This past weekend I was lucky enough to receive a Heroes of the Storm (HotS) beta invite from Blizzard. Since I installed the game, every last minute of my gaming time this week has been spent on Heroes of the Storm. While it’s still in beta and probably will be for a fair amount of time, Heroes of the Storm is going to be the MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) that changes your opinion on the entire genre.

In case you didn’t know, Heroes of the Storm is Blizzard’s take on a MOBA. It uses characters from all Blizzard universes, meaning you can make Arthas the Lich King fight Diablo, something that Blizzard fans have been dreaming of. If you’re a fan of the Blizzard universe, the characters and lore will definitely peak your interest, and even if you’re not, the characters are still interesting enough to offer a diverse range of choices.

Personally, I’ve always been a fan of MOBAs. I’ve put close to 150 hours into DOTA 2 and loved every minute of it. While this is nowhere near as much as a lot of “hardcore” players, 150 hours is still a significant amount of time. On top of this, there’s never been a Blizzard game that I didn’t enjoy, so HotS seemed to be the perfect mix.

One of the biggest things that gives current MOBAs a bad name is the match length. Blizzard set out to fix this by making gameplay much faster and more team oriented. I’ve played almost 50 games of HotS and the longest games I’ve had have been roughly 30 minutes, with the average being closer to 20 minutes. If you’ve played other MOBAs you know that these numbers are extremely quick, seeing as I usually plan around 45 minutes for a game of DOTA 2. Heroes of the Storm is extremely fast paced and full of action because it gets rid of some of the more boring phases other MOBAs still have.

The next big change that sets Heroes of the Storm apart is the focus on team play rather than individual strength. Levels are gained as a team, making every role feel equally important. On top of this, each of the six maps has a unique, game-changing objective that is nearly impossible to solo. These objectives are fun but more importantly they’re significant enough to make it beneficial to focus on the objective at every opportunity possible.

After the first few minutes of the game, the game changes from running down lanes and towers like most MOBAs to focusing on fast-paced team battles. This makes the game exciting because a good team fight in the late game push can be the deciding factor. Every hero fits a roll in a team fight, and a bad healer can easily be the deciding factor.

Of course, the game is still in beta. There are issues with matchmaking and there’s still some kinks that need to be worked out. Heroes aren’t perfect, but any mistake I’ve made in game has been my fault and can’t really be blamed on bugs or an unfair advantage that I wasn’t offered. HotS punishes your mistakes, but in the fairest way possible.

Blizzard has really done its research though, and is creating a MOBA that’ll be a good addition to the genre. With Blizzard being such an established developer there’s a very bright future for HotS. They can afford to dedicate the resources necessary to make the game great and host tournaments and other live events. On release, don’t be shocked if Heroes of the Storm gains a large competitive following.

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Dying Light is a refreshing open-world twist to standard zombie games. While it may seem extremely difficult at first, the more you progress in the game the more fun it becomes. Without the parkour system, Dying Light wouldn’t be half the game it is, even though the controls are confusing during the first hours of the game. Once mastered, however, climbing around the quarantined city of Harran becomes second nature.

Gameplay

Dying Light is a unique zombie slasher with the addition of a well-crafted parkour system. At first, the controls make absolutely no sense (like using the right bumper to jump) but once past the learning curve, the game offers plenty of opportunities to test your parkour skills. The nice thing about the parkour in Dying Light is that it never really hinders players. While running through the city, I never had to stop and plan my next jump. Everything is fast paced and very dynamic.

One of the biggest gameplay elements is the incorporation of the switch from daytime to night. Getting caught outside a safe zone at night offers a huge challenge to players, and it is easily one of the scariest elements of the game. Special enemies come out at night that can do some serious damage. One of the most exhilarating moments of my play through was the first time I was caught running for my life in the dark. It may be advantageous to explore and survive during the night later in the game, but when you first start staying out at night is no easy task.

