Which MOBA is Right for You?

Sorry about the lack of activity recently. But a lot of it has to do with this post!

It's no secret that the MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena if you were curious) is one of the hottest genres of gaming out there right now. This has obviously led to a huge amount of MOBAs being produced in recent years. There are so many that it's hard to know where to begin!

While it is very important to play games that your friends also play we won't be taking that into account with this next series of posts. Over the course of the next week I'll be taking a look at four of the most popular MOBAs out there. Strengths, weaknesses, communities, styles of gameplay, etc. I'll be touching on everything I can about them. Hopefully, by the end of this series you readers will be able to use this little guide to find a MOBA you truly enjoy. Maybe it's the game you already play. Maybe it'll be a new MOBA I've touched on that you'll try and fall in love with. Or maybe it won't be any of them at all. Regardless I hope this series helps you all to find the MOBAs that are, or aren't, for you!

No Need to Import Save States! Praising the Keep.

It's no secret to anyone following the gaming press that Dragon Age: Inquisition is one of the most anticipated games of the year. After the lackluster performance of Dragon Age II (which I really did like) people seem poised to either see Bioware bring those fans back to the fold or to see them fail on a truly massive scale. Inquisition has a lot riding on it and a lot has been promised. But the question is: will Bioware live up to those promises? I think they have the potential to and that they're heading in a good direction with the title right now. I'm a very huge fan of one of the features they had announced early on in development.

Dragon Age Keep is going to be a new feature that integrates with every copy of Inquisition on every platform. It will ensure the player can construct save states that they are comfortable with to ensure that their Inquisition experience shows events that pertain to exactly what they chose in all of the other Dragon Age games. The Keep will make it so that no matter what platform every player has played on that they will be able to have the Dragon Age experience that they want. This seems like a great feature but some people are a little up in arms about it after a post from the official DA Facebook page yesterday.

Here's a screenshot of that post. If this is taken as fact then there will be no simple importing of saves into Inquisition. All of the world building will need to be done through the Keep. Some people are up in arms about this, claiming that they'd rather just import their saves and that this could lead to things like no support for bringing your saves into Inquisition far later down the line once the Keep goes down. But here's the thing. People have been constructing and sharing saves for these titles for years. There are entire sites dedicated to preserving and sharing save files to give players different experiences. There are those that constantly make claims that one of the reasons Dragon Age: Origins is so great is because of the fact that it's great for modding. If this is the case then isn't it safe to assume that modders will find some way to preserve and share save states? Even when the Keep goes down very far into the future I have no doubt that people will be able to craft their ideal Dragon Age experience even ten years from now.

What do you guys think? Is the Keep an excellent idea? Do you feel cheated by not being able to import your saves or are you content with the options Bioware has given you? Are you excited for Inquisition or do you feel like Bioware will drop the ball? Hit me up in the comments and I'll catch you all next week.

The Three States of the Video Game Protagonist

Welcome back everyone! Sorry about the lack of a post last week. I had this particular one all finished and then the file got corrupted. It's a damn shame but no worries, I've brought the post back for you!

So I've started playing the absolutely lovely Dragon Age: Origins again. I lost all of my previous save files and now need to ensure that I can adequately construct the world I want in Dragon Age: Inquisition. But as I've been playing through this and looking back on The Witcher, Dark Souls, Tales of Xillia, etc. I've started to think more and more about the general outline of the video game protagonist. And I've put this little article together about what I believe the three most commonly presented forms of the protagonist are. It's not just how the character is presented but also how the player is expected to interact with the world and deal with the obstacles in their way that influenced these categories. So, let's jump right in.

