48 hours with the Nintendo Switch this is the console you've been for waiting

It is half table and half portable, comes with a game (the new 'Zelda') and does not look anything like what you have played to date. Yes, we have fallen in love.

Nintendo is back. And he has done it by the big door. The Switch, that hybrid between console and laptop, is one of the most exciting pieces of hardware that we have been able to test in the video game industry over the last few years. And that's saying a lot. After the commercial failure of Wii U and the exhaustion of the model started with Wii, the Japanese had only to reinvent itself. But if there is a firm capable of doing that, an equivalent of Madonna in videojueguil format, that is Nintendo.

At Teknautas, we had the opportunity to try the Switch a few weeks ago. The sensations were good, as were the first impressions when the console was announced and it was confirmed that Nintendo was behind that hybrid between console and laptop. Now, after a few days of testing and despite the meager of its catalog (we have only been able to test the new 'Zelda', which has a look unbeatable), all our feelings have been confirmed: the console has a huge potential that should be deployed Over the years if the catalog accompanies. In other words: on paper everything is very beautiful, but now it is necessary to confirm where it really counts, on the screen.

Let's go at the beginning. Switch gives off, to a certain extent, an old school scent. Not precisely because of its proposal, which is completely new in this industry, but because it is simple to remove it from the box and play. It does not even need to be connected to the television. Just adapt the two controls, called 'joy with', to the sides of the screen to start playing. After a few very brief steps, the machine is ready to boot. In the version that has come to us, it was not possible to update the 'firmware' first, but we have done during these first hours and, aware of the fact, the process has lasted no more than 30 seconds. A blessing compared to the hours that Wii U was upgraded before being able to play the first match.

But Nintendo is bent on selling Switch as a desktop console with laptop heart. Removing the 'marketing', comes to tell us that it is a two in one more focused on the traditional game but that allows you to take it out. And if something is necessary to remove the hat with the console is in the facility that gives the user to move from one to another mode. The installation of all the components (the base from which the power cable and the hdmi come out) only lasts a few minutes and the transition between desktop and laptop mode takes everything that is used to transfer the 'joy with' from The base that acts as traditional control until the sides of the tablet.

The transition time is so fast that in the first few occasions you will be surprised. But what really gets the console, and in our case is still difficult for us to adapt still to it, is to dilute that barrier between playing in the traditional way and do it anywhere, not from home, but the street or the public transport.

For example, I am very clear that television is where I play 'FIFA', 'Skyrim' or 'The Last Guardian'. And that mobile, which has become a companion inseparable from fatigue, is an ideal format for games that are designed for it, either 'Hearthstone' or an 'Animal Crossing' in a 3DS. With Switch, that border is erased: you can take it to the bathroom in a time of trouble or take advantage of dead times in public transport.

This last point may be somewhat controversial. We are facing a console that is something larger than a PlayStation Vita (the screen of the Switch is the approximate size of the latest Sony laptop), so we take it out for very short trips, something that we would do with the mobile phone, it seems outside of place. Even some games, the same 'Zelda' that we have tried, ask you for a little longer game sessions. Maybe four or five subway stops do not give you a chance to enjoy the game, but those people who have half-an-hour routes a day in public transport will appreciate being able to dedicate that window to games that, to date, To the TV and sitting on a sofa.

In the background, the idea of ​​Switch is not far from what was in a way pointed to Wii U. That the command had a large screen that would give some independence of the console itself. This time, the console 'is' the controller and to my surprise, I spent more time playing with it in portable mode than in my traditional room dedicated to games with a generously sized TV. If this attitude has been the result of novelty, it is something that only time can solve.

The controls 3 in 1

We do not refer to the famous degreaser, but the 'joy with' can be used in up to three different formats. Glued to side and side of the tablet in portable mode, on a plastic holder to turn them into a traditional controller, and each separately in very specific games. In our experience, we have tried the first two, while the third mode, designed for '1-2-Switch' mini-game titles, we could taste it in our test with the console a few months ago.

In their two most traditional formats, the controls have their pros and cons. It misses once more, and there are already a few, that Nintendo includes analog triggers that only respond to two 'inputs' as opposed to the triggers that can be found in the controls of PlayStation or Xbox. The loss of the traditional crosshead, the first in a console from NES, is also missing, although the philosophy of the console has forced the Japanese to leave it on the way.

Perhaps more surprising is the performance of the remote with the bracket. At first glance, and seeing the photo on these lines, it does not look like it will be a comfortable driver. With my partner Sergio Ferrer we have discussed on more than one occasion: after Sony and Xbox have nailed the guidelines of what should be a driver, it is not necessary to go off on the tangent. Steam and its Controller are a good example.

Despite this, the command emerged from the union of a base next to the two 'joy with' (and that, putting a lot of imagination, looks like a perrete) is not especially uncomfortable. Moreover, after a few minutes, you have forgotten the same, which is the best you can say of a command. I wish the same could be said about triggers.

Few games and little battery

What's wrong with Switch? Perhaps the most important is the battery of the tablet and it could be argued that the catalog is somewhat scarce. Nintendo, once again, wanted to point out that we are not before a portable console but before a desktop that can be taken to the street and take you wherever you want. Yes, on the paper is a very nice definition, but when it comes to the truth is a bit short. A three-hour 'Zelda' game has been enough for us to squeeze it all the way, and while Nintendo claims that some games may reach up to six hours of life, it is a statement that, for the moment, has to be taken with tweezers.

Another controversial aspect is the console's output catalog. In 2017, a new 'Super Mario' ('Odissey', which we will not see until the end of the year) is expected to appear, and an updated version of 'Mario Kart 8' should be released in a matter of weeks. There are few new features (next to 'Splatoon 2' or 'Arms') to convince the user to be undecided.

Much has been said about the console catalog compared to PS4 or Xbox One, although some voices have recalled that not so much, in the days of NES, Super Nintendo or Nintendo 64, the consoles came to the street with a meager catalog. What does it mean for the user that there are so few exit games? That patience is your best ally. These first months, at least until the arrival of the Christmas period, will serve to see which route the Switch takes and which games are announced for 2018.

Do I buy it?

But that the catalog is small does not imply that you should not run to buy it. If you're a fan of Nintendo, Switch is the type of console that will return to ingratiar with the Japanese manufacturer. And if you are also a lover of 'Zelda', you should know that the first criticisms have not been exceptional but have put it through the clouds, with several websites specialized as the best title of the franchise ever created, above even 'OCarina Of Time '.

In our case, we think it may be soon enough to get a Switch unless you have it very clear or you know that you're going to pay it off with 'Zelda' now, 'Mario Kart' in a few months and the next 'Super Mario' In Christmas. In that case, you should do it with a head.

It seems almost impossible to make a forecast of the commercial performance of Switch in the market. The console has everything to win the player: has a reasonable price (320 euros), works great in both portable and desktop mode and offers something that, to date, neither Sony nor Microsoft have been able to provide. It remains to be seen whether the catalog of the console, which really gives it meaning, will be up to the consequences.