Another big part of Dying Light is supply drops, which can be very useful if you manage to collect them. The issue is, however, that enemy thugs seem to have supply drop homing beacons because they’re normally surrounding the supply drop before you even show up.

Combat

The combat in Dying Light is where the game shines the most but also could use some serious reworking. Running out in the open with a melee weapon, smashing zombie skulls is really satisfying. It’s almost as if you can feel each and every hit, which you’ll definitely notice seeing as zombies seem to take an ungodly amount of hits before they finally die. One of my biggest complaints with the game is how hard it is to kill zombies without high end weapons or guns. In the early game it’s simply easier to run away from zombies than it is to fight them, which gets old fast. Of course, through leveling up and getting better gear it gets easier to take out regular zombies, but the introduction of special zombies adds an exciting twist to the combat system.

I was happily surprised with the numerous different types of zombies. I wasn’t expecting more than regular zombies, so it was definitely a pleasant twist. Once you’ve mastered the art of slaughtering zombies, however, humans seem to make things even harder. If you don’t have a gun and the enemy humans do there’s almost no point in trying to fight them. The gun damage is extreme, and while it may be more realistic it doesn’t quite make for the best game experience. Enemies with machine guns can usually take you down before you find cover. On numerous occasions I found myself getting frustrated with how easy it was to get killed.

Story

The story in Dying Light is pretty straightforward and doesn’t have much shock value, but nonetheless it was pretty fun. The characters were interesting but also very surface level – it would have been nice to have deeper characters with interesting background stories. The main enemy, Rais, may be cliche but he’s definitely a good bad-guy to have. His motives aren’t anything new and it’s pretty easy to predict his actions but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad character.

There are multiple points in the story that the game takes over control of the player and the camera and forces you to do things that you might not have wanted to. The element of choice in Dying Light would have added another interesting element to the story, but it isn’t terrible without it. The final fight is just a series of quick time events which made the “epic” finale not all that epic. It would have been more fun if the game had let players fight for themselves and make their own decisions.

Overall

Dying Light is a solid game with a great foundation. The integration of parkour works well and I never really found myself complaining about running around the streets. The combat is hard, especially for beginners, but ultimately it’s pretty satisfying getting a slow-motion kill by chopping a zombies head or limb off. There’s definitely room for improvement but this is definitely a game that you should pick up if you’ve been thinking about it.

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Yesterday, Ubisoft announced that Assassin’s Creed Unity – Dead Kings is available for free for players on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

The free DLC “Dead Kings” takes place after the events of Assassin’s Creed Unity. Arno’s journey takes him to the town of Saint Denis, where he is sent on a journey that sends him searching for forgotten secrets in the catacombs underneath the Basilica. To complete his mission, Arno is equipped with both a lantern and the Guillotine Gun, a gun that works well in both long-range and close-range combat.

In Assassin’s Creed Unity – Dead Kings, many familiar characters are brought back into the mix including Napoleon and the Marquis de Sade, as well as a new enemy group known as the “Raiders” who are a group of fearless enemies scattered within the catacombs. Players will also be able to do new side quests including new Murder Mysteries, enigmas and co-operative missions like a new heist and a special Brotherhood mission. Of course there are also new weapons, gear and outfits that can be unlocked by playing the single player and co-operative missions in Dead Kings.

Here is the trailer for free DLC Assassin’s Creed Unity – Dead Kings, now live on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

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Gaming has come a long way since the early creation of games like pong, but to be taken seriously as a medium of entertainment and art the industry needs to continue to evolve. Gaming is a creative outlet unlike anything ever before, but for people to realize this, developers need to take steps to help push the entire industry into the future. So, seeing as it’s the start to a brand new year, here are some ways that gaming can (and should) evolve in 2015.

Unique Multiplayer Modes

Ok, so this one is already being done but it’s definitely not near the scale it should be. Games, whether developers like it or not, are becoming more and more dependent on connectivity. That means players expect there to be multiplayer modes to keep them engaged with the game beyond the story mode. Some players don’t even play story modes anymore. With this rising dependency on multiplayer, developers need to strive to create more engaging and new multiplayer modes.