The Player as the Protagonist

Found in: Dragon Age: Origins, Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Dark Souls, Knights of the Old Republic

This seems to be one of the most common trends from the last console generation. The player is given a protagonist to mold and construct as they see fit. They create their character's appearance, fighting style, voice package, etc. and are sent off on a grand adventure. Over the course of the adventure there are events that are out of the player's control yet they are given plenty of reign to act as they see fit. Maybe the player can kill NPCs and lock out certain parts of the game as a result. Maybe certain options are only available if the player has met certain requirements with how they built their character. Usually this protagonist is not actually referred to by name or referred to by a nickname. And the character is generally silent. This way generally allows the player to have greater influence on the story. But in many of these games the story has a high chance of suffering as a result. Making all of those branching pathways is time consuming and in order to allow that freedom there are times where the story can't be very tightly written. If someone is looking for freedom with little to no restrictions this will likely be their favorite option for a protagonist.

The Player Influences the Protagonist

Found in: The Witcher, Dragon Age 2,Mass Effect, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, The Walking Dead

A trend that has been emerging in games is the offering of limited choice to the player. The player is given a set protagonist with their own goals, dreams and motivations and the player gets to decide exactly how they will achieve those goals. Much of the story will likely be set in stone with a few areas here or there where the player can influence the outcome. The player will have some input regarding the players actions and interactions with the world but if the protagonist wouldn't do something, say slaughter a bunch of helpless villagers for example, then the player will be unable to carry out that action. Certain areas and options in the game may also be locked based on the player's actions, just like in the previous choice. This option tends to allow for a tighter story but less freedom. Players that are looking for a good balance of the two will likely favor this option.

The Protagonist Leads the Player

Found in: Tales of Vesperia, The Final Fantasy Series, Tomb Raider, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Metal Gear Solid

Called the "Linear Option" by some in this type of game there is no way for the player to influence the story or the attitude of their character. The protagonist is a fixed person with their own motivations and goals and the player has no input on what those are. The challenges that stand in the player's way will be solely gameplay related: combat, puzzle solving, etc. The story in this type of setup is fixed and its outcomes cannot be changed. There is little to no freedom in this kind of game but it tends to offer players the tightest and most well-written story telling experience. Players that don't care about having an impact on the story and simply want to sit down to a solid narrative and good gameplay will likely favor this option.

When it comes down to it I really don't have a preference. Each option has its pros and cons and can influence the gameplay and narrative in plenty of unique and interesting ways. But what do you guys think? Is there a certain style of protagonist that you find that you favor? How important is choice to you in a video game? Let me know in the comments and I'll see you next time.

Technical Difficulties

There is no post this week due to technical difficulties that caused me to lose the entire post. Such a shame! I'll be back next week and hopefully my luck will be better.

Hearthstone: Finally, a TCG to Call Home

I've been playing Hearthstone for a few months now and I've really been enjoying it. It seems like I finally have the collectible card game I have always wanted. I play a few collectible games in my spare time, most notably Magic: The Gathering and Heroclix. Hearthstone has given me the hope that high-level play would actually be able to be something I could do. I haven't had this feeling with Magic or any other collectible card game in the past. I'm here today to tell you all why I have this feeling and why Hearthstone has given me the enthusiasm that Magic, Yu-gi-oh! and other TCGs simply cannot.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy my time with Magic. I enjoy it so much that I looked into doing competitive play for it. Unfortunately my dreams of any competitive play were dashed. It wasn't a matter of player skill at that point. I didn't even have an opportunity to try to suck at competitive Magic play. Simply put, I couldn't pay the entry fee to try and be good.

See Magic has something that Hearthstone does not. That something is the opportunity to buy single cards. Rather than sifting through countless packs hoping that the thing you want is in there to make your deck that much better you can simply buy whatever card you need to beef up your deck. Now, this wouldn't be a problem is card prices didn't range from well that's a little steep all the way to that is absolutely outrageous. This paywall causes a huge problem for a lot of people. Many times it doesn't matter if someone is better than their opponent because that opponent paid more money to have stronger things than the player with higher skill. In the end it becomes pay to win in its purest form. Can't pay the hundreds of dollars to get in with the big dogs? Well no competitive play for you. Enjoy getting trounced again and again because you don't have as much money to devote to this hobby as the other guy.

