‘ARMS’ Preview Encouraging, Competitive Motion Control In The Making?

One of the things that the oft-contentious video game community can agree on is that motion sensors suck. They don’t work most of the time and during those occasions that they do, they don’t really offer satisfactory gameplay. Nintendo ARMS on the Switch is about to change that with previews providing an encouraging picture of the future of motion-controlled gaming.

ARMS is a PVP fighting simulator that involves characters with extendable limbs or “arms”. These arms come with special abilities depending on the character. As publishers like Game Zone note, the game makes a powerful first impression among critics, largely due to how enjoyable the experience is.

For starters, there’s the small matter of responsiveness from the motion control of the Switch, which many consider the most promising example of its kind yet. Players can still enjoy the game when using the default control option, of course. However, there’s an undeniable level of satisfaction involved in winning a battle by simulating actual punches to the other player’s character.

There’s also the artwork, which is quite similar to another of Nintendo’s hit titles, Splatoon. Quirky, colorful, and downright weird, ARMS is like having cartoons come to life and beat on each other with stretchable fists.

Heck, the early impressions have been so favorable that TIME is even of the mind that ARMS could be the first “hardcore motion control game” in the business. Many have tried before, but none have managed to generate the kind of positive reception that Nintendo’s new offering has garnered.

It’s also important to make the distinction between ARMS and Wii Sports, which the publication has noted. Although the two brands do share a space in the motion control arena, comparing them would be like comparing a low-budget Marvel TV program to The Avengers or some other blockbuster movie. There’s a planet-sized gap in the middle.