Showing posts with label MOBA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MOBA. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Heroes of the Storm Gameplay Video
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This past weekend I had some time to make a video of the technical alpha for Blizzard's Heroes of the Storm. Check it out below and read my thoughts on the game here.
In other news, I am currently trudging through a ton of different games so be on the lookout for some reviews shortly (Infamous: Second Son, Child of Light, Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, and Pokemon X to name a few). Hopefully I will also find the time to get some episodes of The Arena Run edited and posted as well as starting to do a weekly Starcraft II cast. So keep checking back for more content and also go check out indiejuice.tv for some great content from the folks over at Black Shell Games.
Thanks for reading and until next time:
Like it: https://www.facebook.com/TheOnlySurvivor
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Friday, May 2, 2014
Heroes of the Storm Technical Alpha
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This past weekend I was privileged with Alpha access to Heroes of the Storm. I was able to sink some time into the game to get a general understanding of what the game is about and how the mechanics work. Before I go fully into this review I must state that I have very little experience with MOBAs. I never played League of Legends and I have MAYBE played 5 matches of DOTA2 so I went into HOTS with little experience in the genera. I will break down the review into sections of the game content so I can focus on different aspects.
Gameplay
First and foremost, the game is very streamlined compared to other MOBAs. I may not have experience playing LoL or DOTA2 but I have witnessed the game being played as an e-sport for some time (particularly DOTA2). Blizzard has optimized the game so that a standard match takes between 20-30 mins as far as I can tell (based on all the games I have played so far, the longest was almost 40 mins but the majority were about 25-30 mins). Each map has objective based themes that both side fight for to gain a slight advantage which adds depth and variety to the game that is not really found in other MOBAs. I hope there will be more maps upon full release (right now there are 3) because that would really set it apart from the pack. Blizzard has gotten rid of 'item shops' where you use gold earned by your team to buy upgrades and such and instead uses a 'skill tree' based model paired with shared team experience. This works out perfect I feel. You can never have one character that can stay behind and gain experience until they are 4/5 levels ahead of everyone else and you have to work with your team to level up together and make your pushes on towers/gates more powerful as you go. Sure, there are times where a team will totally snowball and demolish the opposing side but I believe that will be addressed through matchmaking once the game is released and there are more players.
Learning Curve
Compared to DOTA2 and LoL, HOTS feels a lot more casual. The elimination of item shops and the group leveling system means everyone is on the same level playing field and offers a more balanced approach to matches in that each game is based on the skill of players and not because of certain items that are boosting abilities. We wont know what the highest level of play will entail (read: e-sports) until the game is released and tournaments start to pop up so there is no way to really tell right now what the skill ceiling is of the game but I can see that there is a lot of emphasis on individual skill, so over time we should be seeing a gap in player competitiveness. The game is really easy to get into and the practice mode helps a lot in getting new players up to speed and familiar with the mechanics of the game. Even though Blizzard is late to the party with this MOBA, I feel their tactics at making the game more lax and easy to understand will propel the game to be competitive with DOTA2 and LoL. HOTS has already established heroes that have back stories and abilities that the fans are familiar with which I believe is a huge plus and a secret boost to the games popularity. But, as I said overall, the game is easy to learn and play while at the same time feels that the skill required to reach the professional level can be very high.
Heroes
Not a huge variety as of yet in the Alpha test but that is to be expected. Blizzard has said there will be more heroes as the game progresses so I am not worries about that. Heroes are divided into 4 types, Assassin, Warrior, Support, Specialist and each has at least one hero from either Starcraft, Warcraft or Diablo. You can use gold or real money to buy more heroes to use but there are always 6 heroes available to you that are on rotation. The balancing seems pretty good overall, but there are a few heroes that do feel very overpowered (Tassadar and Stitches) but keeping in mind this is an Alpha test and knowing Blizzard, these will more than likely be patched for balance later down the road. I have only played with a few of the heroes so I am still learning a ton about the mechanics of each hero but everything seems very easy to pick up on. I understand the abilities right away and and able to figure out the best use of them in certain scenarios.