Everyone has played the standard Call of Duty/Battlefield style team deathmatch, domination (point capture) and capture the flag. Running around blindly with a machine gun trying to get as many kills as possible is a mechanic that’s starting to be over done. Developers should strive to create interesting multiplayer modes. For example, Splinter Cell has a multiplayer mode called “Spies vs Mercs” that is basically a cat vs mouse multiplayer match. Players play as either a spy or a mercenary, spies using stealth and mercenaries using heavy weaponry, and there are a multitude of different modes. Of course there’s a deathmatch mode (that happens to be more fun because of the mechanics), but there’s also modes where the spies and mercenaries work together to complete objectives against an enemy team. Another game that has an interesting and refreshing multiplayer mode is The Last of Us. If more games would have modes with new, diverse mechanics, online gaming would become more interesting than the standard deathmatch.

New Mechanics

As you can probably tell from above, gaming mechanics are important, but unfortunately they’re becoming stale. Games need to try and provide new mechanics that feel truly like the next generation of gaming. To give credit where credit is due, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare has realized this as well, and that’s why it was arguably a bigger success than the previous Call of Duty games. New mechanics are something that some developers are beginning to consider, but there’s still too many games sticking with standard mechanics. New stealth systems, new first person mechanics and other innovative ideas will help make games more fluid, and hopefully feel fresh again.

The Power of Choice

The most powerful aspect of video games is the interaction between the game and the player, but that’s hardly being utilized in the current state of gaming. The power of choice is what makes games different from other entertainment mediums. Without choice, games are essentially really long, interactive movies. While that’s interesting, developers could take games to a whole new level by incorporating choice. Instead of telling me a story like a book or movie, let me define my own story and make my own choices, while also dealing with the consequences for the choices I make. So far no NextGen game has really felt different from the last generation, and choice is what will make gaming feel truly NextGen.

One design that most games have is the inability to kill important NPCs. Obviously, this could mess up the game entirely, but that will help players learn that in video games there really are consequences for their actions. In the end of The Last of Us (*spoilers*) if Naughty Dog would have let players choose what to do with Ellie the game would have been much more impactful. Sure it was a good ending, but I really would have liked the moral dilemma of all of humanity vs the life of a girl. Or in a game like Skyrim, if I choose to kill an important quest NPC then the game should punish me by letting him die and not letting me finish the quest. Choice is what will really define the future of gaming.

These are just a few ideas on how to evolve the gaming industry. Of course there are developers trying to incorporate each of these into games, more developers need to follow. To be taken more seriously, developers need to push the current boundaries of gaming and try to change the industry for the better.

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The gameplay is the key brilliance in Rollers of the Realm. The player takes control of a characterized pinball, using either left or right flippers to bounce the ball in the desired direction. Each pinball is unique in a few different ways. Each one has it’s own voice over and character drawing and each ball has its own special powers and play style. It’s a unique game that’ll have you emotionally invested in a not-so-simple pinball. The pinballs all play differently enough so that by the end of the game you know which pinball to use for every situation. Even more, you have the ability to buy and upgrade gear for each pinball, making them more powerful against the onslaught of enemies. Oh and trust me, you’ll need all the help you can get. Rollers of the Realm is not an easy game. It offers the perfect challenge to keep players invested while still being fun.

Not only is the main gameplay a genius concept, the map design definitely adds to the gameplay. The maps are all different and extremely fun. The environmental design added to the epic RPG feel. The biggest issue with playing as a pinball is that sometimes it takes a few tries to get to a specific location on the map, such as to unlock a door or activate a power-up. This is just a minor annoyance that ends up becoming second nature, though.

