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Splatoon adds Tower Control, a game mode that will instantly be familiar to Team Fortress 2 veterans.

Splatoon is popular. Splatoon is fun. Splatoon is generally a fun way to spend a few hours online, playing competitively, engaging in ranked battles, and generally trying to be the best.

Splatoon is not a miserable grind-fest that so many other online games inevitably turn into, of reletnless ladder climbing and perpetual defence of statistics. Not yet, at any rate. Where some competitive online games feel like a second job, Splatoon is still fun.

Looking to keep the fun going, Nintendo are unleashing a new game mode into Splatoon today: Tower Control. Here’s the skinny from the press release:

Tower Control, a new game mode, will soon be added to the already available multiplayer modes in  Splatoon. This mode will be added to Ranked Battle, which also includes Splat Zones. The objective of Tower Control is to ride a single floating tower into the enemy’s base. Both teams rush toward the tower, which is initially placed in the center of the map, and the tower will start moving automatically once a player climbs aboard. But beware: Riding the tower will increase the chances of being splatted, as every player has his or her target on the tower.

Riding the tower alone is pretty tough, encouraging randomly selected teams of players to team up to accomplish their goal. Just like in Ranked Battle and Turf War, players will be rewarded for working together as a team. Surrounding the tower and protecting the player riding the tower, using each stage’s features to gain an advantage and supporting each other are the keys to victory. Tower Control will be available at 7 p.m. PT on July 1. Fans can tune into a special Treehouse: Live with Splatoon Tower Control at 3 p.m. PT today to get a sneak peek of the new mode on http://twitch.tv/Nintendo.

It kinda sounds like the other fan favourite, the always-fun-and-never-descended-into-taking-itself-too-seriously team-based competitive online shooter, Team Fortress 2. Tower Control sounds almost exactly like Payload, and that’s not a bad thing.

Nintendo could do a lot worse than aping Team Fortress 2 if they want Splatoon to remain successful and popular, and let’s face it – imitation is the best form of flattery – take a look at the Team Fortress 2 modders who are building their own Splatoon:

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