Yup... and they've worked out a 2 game limit then rotate. It's really quite calm. It's a rare thing around here for them to work together so well... that and they know that they have to have me sign them into my account so they can play online.

... and when they created the character, they settled on a boy at first, but my 9-yo learned that you can switch the gender at anytime in the options (since she wants to play as a girl squid).

That first day we had the game, my 6-yo got the first shot at it and while playing with people levels 9 and higher, he turned to me, "do you think they know that they are playing with a Kindergartener?"

Oh, wow! Thanks! I didn't know that. I created a male squid at first and regretted it since the girls look so much cooler.

A new weapon -- the inkbrush! -- was just added a few minutes ago. It's ridiculous and terrible and fun and hysterically ineffective. It might be the weakest weapon in the game, but it's a blast sword-swiping people with it just the same. Waving it around rather than painting in a straight line covers a pretty good amount of ground, but it really guzzles through ink.

It seems so weird to have a first party Nintendo title have such decent online play and constant content updates.

Me and my boys can't put it down. Such a fun game!

Its great. It took my a few times to warm up to it, but now I'm really hooked. I should try the single player soon.

Kelp Dome is going to unlock at 10 PM (Eastern) tonight!

The Inkbrush is fun in it's own way... we call it the equiv of a "button-masher weapon", my 9yo flails that thing around like she's a crazy person and it's quite effective.

The map looks fun. I'll try that out tonight.

I tried the new map last night. I like it. There are a lot of nooks and crannies to paint and hide in. Its one of my favorites.

Should I have my kid use her own profile to play online in this game, or does matchmaking not really take into account how well you do?

Matchmaking in Splatoon is basically "who's around?" It doesn't take skill level, geography, etc. into account. (Ranked matches might be different, but I haven't played around with that yet.)

In the regular Turf Wars, your level will always advance, so if you're loving the idea of leveling up and having access to more weapons, it can be a pretty great idea to do it all on one profile. I wouldn't have hit the level cap as early as I did if not for my wife being addicted and playing under my profile.

Another new weapon -- the Splash-O-Matic -- is available now!

Two new weapons -- the L-3 Nozzlenose and the Custom E-liter 3K -- drop tonight at 10 PM Eastern.

Bluefin Depot is now available!

Also, the inaugural Splatfest (for the U.S., anyway) has been delayed indefinitely. Apparently the Japanese Splatfest was a matchmaking disaster, and they're trying to avoid the same thing from happening again.

The Luna Blaster is dropping tonight.

The kiddos got this for me for Father's Day. Seems pretty good, but not quite great.

First the local MP is a friggin' joke. The N64 could do 4 player split screen and the WiiU can't handle it? Lazy. I want to play with my kids, but nope, balloon mode is terrible so we take turns playing matchmaking solo. So fucking lame.

Second, if a FPS came out that was a single mode, say King of the Hill, it would absolutely be shredded in reviews and by the gaming community, but for some odd reason this one seemed to have escaped the backlash. It needs more than a single mode... or maybe I just haven't unlocked any yet. Give me a paintball variation of capture the flag, territories or KOTH. Or how about have defined bases/towers and see who can paint 100% of the opponent's base first, inside and out?

It's quirky, fun, colorful, and swimming was a brilliant idea, and what's there is well polished, but overall it just feels like half a game. It's fun, but not something I'm going to play for hours on end like Halo or Borderlands. After a few rounds I'm done. And honestly, it already feels like something I'm not gonna play unless the kids want to.

So much promise squandered. I do give props to Nintendo trying something new and original though. It just needs some more meat on the bone.

Absolutely agree that the local multiplayer is pathetic.

There is a second online mode now -- Splat Zones, a ranked challenge mode -- although you have to be level 10 to access it. I've never touched it and probably never will.

Nintendo has been drip-feeding completed content. In a way, I think that's a smart marketing move. There's a lot of excitement in the Splatoon community every time a new map or weapon is made available, sustaining interest that otherwise might have wavered. It also encourages people to experiment with things like the inkbrush that otherwise would probably have been ignored. On the other hand...well, while my wife is even more hopelessly obsessed with Splatoon than I was, I've already kinda moved on, and a new mode or two might've better held my interest.

We're at a point now where a two map rotation really isn't enough (it sucks beyond words having to play, say, Saltspray Rig for literally the seventh time in a row), and as much as I love Splatoon's soundtrack, there are...what, three battle themes? If you play for 60-90 minutes at a time, you're doomed to hear the same songs over and over and over and over.

The disc has been datamined pretty thoroughly, so we know that Nintendo has "Rainmaker" (Capture the Flag) and "Tower Control" (King of the Hill) modes ready to go, along with nearly three dozen more weapons and at least two more maps.

I'm okay with the dripfeeding of content, but honestly, I think we're past the point where another new mode should've dropped. Maybe you could put the game on the shelf until sometime in August since that's when the big update arrives, including things like private lobbies that absolutely should've been there on day one. It should be content complete or close enough to it then.

My other gripes at this point are mostly matchmaking related. There are too many disconnects and occasionally too much lag when you're playing against people from all over the world; seriously, probably every 1 out of 3 matches has someone disconnecting. I wish the matchmaking considered level or intent as well. It's cute, moms and dads, that you hand the controller to your 2 year old to bump into walls and never really shoot anything, but I don't want you on my team. There are entirely too many matches I've played where someone on my team would have a score of 38, 56, 78, etc. It's not about being hardcore, and I'm not being age-ist since I'm sure plenty of 7 year olds could whoop up on me in this game. If you fundamentally can't play the game, though...

I really like splat zones. Its Nintendo's teritories. You have to change your tactics completely. Its more about kills than painting ground, so rollers are terrible. It seems to reward skill based play more than the basic mode. If you more you get me experience in Splat Zone too.

Splatfest has been rescheduled for July 4th in the U.S.

Nintendo is saying that they have sold 1,000,000 copies of Splatoon.

http://www.engadget.com/2015/06/24/n...illion-copies/

The Carbon Roller (burst bombs/inkzooka) and Custom Dual Squelcher (squid beakon, killer wail) will be available tonight.

Also, is there no way to use the pro controller as player 1 and for online matches?

There is not. The only mode that uses the Pro controller is the balloon-y local multiplayer.

I'm looking forward to trying the new roller