The story in Rollers of the Realm is the weakest aspect of the game. Don’t get me wrong – the story is fun and it offers plenty of hours of play, but it’s nothing that hasn’t been done before. Even though it is predictable, you’ll still be invested in the characters and you’ll have the urge to keep pushing through. On top of the story, the voice work was surprisingly good. Each character has a unique voice and so do most of the major villains. The voice acting isn’t just a voiceover either, each characters actor/actress adds a nice sense of emotion and depth. The voice acting is something that really helped make the characters more familiar and the game would not be what it is without it.
Rollers of the Realm excels in its artistic vision. There are many times where I would just take a step back and admire the work that the artists had done. Not only are the maps beautiful, but each pinball is designed in a way that really captures the essence of the character. Each ball is different enough to know which one is being used and they all feel as if you were actually playing as that character. Neither of these account for some of the most beautiful moments in Rollers of the Realm, though. There are certain paintings throughout the game that will simply blow you away. Specifically, there’s two different scenes before one of the final battles that showcases all the characters and the deluge of enemies they’re about to fight. The paintings used to set the scene are simply amazing. It really took me by surprise and I was sad that there wasn’t more of these scenes.

Rollers of the Realm seems like a crazy concept that sounds like nobody should ever attempt. You won’t be saying that after you play it though. Chances are you’ll wonder why nothing like this was thought of earlier. In its own way it could be described is genius. The script will have you laughing and the gameplay will have you engaged. It blew me away how invested I had become in a pinball. While the story might not be the most epic thing that you’ve ever played, Rollers of the Realm is definitely worth a shot.

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This War of Mine’s gameplay is one of my biggest complaints about the game, but doesn’t necessarily detract from the game. The point and click style feels as if it was designed with iOS and Android in mind, making it a little tedious to play on the PC. While I’m sure the style works nicely on a mobile device, a little more complexity could easily bring this game to console.

Gameplay in This War of Mine houses some of the games strongest points but also brings out some of the games weakest points. The biggest gameplay factor is the element of choice. Players get to make decisions that don’t necessarily affect future events too much, but can definitely make an impact on the player. One of the darkest moments in this game for me was walking into a house with a shovel and killing an old couple while they were begging me to stop. I wasn’t just killing for fun either, it was a situation of “kill or be killed.” I needed supplies and I would have done anything to protect my surviving group. That is what This War of Mine does best – makes you realize that you’d do anything to survive, and shocks you with how far you’re willing to go.

One of the weaker points, however, is the rest of the gameplay. When you first begin, you’re given very little instruction on what to do. It took me what felt like too long to figure out what I was supposed to be doing. On top of this, the only real objective in the game is “survive.” While this works for other games, This War of Mine doesn’t have enough content and diversity to make the simple “survive” end goal work. I couldn’t play the game for more than an hour without feeling the need to do something else, there was nothing rewarding enough drawing in.

The overall story in This War of Mine is another weak point. It’s very simple and hardly explained. While it may be an interesting concept, there needs to be more depth to make it really feel impactful. That’s not to say that the game doesn’t have it’s moments though. Some of the dialogue between characters really sat with me on a pretty deep level. A certain exchange between a female character looking for food and a soldier offering a specific trade for the food she was looking for gave me shivers to sit and watch. I would have felt bad about myself if I didn’t step in and say something. The dialogue conversations are beautifully crafted, but don’t really lead to a bigger picture.

The art style in This War of Mine does nothing but add to the gloomy mood the game portrays so well. It’s a very dark style, which makes the game feel just as serious as it’s trying to be. When you look behind a closed door, areas that aren’t in your line of sight appear as dark colored stencils, making the art seem rough. This style might not work in every game, but it is definitely put to good use in This War of Mine. The eerie tint makes exploring abandoned buildings put you on edge even more.

Overall, This War of Mine is an exciting game that will offer a few hours of strong gameplay before it begins to feel repetitive. The lack of a deeper story and mobile-style design make the game feel like it could have been so much more than it was. The decisions that you make and the situations that you are put in provide a pretty eye-opening experience, but the effect wears off. This War of Mine might not be one of the best games of the century, but is definitely one of the strongest games to ever be released on a mobile platform.

