Joy-Cons get the job done for playing games on the go while maintaining the Nintendo Switch‘s portability factor, but they aren’t the most ergonomic controllers. Those looking for something that has more substance and feels closer to a Pro controller, meet the Hori Split Pad Pro. It’s an officially licensed pair of controllers that snap right into where the Joy-Cons normally go, and currently the Daemon X Machina edition is available now. While it might be a bit chunky and missing a few features, the Split Pad Pro transforms the handheld experience, especially for games that warrant precise controls.

First, the Split Pad Pro gives you a substantial controller option with more to hold onto, and those with bigger hands, such as myself, will definitely appreciate it. The wider form factor and subtle handles for gripping the controllers themselves are a natural feel that comes really close to a standard gamepad. What’s more, the Split Pad Pro is lighter than standard Joy-Cons, despite the bulkier look (more on why later) and doesn’t burden the handheld experience.

Nintendo Switch with the Hori Split Pad Pro attached.

The size of these controllers does compromise the portability factor. As you can imagine, the Switch with the Split Pad Pro attached isn’t going to fit into form-fitting carrying cases. There’s no doubt that the first glance at and the early hands-on experience with these will feel a bit off due to how wide apart the two ends are compared to Joy-Cons, but it doesn’t take long to get used to and doesn’t cross my mind anymore.

One of the biggest advantages comes from the analog sticks, which are a massive improvement over what the Joy-Cons offer. Like an Xbox One or Pro controller, the Split Pad Pro sticks have full range of motion and a consistent resistance which affords you the ability to make more accurate inputs. The concave dome design and increased surface area of the sticks help keep your thumbs in place, too. These benefits aren’t entirely necessary for certain games, like RPGs or tactical games such as Fire Emblem: Three Houses. But their advantages are undeniable in shooters–a few hours with Wolfenstein: Youngblood and Fortnite in handheld mode made this abundantly clear.

Adding to the overall exceptional feel of the Split Pad Pro are the larger triggers and shoulder buttons that are smooth and effortless to pull. They’re not clicky, and again, come close to how a Switch Pro controller feels. Another improvement is in the traditional-style d-pad–it’s soft to the press and hasn’t caused errant directional inputs in my experience. The A, B, X, Y face buttons may feel a bit loose in place, but they are bigger and ditch the clicky actuation of the normal Joy-Cons.

Programmable backside paddles are a great feature of many high-end controllers, and the Split Pad Pro incorporates two of them wedged in the groves behind the grips (one on each side). Because of their sensible placement and ease of pressing, the paddles feel natural to use. However, they’re limited in their implementation since you can only program them to act as a button that’s on the same side as the corresponding paddle. While you’re likely to prefer mapping a face button to each paddle, you can only do so with the paddle on the right side. This leaves the left paddle to likely be used for an action on the d-pad of left stick click, which is rarely useful in many games.

This is due to the fact that the two ends of the Split Pad Pro are not in communication with each other. With that in mind, the Split Pad Pro controllers will only work when attached to the Switch’s sides since they do not have wireless capabilities–nor do they have batteries to even do this. They also do not have rumble functionality. Without batteries or rumble modules, the Split Pad Pro is able to stay lightweight and keep costs down, but you’ll miss out on these key features.

With its shortcomings in mind, I still believe the trade-off is worth it if you play the types of games that benefit most from the Split Pad Pro, though handheld would have to be your primary way of playing Switch games. It makes gaming in handheld much more comfortable across the board, and it truly delivers much better control over first- and third-person shooters, or any game that requires precise analog inputs. That may be quite a few caveats, but for those who fit this description, the Split Pad Pro is a wonderful option.

The Hori Split Pad Pro is now available to purchase for $50 at Amazon.

The product discussed here was independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-switchs-hori-split-pad-pro-are-real-contr/1100-6470057/

PS4’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake may still be a few months away, but Square Enix continues to steadily reveal new tidbits about the highly anticipated game in the lead up to its launch. In a new post on the official PlayStation Blog, the publisher has unveiled the game’s box art, as well as a handful of new screenshots and some gameplay details.

The Western box art for Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which you can see below, is a clear homage to the original, recreating the iconic image of Cloud gazing up at Shinra Corporation. In addition to the box art, Square Enix shared a couple of new screenshots from the game, giving us another look at Cloud, Tifa, and Barret, plus a glimpse at the sleek materia menu screen. You can take a look at those below.

The PlayStation Blog post also delves into some of the game’s mechanics, such as Classic Mode. First revealed during Tokyo Game Show earlier this month, Classic Mode is described as being closer to the original game’s turn-based combat. Typically, FF7 Remake uses a real-time battle system; as you attack, you fill up your ATB gauge, which will then let you pause the action and execute commands. In Classic Mode, however, your attacks are automated, so you strictly need to focus on executing commands when your ATB gauge is full.

The post also shares some details about Summons and materia. In order to call a Summon, you’ll need to equip a character with Summon materia. With that in tow, a special gauge will gradually fill up as you battle, and once it is full, you can call in that Summon.

One of the Summons we’ve previously gotten a look at is Ifrit. According to the blog post, “Ifrit battles independently but you can also command him to perform special abilities, and once the timer drops to zero, he’ll unleashes his ultimate attack: Hellfire.”

