New map? New Impressions post! And it's actually really exciting this time--I absolutely love this map!
This is the first map in Splatoon that really takes things to new heights...yeah, I couldn't help it. The verticality of Moray Towers is really innovative for online play and introduces a few new possibilities to the standard Splatoon formula, just like Kelp Dome did before it: 1) Finally, chargers have a bonafide paradise map. There's literally nothing more annoying than an experienced charger peering down onto the center and sniping everyone as they try to cross sides. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that a charger is downright essential for this map in Ranked battles. I played Splat Zones on Moray for a few hours on Saturday, and the saltiness was real! If my team didn't have a charger and the other team did, it was almost impossible to get a Knockout (except for when the charger was just terrible). Chargers felt so important that I actually bought one and began learning how to snipe! Rollers are also great on this map, but are more useful in Turf War than Ranked. Heck, the ramps are sized almost perfectly for rollers! 2) It's hard to corner another team on Moray Towers. Maps like Walleye Warehouse and Urchin Underpass make it easy for one stronger team to keep the lesser contained in their base, thus resulting in savage overkills. Moray Towers, however, lends itself to jumping headfirst into the action and avoiding anyone trying to corner you at the top. There's less of a real base with this map, so if you want to just go for it and plow forward into neutral territory, you can get there fairly quickly (whether or not you'll stay un-splatted, though, is an entirely different matter). 3) Moray Towers shows off the graphical capability of Splatoon well. The backdrop for the Towers is right up there with SaltSpray Rig as one of the most beautiful maps in the game. The dreamy vista in the distance shines as you look over to the sprawling highways against the sea. The lighting effects against the adjacent buildings and the cars whizzing by below really bring life to the city. Not only is it beautiful in its own right, but Towers--just like Kelp Dome--also provides some much-appreciated contrast to the many water-or-concrete-centric maps Splatoon has to offer. At the end of the day, playing Moray Towers just makes me happy. Aside from Bluefin Depot (still a little iffy on that one) Splatoon has been delivering some consistently knockout maps since launch. I'm especially excited to play this one during this Friday's Splatfest! Here's to more innovative, beautifully-designed maps from the beautifully-creative people behind Splatoon! If you enjoyed this post, check back again tomorrow for another! If you enjoy me and want to keep up to date with smaller things I find interesting in gaming, follow me on Twitter @CreamBasics! Happy Monday guys.
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I was both shocked and intrigued when I first stumbled across this screenshot for Kelp Dome on Nintendo of America's Twitter. It was the farthest thing I've seen from a traditional Splatoon map; instead of designated sides of the arena for each team, the Dome has a continuous square shape that teams can go around from either angle. Because of this, it's somewhat hard to figure out if you're on an enemy's side of the map--aside from the area directly in front of their spawn point, there really isn't a designated team half like there is in Urchin Underpass, Walleye Warehouse or Blackbelly Skatepark, just to name a few. This less linear design left some of the players I've talked to confused during matches, with one friend even saying that she constantly got lost around the Dome and had to keep glancing down at the map every couple of seconds. |
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