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ESPN and eSports pioneer MLG.tv are teaming up to bring eSports to the upcoming X Games being held in Aspen, Colorado on January 23-25, 2015. MLG.tv will be streaming the Counter Strike: Global Offensive Invitational and highlight clips will be played during the TV broadcast of X Games Aspen on ESPN and ABC.

MLG will bring the top Counter Strike: Global Offensive teams together for the Aspen X Games where they will compete for X Games medals. Sundance DiGiovanni, co-founder and CEO of MLG thinks this could be a big step in the right direction for the future of eSports.

“2014 was a breakout year for eSports with the first ever MLG tournament at X Games Austin, millions watching competition on MLG.tv, and more than 71 million people competing in or watching eSports,” DiGiovanni said “The MLG X Games Aspen Invitational will further elevate eSports placing our top competitors amongst the best winter athletes in the world and continues to solidify MLG.tv as the leading destination for premium eSports programming.”

The MLG X Games Aspen Invitational will have the top eight Counter Strike: Global Offensive teams from North America and Europe competing in the games to win a gold medal. Prior to the event, MLG will host online qualifiers to determine the top eight teams competing. Be sure to tune in on January 23-25 to support the future of eSports.

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It was confirmed yesterday that online game streaming giant “Twitch” will be acquired by Amazon for almost $1 Billion ($970 million, to be exact). Despite claims of Twitch being acquired by Google for near the same amount, the CEO of Twitch said Amazon has jumped on the wagon instead.

In a letter from Twitch CEO Emmett Shear, he states, “We chose Amazon because they believe in our community, they share our values and long-term vision, and they want to help us get there faster. We’re keeping most everything the same: our office, our employees, our brand, and most importantly our independence. But with Amazon’s support we’ll have the resources to bring you an even better Twitch.”

While many people were skeptical at first, this could help Twitch grow larger than ever before. The only thing we can do as fans is wait until we have more info on how exactly this will change Twitch, if it changes at all.

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Like many others, I was fortunate enough to get into the Destiny beta test last week. I have been hyped on Destiny for a very long time and have followed all of the development but after the public beta however, I was extremely disappointed. Destiny was not the “game of the future” like the hype would have suggested. In this case, hype got players hopes way too high. There are a few fundamental issues with Destiny that are too big to fix this late in the development process. Issues so big, they could definitely be a turn off. Here’s why I didn’t enjoy Destiny.

First things first, we need to declare that Destiny is, and forever will be, an MMO. Although Bungie wants to avoid that term when it comes to Destiny due to the seemingly negative connotation for the casual gamer, the game had every characteristic of an MMO. I mean come on – it was Massive, Multiplayer and Online. It’s important to make this distinction so that we know exactly what to compare it to. Wildstar, World of Warcraft and Guild Wars 2 all did “MMO” better than Destiny. An MMO needs to be fundamentally spectacular to succeed for the masses and Destiny failed to do that.

My first and probably my largest complaint with Destiny was the boss fight mechanics. I was so excited to engage the giant spider for the first time, but quickly learned there was absolutely nothing to it. It was essentially a bunch of people sitting around for 30 minutes shooting at a giant metal spider, occasionally dodging attacks. Even worse, the next boss (a giant floating orb) was exactly the same mechanic – aim, shoot, dodge, repeat. So many things could make these fights more exciting. Utilizing the environment more, having the boss change as the fight goes on, doing something to stop the repetitive action of shooting for 30 minutes straight. Boss fights are essential in MMOs, they’re what keep people playing the game.