Hearthstone doesn't really have this problem. You can't buy single cards. You can craft cards by giving up cards you don't need in hopes of something better. You can also pay money for packs like anyone else. But all buying packs does is give you more opportunities to get good cards than somebody else. It doesn't guarantee that a player that hasn't sunk as much money into the game as you will lose. You also have the option to not pay money at all. The game gives you so many opportunities to get cards for free. You can get packs just for winning games. You can get packs for playing a certain type of deck. Decks even get cards awarded to them just by the player choosing to use them. Hearthstone gives players a wonderful feeling as they play. It gives players the sense that the game is simply rewarding them for playing it. You get access to more content by simply playing the game. And that is something I feel every game should strive for.

So what do you guys think? Does the fact that Hearthstone won't let you buy single cards contribute to the game or hinder it? What are some of your experiences with collectible card games? Hit me up in the comments and I'll catch you next time.

No Post This Week

Hey guys there won't be a post this week because I'll be out of town. Have a happy 4th everyone!

Gameplay Takes a Backseat. Also Known as "How I Uninstalled Transistor"

I wanted to love you. I really did.

Since the game was released I have been struggling to play Transistor. I even got a controller all set up on my computer (finally) just for the occasion after realizing that this was not a game designed to be played with a keyboard, just like Supergiant's previous game the wonderful Bastion. As I played through Transistor there were quite a few things I loved about the game. The story, while initially pretty confusing, seemed like it was set up to take some truly interesting twists and turns. The soundtrack was absolutely incredible. I found myself constantly listening to Ashley Barret and Darren Korb's haunting song "In Circles."

Despite all of this I ultimately couldn't finish and uninstalled Transistor. I wasn't having any sort of fun. But why? The story was great, the music was fantastic, and the visuals were gorgeous. The reason is simple. It was the one element that fundamentally makes the game a game. The gameplay was incredibly bland.

In Transistor combat  plays out between an action phase and a planning phase. You can pause combat to issue whatever combat commands you have set in your slots to the main character, Red. Red will execute these moves in the order that you issue them. if you move Red during the planning phase it also uses up some of your meter at the top. When the meter is exhausted you can't perform anymore actions. Your meter will take time to recharge during which you are stuck in action phase and at the complete mercy of your enemies and you must avoid them by hiding behind the walls placed throughout the battlefield.

It seemed like an interesting concept when I first started the game but one of the biggest issues is the combo imbalance. Once the player finds a strong combo that works for them (say Help with Void and Spark slotted to it to get two incredibly strong allied dogs) there is little reason to really do anything else. The only real reward for using abilities differently is to unlock biographies about some characters, the majority of which you never actually meet through the course of the entire game. Enemies don't necessitate a different strategy, even on the hardest difficulty and there are very few encounters that you can't just mow through with Red's sheer brute force. Overall the game ends up devolving into some mildly interesting story followed by a few minutes of hectic running around and the same combo over and over again until you defeat the enemies and press forward to do the exact same thing all over again. This leads to the problem of New Game Plus being you running through the game again, using the same combo to do the same things.

There are other games out there that will receive criticism for bland gameplay such as Telltale adventure games and any given hack n' slash game. But these games have anything ranging from flashy visuals, to senses of urgency in events to even the simple fact that the gameplay actually fits the story that they are trying to tell. Transistor had none of this. The combat seemed tacked on because it necessitated gameplay due to being a video game. I feel a graphic novel, point and click adventure game or even a short film would've suited Transistor far better than the format it was presented in. Instead of being engaged the gameplay left me bored and a game should never leave their player bored.

Did you guys like Transistor or did you feel that its gameplay was lacking like I was. Would you have liked to see them do something different with it? I know that other than the battles I would've loved for there to be more characters to interact with rather than just my sword. Let me know in the comments and I'll see you all next week.