Shop
Money Money Money. This part is something I feel Blizzard has very wrong right now. The real money prices for skins, mounts and heroes seems ridiculously high. Of course you can grind gold for free to unlock everything but the gold income you get for playing games and completing daily quests is very low right now. I hope Blizzard is just testing their options and upon the release of the game, the real money prices become more reasonable. I would gladly drop a few bucks here and there for certain heroes or skins but with it being at the time of this writing ~$9 per hero, I will pass for now and grind my gold to get them.
Community
Not really much to say yet about this since there aren't a ton of people in the Alpha. Right now I haven't really encountered much BM but that could all change. One of the main reasons I never got into LoL of DOTA2 is the toxic community so I will keep my eyes on this aspect as the game gains more and more players. Any game will always have its fair share of BM players and MOBAs are particularly notorious for that but as of right now, I feel because of the small player base and the more laid back and streamlined feel of the game, the community is fairly tame and friendly.
Overall
I have fallen in love with HOTS. The inviting nature of the game really got me into it. So far, I have never felt that I am not good enough for the game and I have never been berated by any players. The game was easy to understand and gives me a ton of resources to practice which will only improve by release. There are enough heroes right now to satisfy me and the rotation means I can try out new heroes regularly. I cannot wait for more players to join and to have more maps and gameplay variety.
I will try and make a video this weekend to show you all so be on the lookout for that!
*****EDIT****** GAMEPLAY VIDEO BELOW
Thanks for reading and until next time:
Like it: https://www.facebook.com/TheOnlySurvivor
Watch it: http://www.youtube.com/user/theonlysurvivordan
Follow it: Follow @IMxGONNAxDIE
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This past weekend I was privileged with Alpha access to Heroes of the Storm. I was able to sink some time into the game to get a general understanding of what the game is about and how the mechanics work. Before I go fully into this review I must state that I have very little experience with MOBAs. I never played League of Legends and I have MAYBE played 5 matches of DOTA2 so I went into HOTS with little experience in the genera. I will break down the review into sections of the game content so I can focus on different aspects.
Gameplay
First and foremost, the game is very streamlined compared to other MOBAs. I may not have experience playing LoL or DOTA2 but I have witnessed the game being played as an e-sport for some time (particularly DOTA2). Blizzard has optimized the game so that a standard match takes between 20-30 mins as far as I can tell (based on all the games I have played so far, the longest was almost 40 mins but the majority were about 25-30 mins). Each map has objective based themes that both side fight for to gain a slight advantage which adds depth and variety to the game that is not really found in other MOBAs. I hope there will be more maps upon full release (right now there are 3) because that would really set it apart from the pack. Blizzard has gotten rid of 'item shops' where you use gold earned by your team to buy upgrades and such and instead uses a 'skill tree' based model paired with shared team experience. This works out perfect I feel. You can never have one character that can stay behind and gain experience until they are 4/5 levels ahead of everyone else and you have to work with your team to level up together and make your pushes on towers/gates more powerful as you go. Sure, there are times where a team will totally snowball and demolish the opposing side but I believe that will be addressed through matchmaking once the game is released and there are more players.
Learning Curve
Compared to DOTA2 and LoL, HOTS feels a lot more casual. The elimination of item shops and the group leveling system means everyone is on the same level playing field and offers a more balanced approach to matches in that each game is based on the skill of players and not because of certain items that are boosting abilities. We wont know what the highest level of play will entail (read: e-sports) until the game is released and tournaments start to pop up so there is no way to really tell right now what the skill ceiling is of the game but I can see that there is a lot of emphasis on individual skill, so over time we should be seeing a gap in player competitiveness. The game is really easy to get into and the practice mode helps a lot in getting new players up to speed and familiar with the mechanics of the game. Even though Blizzard is late to the party with this MOBA, I feel their tactics at making the game more lax and easy to understand will propel the game to be competitive with DOTA2 and LoL. HOTS has already established heroes that have back stories and abilities that the fans are familiar with which I believe is a huge plus and a secret boost to the games popularity. But, as I said overall, the game is easy to learn and play while at the same time feels that the skill required to reach the professional level can be very high.