Aside from the boss fights, there are a few other mechanics that were poorly utilized. The classes played almost exactly the same way, except for their special abilities (and the hunter flaming gun ability was lame). There was absolutely no incentive to play another class when I felt I had already played it. To be clear, the beta was only the first 8 levels and I can see the classes changing as you progress further in the game, but the beginning of the game needs some serious work. As a final note, the story was hectic and nowhere near compelling and the PvP felt exactly like Halo, which is a 10 year old game.

So was Destiny “good?” Sure, but it definitely wasn’t and won’t be a game changer. Take a trip down memory lane with me – in elementary school, when teachers would assign a project there would be a certain amount of points allowed for something called a “wow factor”. Destiny would get absolutely nothing as it’s “wow factor”. Borderlands 2 did looting and story better, World of Warcraft and Wildstar have much better boss fights and so many games have more interesting PvP. Anyone who has played an MMO know that the first levels are never all that fun, but Destiny was far behind some of the worst. I’d rather play through the first 10 levels of Aion. Bungie needs to sell almost 8.5 million copies of Destiny just to break even on the $500 million budget and I just don’t think that’s feasable with such a mediocre game. Don’t get me wrong, I was extremely hyped for Destiny but chances are I won’t be buying it in September.

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The trend of Season Passes in the world of gaming is only becoming more standard. If you don’t know what a season pass is, generally, they guarantee access to DLC (Downloadable Content) for whichever game the pass was purchased for. For example, Ubisoft recently released a Watch Dogs DLC that adds 3 missions and a few guns and player customization options. Now, this DLC is selling standalone for $6.99 without the season pass, or players who purchased the season pass for $19.99 get access to the DLC a week early and also get it “free”. Free meaning they don’t have to pay the additional $6.99 because they bought the season pass for $20. The trend of “Season Passes” is definitely something I wouldn’t mind seeing an end to. Here’s why I’m against the concept of a season pass and why you may want to think before you buy.

First of all, the idea of offering a season pass is a relatively new idea. Remember the days when we would buy Halo map packs with Microsoft points? Those were the days. Anyways, back to my point – season passes are bad. Games these days (with the exclusion of indie games) are usually $60. Now, if the season pass for a $60 game sells for $20, that makes the game $80 if you buy both. Don’t get me wrong, $80 is expensive, but it’s not only about the price point. The additional $20 for the season pass is like paying for something before you know what it is with the hope that it will be good. It’s like preordering a game – something I’m not particularly against because it guarantees you a copy and lets you get excited, but it’s still paying for something you know little to nothing about.

Imagine the following situation – you’re an avid gamer who has been excited for Watch Dogs for a long time. Finally, the day comes when you’re able to pick up your copy. You notice that a season pass is available for $20 that will allow you to get all the DLC a whole week early! “What an amazing deal,” you think, “I better pick it up ASAP!” So now, you’re $80 in the hole without actually playing the game yet. When you finally load Watch Dogs up for the first time you hate it. You’re a PC gamer who can’t get over the resolution or FPS or the fact that you have to use UPlay (don’t worry, I have a PC myself). Or you’re a console gamer who just didn’t like the game. Either way, you’ve just spent a lot of money on something you didn’t enjoy.

Despite the fact that you didn’t like Watch Dogs, your $20 could have been used to buy something else enjoyable, like a couple indie games. Your $20 could have bought you something else (like some of the best games of all time such as Fez or Braid), but the hasty decision to buy Watch Dogs DLC prevented that. That’s a major issue with Season Passes – you don’t really know what you’re getting into.

Now don’t get me wrong, Watch Dogs is just one example (to be clear, I absolutely loved Watch Dogs). Many other developers have been including the option to buy a season pass. There are certain types of gamers who can benefit from a season pass too. For instance, if you know the only game you’re going to be playing for the next few months will be Call of Duty, a season pass may be worth looking into. If you’re a gamer who enjoys a lot of different games though, chances are by the time new DLC comes out you’ll have moved on to whatever the next big thing is and you may not be interested in going back to play an old (relatively) game. So before you go and buy a season pass, think about if you’ll even want the DLC later down the road.

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