League of Legends

I've thought so much about what League of Legends is, how it plays, the meta-game, and who to play it with that I'm frankly surprised that I haven't yet cataloged my thoughts about the game altogether. When I first sat down to give it a try, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into, given that I'd only heard of Defense of the Ancients at second hand, and hadn't played anything within the genre before. In retrospect, this isn't much of a surprise since the genre had only existed in any concrete form since 2005.

As far as the gameplay is concerned, I haven't been able to find any other genre that is simultaneously twitch-oriented, strategy-oriented, and team-oriented without failing to some degree on at least one of those points. The moment-to-moment improvisational challenge of positioning, poking, setting up attacks, and aiding teammates works very well in juxtaposition with the long-term planning of champion selection and item choice. I never could get into the meta-game of older strategy titles like StarCraft and Command & Conquer (although I did enjoy C&C). I can't completely encapsulate my feelings on them, and probably because there isn't any emotional involvement to be had in games of hard counters, and that is exactly what League of Legends is not.

The game revolves around teams of powerful champions that team up to destroy the other team's base. In the primary game mode, this is accomplished by aiding your helper warrior minions to demolish their way past defensive structures into their base to attack the base nexus. The challenge comes from coordinating a team of characters with different skills and play styles that organize around team roles, which include tank (damage soaker), bruiser(crowd control and light damage), carry (primary damage dealer), and support (buffs and debuffs). Given that each champion has specific abilities and a new champion is released every two weeks, strategies come and go on a regular basis.

In short, any success at LoL will come with practice, as with almost any challenging activity. I wouldn't call this a negative point since the meta-game constantly shifts, forcing you to participate if you want to stay ahead of whatever level of competition you choose. I've enjoyed learning about the mechanics of the game-- item builds, champion counters, and a few other minutiae, so I know that it's possible to enjoy both the specific and the general elements of MOBA play. Having more recently dove into the DotA 2 Beta, I can understand Riot Games' desire to make the genre more accessible, since the games that LoL is based off of are much deeper mechanics-wise and meta-wise. Bringing the intricacies of the gameplay down to an easily penetrable level while maintaining the core is a laudable achievement.

Keeping in theme with making the game more accessible, League of Legends is free-to-play. Playing matches will net you Influence Points that can be spent to unlock new champions and runes to give you a small boost in stats. Freemium may be a better description of the financial platform, since you can plonk down real-world money to buy Riot Points that unlock specific characters and exclusive character skins to use on the fields of justice. The variety of the champions both visually and mechanically make for a varied experience, one of the best things that a game can offer. Any game in which such varied and colorful characters, each with a helping of back story, come together to duke it out is deserving of attention as is. A disclaimer: MOBA's are let down by one factor, which is the fact that practically no variety exists in terms of maps and gameplay modes. League of Legends is the first in the genre (as far as I know) to move past this trope and add two new maps with different objectives and meta-games of their own. If there's a game with some variety for DotA lovers, it's this. If there's gameplay that completely spans the casual-hardcore spectrum, it's this. If there's one F2P game that's worth a look no matter your preferred genre, it's this.

Memorable

P.S. Here's a League of Legends signup link if my article has piqued your interest. If you do try it out, be sure to get some friends in on it too. Playing with people you know is the best way to do League of Legends.

Arkham City

If there's one thing that annoyed me about Arkham Asylum, it was the loading time whenever you entered a new area. Doors separated different sections of the island, and getting from one place to another took a bit longer than I usually hope for a world map. This was one of only a handful of criticisms that I had for Asylum, and one of a smaller number that I can't aim at the sequel, City.

First thought upon entering the giant prison facility: "Why am I Bruce Wayne and not Batman yet?" You don't don the suit until after you've punched out the Penguin and a gang of his thugs. Thankfully, the transition to hero mode is quick and clean, and you can immediately begin flying all over the facility fighting baddies as easily as before.

As a resonance for the setting, Batman's movements feel much more unhindered this time out, since he can now grapple up to buildings, and even use the grapple gun to launch himself further into the air in order to glide over them. This newfound freedom is appropriately shared by the villains of Arkham City, including the Joker, Penguin, Mr. Freeze, and Two-Face, who all make appearances, at least until Batman knocks them out. Combat on the city streets uses the same controls as Asylum, but there are a few more layers of depth, including new special dodges and attacks against enemies with shields, knives, and armor, each of which requires special consideration. Stealth tactics make a return appearance as well, and sneaking around the rafters or dark corners bears the same gratification as last time. On that note, the different forms of gratification on offer in Arkham City are varied. The satisfaction of completing the story, or rounding up various minor felons, or just finding Riddler trophies and rescuing hostages each have their own appeal and you can easily ignore one or several of these if you want to focus on something else.

Structure-wise, Arkham City feels much looser than its predecessor, which is probably the best format for it. The freedom, control, and self-determined action that characterize the sandbox fit the character of Batman quite nicely, and even if you don't feel a connection to Bruce Wayne's alternate ego, the challenge of sufficiently bludgeoning the criminals of Gotham makes up for any detachment from the main story. The Joker and the cryptic and sadistic psychologist Hugo Strange, the city's overseer, are the main antagonists, with other villains forming various obstacles that have to be dealt with in an increasingly long line of fetch-quests. The mcguffin of the moment seems somewhat arbitrary at times, but thankfully doesn't get out of control and have you run in seemingly endless circles.

On its own merit, Arkham City stands apart from the majority of big releases, but compared to its prequel, Asylum, it remains only a slight improvement in some areas. Yes, the stakes are raised in the story, the combat is a bit deeper and the stealth remains challenging and gratifying, but as a whole it feels somewhat cut-and-paste. Not to demean it at all, but the problem with franchises such as this is that they hopefully stop while they're ahead, rather than mire in their well-established mechanics rather than invent new ones.

Enjoyable