Heroes
Not a huge variety as of yet in the Alpha test but that is to be expected. Blizzard has said there will be more heroes as the game progresses so I am not worries about that. Heroes are divided into 4 types, Assassin, Warrior, Support, Specialist and each has at least one hero from either Starcraft, Warcraft or Diablo. You can use gold or real money to buy more heroes to use but there are always 6 heroes available to you that are on rotation. The balancing seems pretty good overall, but there are a few heroes that do feel very overpowered (Tassadar and Stitches) but keeping in mind this is an Alpha test and knowing Blizzard, these will more than likely be patched for balance later down the road. I have only played with a few of the heroes so I am still learning a ton about the mechanics of each hero but everything seems very easy to pick up on. I understand the abilities right away and and able to figure out the best use of them in certain scenarios.
Shop
Money Money Money. This part is something I feel Blizzard has very wrong right now. The real money prices for skins, mounts and heroes seems ridiculously high. Of course you can grind gold for free to unlock everything but the gold income you get for playing games and completing daily quests is very low right now. I hope Blizzard is just testing their options and upon the release of the game, the real money prices become more reasonable. I would gladly drop a few bucks here and there for certain heroes or skins but with it being at the time of this writing ~$9 per hero, I will pass for now and grind my gold to get them.
Community
Not really much to say yet about this since there aren't a ton of people in the Alpha. Right now I haven't really encountered much BM but that could all change. One of the main reasons I never got into LoL of DOTA2 is the toxic community so I will keep my eyes on this aspect as the game gains more and more players. Any game will always have its fair share of BM players and MOBAs are particularly notorious for that but as of right now, I feel because of the small player base and the more laid back and streamlined feel of the game, the community is fairly tame and friendly.
Overall
I have fallen in love with HOTS. The inviting nature of the game really got me into it. So far, I have never felt that I am not good enough for the game and I have never been berated by any players. The game was easy to understand and gives me a ton of resources to practice which will only improve by release. There are enough heroes right now to satisfy me and the rotation means I can try out new heroes regularly. I cannot wait for more players to join and to have more maps and gameplay variety.
I will try and make a video this weekend to show you all so be on the lookout for that!
*****EDIT****** GAMEPLAY VIDEO BELOW
Thanks for reading and until next time:
Like it: https://www.facebook.com/TheOnlySurvivor
Watch it: http://www.youtube.com/user/theonlysurvivordan
Follow it: Follow @IMxGONNAxDIE
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Saturday, October 19, 2013
Week in Review - 10/19/2013
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Back on track this week after last weekends Comic Con in New York! Some big news came out during the week and it is inching closer and closer to the holiday season (we are just about a month away from the launch of the PS4 and Xbox One!) So without dragging this on lets get right to it:
Watch Dogs delayed until Spring 2014
In what came as a shock to most, Ubisoft announced that they will be delaying the release of Watch Dogs until Spring of 2014. Ubisoft stated they want to make sure they release the best possible game and at this time they still need to work more on the development. I actually applaud Ubisoft for this move, I mean sure, I hate that its delayed and I was really really looking forward to playing it in November but I can wait a little longer if it means a more polished and stable product.
