
Level 1 players have as much sway as Level 20s in Splatoon, and we regularly saw low-level players rise above us in the end of stage group rankings. Splatoon's greatest triumph, though, is how it levels the playing field for everyone regardless of skill level. ^ Of course a sea anemone's in charge of the hat shop, along with the shrimp trainer salesman and horseshoe crab weapons specialist

Just be prepared to pay out big bucks for anything with more than two ability slots. That said, if you start salivating at the sight of another player's natty head wear and it's not in the shops that day, you can always order it from the prickly sea urchin in the Inkopolis hub plaza. This not only brings a welcome sense of variety to the game, but it also helps keep it fair and balanced, preventing top-level players from dominating matches with a particular clothes set and giving newcomers just as much opportunity to turn the tide of battle as seasoned pros. However, each item of clothing also has an additional set of randomised skills that gradually unlock as you accumulate experience points, so you'll rarely see anyone kitted out in exactly the same get-up. For example, a hoodie could make you more resistant to enemy ink attacks, while a snazzy pair of biker boots might shorten your respawn rate. Like Square's JRPG, everything you wear in Splatoon affects the way you play. From its energetic and eclectic soundtrack to the Miiverse graffiti posts plastered across the walls, Splatoon oozes style, and nowhere is this more evident than your ever-expanding wardrobe. Awash with fluorescent colours and drenched in Harajuku-style pop culture, Splatoon could almost be the spiritual successor to Square Enix's The World Ends with You – bar the copious spiky haircuts and amnesiac heroes, of course.


It's also a game that has its finger (or should that be tentacle?) firmly on the pulse of modern day appetites. ^ Instead of shooting each other with ink pellets, the main aim of the game is to shower as much territory in your own team colour as possible
