind the arcade style theres a lot of scope for working out effective tactics and moves.
Its hard to imageine playing most motion control games alone in the home but after two rounds on ARMS, I was itching to work on my technique in single player.
iDigitalTimes
Theres more strategy to Arms than you realize, and once you figure out how dodging and counter punching works youll be really fighting with a sense of purpose.
NintendoLife
We really enjoyed our time with ARMS, but we'd be remiss in our duties if we didn't mention that the Nintendo Life staff is exercising a fair amount of cautious optimism. While what we saw and touched in New York was enjoyable - with motion controls that worked rather nicely - we can't help but feel that what we tried may wear thin quite soon. Solo and multiplayer modes will feature, though, so full judgement must wait until the full picture is clear.
USgamer.net
The gyroscopes built into the Joy-Cons offer sophisticated rumble as well as 1:1 movement: I played Arms and quickly discovered you can't waggle your way to victory. You need to use precise movements or risk getting turned into meat toothpaste. 1
Goombastomp
ARMS easily stood out from so much of what Nintendo had on show for the Switch. It feels like the perfect multiplayer companion to Breath of the Wilds long single-player adventure, and with a Spring release, it looks to continue Nintendos strategy of launching consoles with fun local multiplayer experiences.
Waypoint
I use the Joy-Cons without the main unit for Arms, a deeper-than-it-looks one-on-one beat-'em up that uses motion controls to throw punches (via stretchy, on-springs limbs), move and block, and the triggers on top for special moves, dodges and jumps. There's definitely some Punch-Out!! DNA in there, and it's a lot of funimmediately accessible but evidently possessing nuances that only players that put in the time will be able to make the most of.
Destructoid
Arms is beautiful and fun, but not the next big eSport
In my short time with Arms I had fun, though it feels potentially light. There hasn't been a ton of details about the amount of content in this game, but I'm hoping there's at least a Punch Out!!-style single-player mode. The game ran very smoothly at what I can only guess was 60fps, and most of all, it's just gorgeous to look at. Nintendo is the best at making simple, colorful art in high definition and it really shows here. Spring Man's hair causes my brain to smell bubblegum if that's any indication.
TheVerge
The process started to feel a little like a reskinned version of Wii Sports boxing a cardio exercise dressed up as a tactical experience. Fortunately, the ebb and flow of fights began to crystallize after two or three bouts, hinting at the strategic depths the developers promised. I started jumping over incoming attacks, or using my own punches to knock incoming fists out of the air before they could connect with my characters precious nose. I still couldnt make my walking punchbag do what I wanted with perfect reliability, but I could, at the very least, develop a game plan.
Arms became legitimately fun at this point, having reached a vague accord with the controls and developed an understanding of my characters options. But the danger is that at launch this spring the game may be caught between two camps: too complex and multi-layered to be a party game; too floaty and inaccurate to be a competitive battler. Motion controls worked for Wii Sports because precision wasnt truly required, whereas in Arms, I rapidly found myself wishing for buttons to better control the chaos.
Youtube
Source Gaming
NintendoTank
DigitalTrends
Gamespot
Charging your gloves' special ability (i.e. electric) then stunning.
Nullifying a throw by punching it (68 sec mark on the counter).
Ninjara dashing out of blocking a super but gets caught at the stage borders.
Getting thrown out of a super. Interestingly, Ninjara's arm health indicator resets after the first hit of the throw.
Double jump mind games on opponent wake up with Ribbon Girl.
Systematically taking out Ninjara's arms with the party favor and slapamander.
Mechanica pressuring while on the hidden trampoline with the revolvers(?).
Charged sparky stopping Master Mummy's super.
Yeah, I was pretty tired when I posted it. Totally meant throw. ^^
QUOTE=samred;228832846]I'd recommend adding this video to the OP: It's Nintendo Treehouse's 31-min overview from yesterday (1/20) full of single-player and 2P battles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGCqdZZeFtM - lots of explanations and comparisons of the various fighters and their particular hands.
Also, if Nintendo staffers are reading this: PLEASE let players hide which hands they're picking before a round. (Hold UP to pick the top one for a particular hand; hold DOWN to pick the bottom one; let go of joystick to pick the middle option; and let the HD rumble serve as a hidden confirmation that you're selecting a particular hand.)
Watching this video convinced me that this is a day-one purchase, not to mention a reason to blow another $80 on a second pair of Joy-Cons.[/QUOTE]
I'll add more as I find em