Valve shows off Steam Controller
Valve released a 5 min video this week showing off their Steam Controller being used. They showed how the controller worked with games like Portal 2, Civilization V, Counterstrike GO and Papers Please. While the video was short, it did answer some questions and gave a brief look at the controller in action. While I felt like it worked well with Portal, I didn’t like the trackpad feel for Civilization V though everything is configurable so it might just be due to the configuration they choose to use for that game. Counterstrike didn’t look fluid at all compared to a keyboard and mouse combo but that could be due to having to get used to the controller over time. For FPS games you need to be fast and the precision showed off was there just not the speed but like I said, that could be due to the user not being 100% comfortable yet with the controller. The setup they used for Papers Please did look fluid for that game. All in all, I left the video feeling that the controller has great potential but its just not quite there yet. Maybe in time and with some small tweaks here and there it will become better.
GFWL removed from Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City
First Bioshock now Batman! The death of Games for Windows Live is getting closer and many are rejoicing. As I have said many times before, I HATE GFWL!!! I love both the Arkham games but the problem for me was once I beat the games I had no desire to go back and play all the side missions and a main reason for that was because of GFWL. Now with it removed you can be damn sure I will be diving back into both games and getting all the rest of the stuff that I missed done.
Blizzard presents: Heroes of the Storm
That’s right, another HotS! Formerly known as Blizzard All-Stars, Heroes of the Storm is Blizzards entry back into the MOBA scene. Do they have what it takes to take on the likes of League of Legends and DOTA 2? Only time will tell but I would keep my eye close on this considering who it is. I mean when Blizzard release the first Starcraft they re-defined the RTS genre and then later when World of Warcraft came out, they re-invented the MMO so it is very exciting to see them try a MOBA and possible re-shape the industry once again.
That’s all for this week guys. Like I said, sorry for the delays in getting this out, and for missing last week because of New York Comic Con but I am back on track now and I have plenty in the works especially with the holiday season almost here and the end of the year awards.
Thanks for reading and until next time:
Like it: https://www.facebook.com/TheOnlySurvivor
Watch it: http://www.youtube.com/user/theonlysurvivordan
Follow it:Follow @IMxGONNAxDIE
www.HyperSmash.com
Back on track this week after last weekends Comic Con in New York! Some big news came out during the week and it is inching closer and closer to the holiday season (we are just about a month away from the launch of the PS4 and Xbox One!) So without dragging this on lets get right to it:
Watch Dogs delayed until Spring 2014
In what came as a shock to most, Ubisoft announced that they will be delaying the release of Watch Dogs until Spring of 2014. Ubisoft stated they want to make sure they release the best possible game and at this time they still need to work more on the development. I actually applaud Ubisoft for this move, I mean sure, I hate that its delayed and I was really really looking forward to playing it in November but I can wait a little longer if it means a more polished and stable product.
Valve shows off Steam Controller
Valve released a 5 min video this week showing off their Steam Controller being used. They showed how the controller worked with games like Portal 2, Civilization V, Counterstrike GO and Papers Please. While the video was short, it did answer some questions and gave a brief look at the controller in action. While I felt like it worked well with Portal, I didn’t like the trackpad feel for Civilization V though everything is configurable so it might just be due to the configuration they choose to use for that game. Counterstrike didn’t look fluid at all compared to a keyboard and mouse combo but that could be due to having to get used to the controller over time. For FPS games you need to be fast and the precision showed off was there just not the speed but like I said, that could be due to the user not being 100% comfortable yet with the controller. The setup they used for Papers Please did look fluid for that game. All in all, I left the video feeling that the controller has great potential but its just not quite there yet. Maybe in time and with some small tweaks here and there it will become better.
GFWL removed from Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City
First Bioshock now Batman! The death of Games for Windows Live is getting closer and many are rejoicing. As I have said many times before, I HATE GFWL!!! I love both the Arkham games but the problem for me was once I beat the games I had no desire to go back and play all the side missions and a main reason for that was because of GFWL. Now with it removed you can be damn sure I will be diving back into both games and getting all the rest of the stuff that I missed done.
