The long awaited and hard to find Nintendo Switch has arrived!
Sporting 3 unique ways to play, this new console attempts to boldly go where no console has gone before.
I was immediately impressed by the Switch’s sleek design. As an owner of many Nintendo products I have had to come to terms with the idea that they are designed for young children. However, the Switch feels and looks more like a tablet than a Game Boy. From the color options available I chose to go with the matte black, to keep with the adult styled look. I know this may be a weird first impression, but the truth is that having a game system geared towards adults is new for Nintendo.
First Impressions of the Switch.
The first game I played, like many other folks, was The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I haven’t finished it yet, so stand by for my review. Back to the discussion at hand though, I was again very impressed. It felt like playing an Xbox One or PS4. The Switch controller feels top notch. It responds well, it looks great, and it feels high quality. The fact that you can detach the Joy-Cons and use them as their own controller just adds to the awesomeness. My first experience was as a handheld device, and my second was holding the Joy-Cons and playing it like a tablet. I didn’t try the Switch on TV until I bought my own, and when I did I was again… “very impressed”.
The change from handheld, to tablet, to TV is seamless and polished. The only problem I have is that the dock is such a tight fit. I always feel as if I might scratch the screen while docking it. I am looking forward to future iterations of the Switch to fix this. No matter how I play the Switch I am always impressed with the graphics. Granted it isn’t on par with a PS4, it definitely blows away any other handheld device. The image quality is just completely enjoyable.
The best and the brightest.
One of the most important features to me though, is the screen brightness. Upon getting my own Switch I immediately took it into a dark room and turned the brightness all the way down. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it goes dimmer than the Nintendo 3DS. This is a huge deal to me, because I tend to play most of my video games late at night. I even play quite a bit in the dark. The screens larger size, coupled with its ability to dim make it the perfect new console for me.
Better than the Nintendo 3DS.
When I learned that the thumb-sticks contained tiny Amiibo sensors I about fell out of my chair. After testing them I can say that they work quite well, maybe even better than the 3DS sensor. The home screen for the Switch is a bit bland at the moment. That coupled with the fact that there are so few games available make it feel as if the Switch was rushed out the door. Despite the shortage of games at launch though, there are new games being released every month. I am very much looking forward to Mario Kart & Splatoon 2.
Nintendo hits a home run.
Overall, I have really nice things to say about the Nintendo Switch. I’ve heard of a few hardware problems with joy-cons, screen pixels, and scratches. I consider myself lucky that my particular Switch does not seem to have any of these issues. I also heard that Nintendo is being very good about replacing broken consoles, so if you have any issues be sure to reach out to Nintendo. Learn more here -> Official Nintendo Warranty Page.
I will likely revisit this article with future updates in the Switch. Stay tuned and read more @ HalfFullReviews.com.
