A real social phenomenon in 2006 when the Wii was released, motion gaming unfortunately no longer makes players dream. It must be said that over time, we realized that it was difficult to offer quality gameplay when aerial movements are always hazardous. So yes it's true, the democratization of virtual reality has allowed motion gaming to come back to the fore, and some games like Farpoint (and its Aim Controller) have proven that well used, it can make sparks. But let's not forget that having a VR headset in front of your eyes is a game-changer. Nintendo also seems to have realized this since during the preview which journalists were able to attend last month, the game was presented with the Pro controller of the Switch. A hardcore guarantee which seems to indicate that the publisher has other ambitions for ARMS than to serve as a simple demonstrator. During our first game, we therefore chose to tackle the problem using motion gaming. Joy-Cons in hand, the handling of the game is quite intuitive. The slice buttons which are then under the thumb are used to jump and dash, while you fight by sending lines to your screen. You can even modify the initial trajectory of your blow by rotating your wrist, which allows you to deflect your fist to the right (or left) with quite unexpected precision. Unfortunately, this finesse is greatly lacking when it comes to moving around. Indeed, we must tilt the levers at the same time in the desired direction, and the least we can say is that the effectiveness of the controls is at least random. If sometimes you have to persist and greatly exaggerate the movement to achieve your goals, even when the system does not respond too badly, you never have the feeling that the character obeys the finger and the eye. Too bad, because it is ultimately one of the only pitfalls encountered by this motion gaming approach which has clearly been developed especially for the game.
TO ARMS CITIZENS!
For our second part, we switched to the pro controller of the Nintendo Switch, in order to discover what we expected as the "hardcore gamer" side of the game. Indeed, logic would have it that the motion gaming of the Joy-Cons is aimed at family afternoons, while the old-fashioned controller remains the preserve of fighting game purists. With a stick under the thumb, movements are immediately transformed. The character is then much more responsive and the precision when moving is greatly improved, which makes things much easier during certain fights. Nevertheless, we feel that this type of commands arrived later in the list of the concerns of the developers. We even have the impression that this joystick support was almost added out of the blue, since it is totally impossible to modify the actions attributed to this or that button. A distressing observation insofar as the controls are not necessarily optimal. According to the game manual, the B and A buttons are assigned to hits, while the Y key is for dodging and X for jumping. A most questionable choice, even if we can fortunately send rights and lefts with the respective triggers. Still, you have to deal with these devilishly impractical jump and dodge buttons; a shame when you know that these are key elements in the game. Same thing for the warning which, if it is quite fast on the Joy-Con, is oddly slower when you press the left stick. Finally, be aware that to redirect the fists once the blow has been launched, the Pro Controller asks to play with the right stick, the one which is already subject to movement. The consequence of this multiple use is that if you punch while moving, your fist will go in the same direction as your movement, unless you immediately release the stick. The kind of thing that can quickly put the nerves.
Nevertheless, we feel that this type of commands arrived later in the list of the concerns of the developers. We even have the impression that this joystick support was almost added out of the blue, since it is totally impossible to modify the actions attributed to this or that button.
It is therefore impossible for us to determine a control system that has a clear advantage over the other, knowing that we can also play with the Joy-Con attached to the Switch, or with a single Joy-Con per player. Out of these handling problems, ARMS is a rather complete game that offers content that we clearly did not expect. There are "Grand Prix" and "Versus" modes, two online multiplayer modes (with or without ranking), a special mode to find your Nintendo Network friends, and finally a local mode to connect several machines without go through the Internet. The "Grand Prix" mode is similar to the single-player campaign and offers a 10-match championship that must be played with each character, which allows you to discover all the gameplay subtleties inherent in each arena and each fighter. On this point, ARMS is quite generous since it has 10 very different characters offering unique gameplay. Ninjara the ninja is for example a very fast character, who can teleport when he dodges during a jump, or when he blocks an attack. Twindelle can charge her weapons when she dodges while jumping, slowing her opponents, while the heavy Master Mummy can take hits without ever ending up groggy and regenerate energy when on guard. As you will have understood, the number of combinations is quite incredible.
A GAME WITH A LONG ARM
This is true all the more so since you can choose your character's weapons, three are available by default, but you can buy new ones (30 in total) using the money accumulated during your victories in the various game modes. game. Very tactical, the gameplay is demanding and requires a real understanding of the possibilities of your character, the opponent and the arena. Each area has its specificities which generally help the hero's abilities specific to it. Master Mummy can thus make a trampoline appear which accelerates its movements in the center of its arena, which will not be a luxury when you know that it moves slowly. Ninjara has a stepped combat zone giving the advantage to the fighter placed in height, while Spring Man sees his ring surrounded by jumpers which allow him to take an incredible altitude. Same thing with the attacks, since the mugs and blows will go more or less quickly depending on the fighter chosen; even the counterattack is variable. Indeed, with two characters of the same size, hitting at the same time will cancel the attack, both fists falling to the ground. On the other hand, with a large format character like Master Mummy or equipped with a heavy weapon like the demolition man or the electroshock (large demolition balls), nothing will be able to stop your attack. In short, you will have understood, ARMS has a very rich gameplay that will require many hours of play before being fully mastered.
ARMS also has other game modes that are quite refreshing, like these volleyball games that require you to hit the ball to send it to the other side, which is excellent training in the timing of attacks. Depending on the angle of the shot, you can even give effects to the ball and you quickly become addicted to this mini-game which is really fun. Same thing with the "Targets" mode where the quest for a high score becomes almost obsessive. Here, targets emerge from the ground, and the more we destroy, the more points we score, knowing that the opponent is in front of us and that he covets the same objective. Here, the art of war will be to successfully perform a chop or place a right that will leave the opponent groggy just before the targets appear, allowing a few seconds of peace to score. Awesome ! The game also offers a "Survival" mode in which you will have to hold out as long as possible against waves of enemies with increasing difficulty, which should attract fans of scoring. Finally, we are a little more reserved on the "Basketball" mode which consists of catching the opponent in order to score baskets with the body of the unfortunate. As in real sport, the closer you are to the basket, the more chances you have of scoring, but the fewer points you score. 3-point shots out of the racket are therefore the most profitable, but also the least likely to return, because once the enemy is caught, there is no means of aiming, and success then becomes more or less random. depending on the placement of our character. In short, we have seen better and above all more fun.