Blizzard presents: Heroes of the Storm
That’s right, another HotS! Formerly known as Blizzard All-Stars, Heroes of the Storm is Blizzards entry back into the MOBA scene. Do they have what it takes to take on the likes of League of Legends and DOTA 2? Only time will tell but I would keep my eye close on this considering who it is. I mean when Blizzard release the first Starcraft they re-defined the RTS genre and then later when World of Warcraft came out, they re-invented the MMO so it is very exciting to see them try a MOBA and possible re-shape the industry once again.
That’s all for this week guys. Like I said, sorry for the delays in getting this out, and for missing last week because of New York Comic Con but I am back on track now and I have plenty in the works especially with the holiday season almost here and the end of the year awards.
Thanks for reading and until next time:
Like it: https://www.facebook.com/TheOnlySurvivor
Watch it: http://www.youtube.com/user/theonlysurvivordan
Follow it:Follow @IMxGONNAxDIE
www.HyperSmash.com
Friday, September 20, 2013
Week in Review 9/20/2013
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This week has been fairly quiet since everyone has locked themselves in their places to burn through GTA V which came out on Tuesday. So far reviews have been very positive and it is looking to be a serious contender for Game of the Year. We will see where is really stands once the initial hype dies down (which may not be soon because of the delayed release of multiplayer coming out in a week and a half which everyone is looking forward to). Other than that here are this weeks big stories:
Former Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi dies at the age of 85
I posted about this yesterday. Mr Yamauchi was an visionary and with him at the head of Nintendo, helped to revolutionize the gaming industry with his interest in taking a small time card company in Japan and steering it towards electronic gaming in the 1980's. He was a bright icon in the industry and the cultural impact he had on the world will never be forgotten.
Grand Theft Auto V makes $800 million in one day
The single biggest opening for a video game of all time. GTA V's first day sales SHATTERED the record that was held by Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 last year which was $500 million. You can read my review roundup for GTA V here. I can see the game reaching the $1 billion mark by next week and all praise goes to Rockstar who has shown that they have the ability to keep the franchise fresh and interesting. I had my doubts about this installment but it seems Rockstar delivered and has re-invigorated their series and raised the bar on open-world games.
Blizzard to shut down Diablo III auction house on 3/18/2013
A step in the right direction for the game that may have been a success when you look at the numbers sold but ultimately was a failure when it came to the gameplay and design of the game. The big dissapointment of Diablo III to me was the auction house which basically made you pay to get to the end game / high level play. It was next to impossible to advance through Hell difficulty without using the auction house and while Blizzards intentions were to make a little extra money off of the playerbase, it ultimately broke the game to where there was a huge drop off after players completed the game once (like me). With the new expansion and the removal of the auction house, Blizzard is looking to bring back the charm and lasting value that was seen in Diablo II. Will it work? Is it too late? Who knows, but it is 100% the right move by the company.
DOTA 2 adds LAN support
Bold move by Valve but the right one. Huge news for DOTA as an e-sport because now it is the only MOBA game to feature LAN support which means a better and infinitely more reliable tournament setup. Valve is proving once again they are the big dog in town and they will continue to further their brand and games to give gamers the best possible experience.
PS4 supports HDMI video capture
Excellent news to hear from Sony. Now capturing video from the PS4 will be 100% high quality without having to jump through hoops to do so like users had to do with the PS3 and still could not get any higher than 720P. More high quality streams will pop up and hopefully the PS4's streaming capabilities will help the community grow. I look forward to seeing tons of content from the playerbase.
That's all for this week. In other news from me, if you have not heard, my best friend Phil has joined me and has started to contribute his own articles. He wrote up a few updates on the League Of Legends World Championship, his trip to Baltimore Comic Con and his experiences with LoL. Later on he will be attending the LoL World Championship finals in LA so be on the look out for something from him on that. I had some free time yesterday and tried to work out some more kinks in my stream to no luck. I promise I will work hard to try and bring it to you guys in the next few weeks. I played a little more through Tomb Raider, I started Sleeping Dogs, and I am looking forward to Watch Dogs later in November. I have been following people streaming GTA V and it is diving me crazy that I cannot play it. Hopefully the PC version will be announced sooner rather than later. Other than that, I am probably going to have a quiet weekend and then get back to it on Monday. We will see what the days ahead bring!
