Perchance to Game
A passion for games without the rage.
Monday, July 13, 2015
The first champion to get a second major visual update and why it was a good idea
While I wasn't there at the very beginning, I started playing League of Legends in summer 2010, less than a year after the game was officially released, so I always get excited whenever one of the champions I remember from back then get an update - be it in terms of graphics or gameplay. This time, it's League's original pirate, Gangplank, who debuted a new model and moveset on the PBE as of last week, with the changes to be released alongside the "Burning Tides" pirate event. On the other hand, aside from a few tweaks - mostly regarding his E ability, "Raise Morale" - for all intents and purposes his abilities have largely remained the same since the game was released in October 2009. Unlike other champions from the game's early days, his kit remains functional and conventional wisdom says not to try and fix what isn't broken. The same could be said for his model, which still holds up next to even the newest champions. But what about when it's not broken, just boring? Riot has clearly demonstrated their philosophy in both art and game design in that regard - that the "fun" in functionality has to be front and center and here I think they succeeded.
Labels:
Champion Update,
event,
League of Legends,
lore,
MOBA,
PC,
Riot
Friday, July 3, 2015
Heroes of the Storm "expansion" - so what does that mean, really?
One of the most anticipated battlegrounds so far, The Battlefields of Eternity, hit the live servers after a week long stint on the Public Test Realm (PTR). On June 30, the map's release kicked off what's being touted as Heroes of the Storm's first expansion, The Eternal Conflict, with new heroes, and new skins centered around the Diablo Franchise.
This sounds absolutely epic. However, if there's something about it that doesn't quite make sense, don't worry. You're not alone. What's likely bothering you is that question in the back of your mind: How do you make an expansion for a free to play game, anyway?
Saturday, June 13, 2015
New heroes for Hearthstone - or class skins - are they worth it?
Sunday, June 7, 2015
The Heroes of the Storm join the Eternal Conflict in Diablo event
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Heroes of the Storm Open Beta - transitioning from other MOBAs
So it's been about 10 days since Blizzard opened the Nexus to all with the start of the Heroes of the Storm Open Beta on May 19. Though the game's official launch is this Tuesday, June 2, for all intents and purposes, it can be considered released. Anyone who was excited for it yet never received an alpha or beta invite is unlikely to have held off another two weeks for the "beta" label to be removed. After all the quality assessment that's been done over last year, there's unlikely to be much difference between the version we're playing now and the one after June 2.
The massive influx of new players can be felt within the course of a single match. It feels like the Technical Alpha all over again, with every team having a few members fresh from League, Smite and the like, still learning the ropes of concepts that differentiate Heroes from the rest. It's true that until recently new players were being added weekly but those were in gradual measured quantities as opposed to the exponential growth the player base has undergone in the last couple weeks. While I welcome our new arrivals to the Nexus, I figured now would be a good time to talk about a few of the ways you're not in DOTA anymore....
Monday, May 11, 2015
Chen Stormstout - assassin tank?
So that title probably sounds inane but I cannot think of a better way to describe my experience playing the Legendary Brewmaster's incarnation in Heroes of the Storm. The most famous panda in Warcraft can just as easily take hits for the team and disrupt enemy positioning as he can burst down priority back line targets and chase down fleeing survivors. The result is the line between assassin and tank blurring to a point it should not be able to without the aid of beer goggles.
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Kalypso Media rep hints at upcoming Dungeons 2 expansion or DLC
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