Final Fantasy 7 Remake launches for PS4 on March 3, 2020. Square Enix has previously said the remake will encompass multiple parts, with this releasing focusing strictly on Midgar. For more on the game, be sure to check out our Final Fantasy 7 Remake impressions, as well as our Final Fantasy 7 Remake pre-order guide.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/final-fantasy-7-remake-box-art-new-screens-reveale/1100-6470044/

Respawn has posted a tweet of a strange message between Apex Legends‘ new character, Crypto, and his mom ahead of the battle royale game’s Season 3 launch. It’s seemingly a letter from the hacker thanking his mother for her advice in regards to asking out a cute girl. Wait a bit though and it’s revealed the message has been carefully encrypted and is actually about Crypto’s plans.

“As I’m sure you’ve heard I took your advice and I went to the Games,” the real message reads. “It’s the only way I can get close to the people who framed me. All I had to do was distract the Syndicate long enough to get ‘Crypto’s’ credentials into the system. You were right about the qualifying matches. I looked into it and there’s no way I could have gotten in. So I went with Plan B: I took down the Repulsor tower. I had no idea it would be so insane. I’m hoping the damage was enough to close King’s Canyon so I can hitch a ride on the dropship off Solace, and find the evidence I need somewhere in New Dawn.”

In the letter, Crypto is referencing the events that transpired in the cinematic trailer for Apex Legends Season 2, which saw the flyers and leviathans invade King’s Canyon after the destruction of the repulsor tower. Unfortunately for Crypto, we know his actions didn’t stop the Apex Games. The Syndicate continued the blood sport, utilizing a reworked battlefield. This might explain the subsequent hacking attempts during the final weeks of Season 2, though, as well as Crypto’s attempts to access the Singh Labs to find a space elevator. He needs a new way off-world since his previous plan failed.

“I just hope this isn’t like last time, and I don’t get blown up before I go off-planet. (Sorry. Rejection leads to gallows humor.),” the message continues. “Thank you for always being the mom I needed. I’ll be in touch. Try not to worry too much. What’s that you always say? It’s hard to be scared when you’re prepared.”

Respawn could just be releasing this message as a teaser to create more hype for Crypto, who’s believed to be coming to Apex Legends alongside the launch of Season 3 on October 1. However, it does continue to support the speculation that Apex Legends might be getting a brand-new map at some point. New Dawn could be a reference to Dawn–a multiplayer map in Titanfall Online, a canceled free-to-play game. Dawn was set in a massive desert environment that was filled with downed warships and makeshift buildings following the devastating space battle between the IMC and Frontier Militia in the planet’s upper atmosphere. Sounds like an ideal location for a new battle royale map. We’ll have to wait and see though.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-apex-legends-crypto-teaser-hints-at-off-world-/1100-6470053/

Mario Kart Tour finally arrives on iOS and Android devices tomorrow, September 25. To coincide with its launch, Nintendo will kick off the game’s first “Tour”–a biweekly event that will take place in different locations and give players a chance to unlock special characters.

Unlike past games in the series, Mario Kart Tour features a handful of courses inspired by real-world locations, and the first Tour will be based on New York City. The event will run from September 25 to October 9. During each Tour, you’ll be able to earn Grand Stars based on how many points you accumulate in a race. These in turn will unlock new cups and Tour gifts, which include new drivers, karts, gliders, and other items.

There are a variety of unlockable characters in Mario Kart Tour, but some will only be available during Tour events. During the New York Tour, you’ll have a chance to unlock two unique drivers: Musician Mario and Pauline from Super Mario Odyssey. Each driver in the title is able to use a special item: Musician Mario can throw two Bob-ombs at once, while Pauline can use the Lucky 7.

In addition to the real-world locations, Mario Kart Tour features a variety of courses from throughout the series’ history; we’ve gotten glimpses at Rainbow Road and Choco Island from the SNES game, as well as Dino Dino Jungle from Double Dash. The game also features 30 racers, who you’ll be able to unlock via a gacha mechanic.

Mario Kart Tour is free to download and features microtransactions. To play the game, you’ll need to have a Nintendo Account. You can create one of those for free on Nintendo’s website. For more details on Mario Kart Tour and its first event, check out the video above.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-kart-tours-first-event-detailed-features-two/1100-6470042/

One of the defining features of 2020’s Watch Dogs Legion is that you’re able to take control of basically anyone in the game’s version of London. Associate producer Shelley Johnson said in a new interview that the technical underpinnings of Legion are “complex almost beyond description.”

“This is probably one of the most ambitious games Ubi has ever imagined,” Johnson told Stevivor. “It was certainly from a management standpoint and a creative standpoint, the biggest challenge yet, certainly for me personally.”

Johnson told Gamecrate earlier this year that there is no limit to the number of different NPCs that players can assume control of in Legion. “One of the numbers that was floating around at one point was 9 million,” she said. “They’re procedurally generated characters. So we’ve spent four years building the technology to be able to deliver on this promise and that includes the ability to piece together this huge city of characters as far as animation, dialogue, census data, like all those bio pieces that you see when you profile somebody, faces, character kids, all of this comes together to produce a unique character every time.”

Johnson told Stevivor that it was an expensive, time-consuming process to make Legion a reality as it relates to the ambition under the hood. “[To] play as anyone, as a pillar–to really fulfil on the promise of that–it’s expensive,” she said. “This game is, in as far as challenge is concerned, complex almost beyond description.”

Testing a game like Legion sounds like a big challenge, and Johnson said it’s the first game from Ubisoft that reached the limits of what human testing was capable of. She added that, in the future, games with the complexity and scale of Legion may need to make use of AI to pick up “some of the heavy lifting.”

Watch Dogs Legion launches in March 2020 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Check out the video embedded above to learn more.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-legion-which-lets-you-control-many-diff/1100-6470038/