Thanks for reading and until next time:
Like it: https://www.facebook.com/TheOnlySurvivor
Watch it: http://www.youtube.com/user/theonlysurvivordan
Follow it: Follow @IMxGONNAxDIE
www.hypersmash.com
This week has been fairly quiet since everyone has locked themselves in their places to burn through GTA V which came out on Tuesday. So far reviews have been very positive and it is looking to be a serious contender for Game of the Year. We will see where is really stands once the initial hype dies down (which may not be soon because of the delayed release of multiplayer coming out in a week and a half which everyone is looking forward to). Other than that here are this weeks big stories:
Former Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi dies at the age of 85
I posted about this yesterday. Mr Yamauchi was an visionary and with him at the head of Nintendo, helped to revolutionize the gaming industry with his interest in taking a small time card company in Japan and steering it towards electronic gaming in the 1980's. He was a bright icon in the industry and the cultural impact he had on the world will never be forgotten.
Grand Theft Auto V makes $800 million in one day
The single biggest opening for a video game of all time. GTA V's first day sales SHATTERED the record that was held by Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 last year which was $500 million. You can read my review roundup for GTA V here. I can see the game reaching the $1 billion mark by next week and all praise goes to Rockstar who has shown that they have the ability to keep the franchise fresh and interesting. I had my doubts about this installment but it seems Rockstar delivered and has re-invigorated their series and raised the bar on open-world games.
Blizzard to shut down Diablo III auction house on 3/18/2013
A step in the right direction for the game that may have been a success when you look at the numbers sold but ultimately was a failure when it came to the gameplay and design of the game. The big dissapointment of Diablo III to me was the auction house which basically made you pay to get to the end game / high level play. It was next to impossible to advance through Hell difficulty without using the auction house and while Blizzards intentions were to make a little extra money off of the playerbase, it ultimately broke the game to where there was a huge drop off after players completed the game once (like me). With the new expansion and the removal of the auction house, Blizzard is looking to bring back the charm and lasting value that was seen in Diablo II. Will it work? Is it too late? Who knows, but it is 100% the right move by the company.
DOTA 2 adds LAN support
Bold move by Valve but the right one. Huge news for DOTA as an e-sport because now it is the only MOBA game to feature LAN support which means a better and infinitely more reliable tournament setup. Valve is proving once again they are the big dog in town and they will continue to further their brand and games to give gamers the best possible experience.
PS4 supports HDMI video capture
Excellent news to hear from Sony. Now capturing video from the PS4 will be 100% high quality without having to jump through hoops to do so like users had to do with the PS3 and still could not get any higher than 720P. More high quality streams will pop up and hopefully the PS4's streaming capabilities will help the community grow. I look forward to seeing tons of content from the playerbase.
That's all for this week. In other news from me, if you have not heard, my best friend Phil has joined me and has started to contribute his own articles. He wrote up a few updates on the League Of Legends World Championship, his trip to Baltimore Comic Con and his experiences with LoL. Later on he will be attending the LoL World Championship finals in LA so be on the look out for something from him on that. I had some free time yesterday and tried to work out some more kinks in my stream to no luck. I promise I will work hard to try and bring it to you guys in the next few weeks. I played a little more through Tomb Raider, I started Sleeping Dogs, and I am looking forward to Watch Dogs later in November. I have been following people streaming GTA V and it is diving me crazy that I cannot play it. Hopefully the PC version will be announced sooner rather than later. Other than that, I am probably going to have a quiet weekend and then get back to it on Monday. We will see what the days ahead bring!
Thanks for reading and until next time:
Like it: https://www.facebook.com/TheOnlySurvivor
Watch it: http://www.youtube.com/user/theonlysurvivordan
Follow it: Follow @IMxGONNAxDIE
www.hypersmash.com
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