Splatoon is about as close as Nintendo will get to Battlefield or Call of Duty, as this game will feature a great deal of action without all the violence. Nintendo has always made family friendly games that are good for all ages, and Splatoon is one that the whole family can enjoy. While the world got a preview of Splatoon during E3, there have been more updates and rumors circulating the web regarding its features.

Shigeru Miyamoto is know for developing addictive games, and he has certainly delivered when it comes to Splatoon. The team-based multiplayer puts two teams against each other, equipped with paint instead of guns. Your mission as a team is to tag up more places on the map than the opposing team, basically whoever claims the most turf wins the game. This may seem childish to some gamers, but come on, doesn’t it remind you of Graffiti Mode from Tony Hawk Pro Skater?

But wait, there’s another twist to Splatoon – you can become a squid-like character that lets you refill your ink tanks and move faster by diving into your teams inked turf. It’s a unique twist with the familiar third-person shooter vibe, which makes for an addicting game. Nintendo is on to something here, as many fans believe this was the best announcement at E3 this year.

The game is exclusive to the Wii U, so you know it’s going to utilize the GamePad well. For now we know that the GamePad will be used to aim your ink more accurately by using gyroscopic controls. The squid-like characters actually have a name, they are called Inklings, and since they can refill ink and dive right into it, the name fits.

The world actually has more detail to it than most games put out by Nintendo, and Splatoon looks like a great way for them to show off the Wii U graphics capabilities.. not that they’re the best. However, they did right with this game in terms of visuals, and the colorful world does not take away from the action.

Four-on-four player action is fun, especially since Nintendo has integrated a weapon upgrading system into this game. Basically you can unlock better weapons as you cover more turf, and the new weapons will make it easier for you to gain even more turf. This is what will make the game addicting if they can pull it off, Nintendo has been known to keep things too simple and a leveling up system should be complex.

If you look at games like Call of Duty you will notice they have complex weapon upgrade system so players will stay entertained for a very long time, as they will be motivated to get the next unlock. As of now it isn’t clear how much depth there will be to the “super weapon” unlocks, but it is expected to be a well-received feature.

Instead of throwing grenades at other players you will be throwing paint bombs, which is just as entertaining. The four-on-four multiplayer is expected to be a great online gaming experience, so let’s hope they did a good job on the weapon upgrades! The game is coming in the first half of 2015 and we still don’t know all the game modes and features for the video game, but Splatoon certainly makes the Wii U look more appealing.

Check out the video below to see the official Splatoon E3 announcement…