Nintendo Switch 2: My Review

The last Nintendo console I owned was the Wii U. I bought it on launch day. I bought 3 games. NintendoLand, Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition, and some crappy game called Game Party Champions that I took RIGHT BACK to the store because it stunk so bad! I think I kept my Wii U for about 2 years before I traded it in. I just didn't enjoy it. I did not by the Nintendo Switch because I had no interest in it. I don't really care about playing portable games. It's a nice feature just in case, but I've never kept a portable device for a long period of time. I had the PSP for a cup of coffee before I sold that back in the day. The other reason I wasn't interested was because of the lack of power. There are some good looking games on the Switch no doubt, but they are just far behind of where they should have been at that point in time in my opinion. When it came time for Nintendo to make a successor to the Switch, all I asked for them to do was to give me a device that was at least as powerful as the XBOX One X. Well, I seems like that is the case based on the performance of games and the hardware inside. So, I'm a man of my word. I looked around for the Switch 2 out of curiosity during the launch week. I wasn't 100% sure I was going to pull the trigger on that though, because the two games that really clinched things for me were Donkey Kong Bananza and Metroid Prime 4 and they were not available. Donkey Kong Bananza won't be out until the 17th, and we still don't have a release date for Metroid Prime 4. So, after seeing it sold out everywhere, I decided to hold off on purchasing one. Most of the NEW games for Switch 2 are games that I either already have elsewhere, or do not interest me. However, my friend texted me today and told me that his contact at a Best Buy near me said they had a huge shipment of them. I was already heading in that direction but for a different reason, but I decided to stop in and check this out. I asked if they had the Switch 2 in stock and they said, yes. So, I decided to go ahead and buy it! I did not buy the Mario Kart World bundle. I wanted to had at least two games and still top out at $500. So, I purchased Welcome Tour and Fast Fusion and with tax it came out to about $500. So, what are my first impressions of the device now that I have it in my home? Well, it feels better in my hands than the original Switch does. The Joy-Cons feel a lot better. The console feels more like a normal, consumer electronic device rather than a toy. The satin-like texture of the plastic is very comforting. Here are my Pros and Cons about the aesthetics and operation of the device. PROS ~System size ~System texture ~Horsepower ~Responsiveness ~Brevity in the OS ~Mouse functionality ~HD Rumble 2 ~Fast Downloads CONS ~HDR (or lack thereof) ~Power cable (A little short, but not an issue.) ~Dock (Feels very cheap and I don't like the "wobble" of the device in the dock.) ~Sound (Speakers are not very loud.) That's about all I can say after only having the device for less than a day. The OS is very light compared to what I'm used to with Microsoft and Sony, but I like things to be straight and to the point without all the bloat of endless screens with ads for other games and stuff spammed all over the place. I still don't see why this OS needs 2 full cores and 3GB of RAM though. Oh well. It does run very smoothly. So now, what about the games? Well, let's start with everyone's favorite game, Welcome Tour! Yes, this game is actually fun to play. No, it should NOT be free. I'll say it again... WELCOME TOUR SHOULD NOT BE FREE!!!! I'm having more fun playing this than I ever did playing NintendoLand and I paid $60 bucks for that! Should this have been a pack-in game rather than separately? Probably. I'll give you that, but that $10 should have been worked into the price of the console. This is a full-fledged game with a bunch of mini-games showing off the Switch 2 hardware. The mini-games to me feel like Wario Ware type stuff and again, that is a FULL PRICE game. With all the stuff you can do in this game Nintendo is giving you a bargain at $10 to be honest. I know very few people will agree with me, but I don't really care! This is my review. The other game is Fast Fusion. Listen...............this game is AWESOME. Graphically it looks amazing. The frame-rates are solid. I choose Quality mode with 4K60, but it even looks good in 30fps. Every time think about the game I want to play it. This game even managed to impress Digital Foundry. The game itself has great music that takes me back to the late 90s with Electronica-style music. The music in games like this (namely Wip3out) are responsible for my love of Trance and Progressive music today. The gameplay is smooth. I never feel like I'm not in control of the vehicle. That was one of the problems with games like Wip3out. You'd be going so fast that one little bump would send you flying, or it would be hard to get any speed going without constantly banging against the rails. Extreme G was better because you couldn't really get knocked off course. Overall, I am satisfied with my purchase. Oh yeah, I almost forget..... ALL MY GAMES ARE DIGITAL!!!! MUUAHHAHAHAHA!!! .....and, If I have to put a game on a Game Key Card, I will, and won't even bat an eye. I've made it a goal to purposefully enjoy most of the stuff people are whining about. Not everything, because the Switch 2 obviously has a few issues. HDR just doesn't work. Like AT ALL. In portable mode or docked. It is fixable, but right now it is pointless to turn it on. I just adjusted my TV to get the visuals I wanted. On those few occasions I do take my Switch 2 out of the dock, I'm definitely using headphones because the sound just isn't loud enough for me. Despite of all the evil and hatred towards Nintendo these days, I CHOOSE to ignore all that foolishness and CHOOSE to be thankful and grateful to God that He allowed me to get one of these when He didn't have to. Time is winding up in this world. I'm gonna enjoy every blessing that I can.