Paladins: The Poor Man's Overwatch?

So, Hi Rez studios has had a new team-based FPS in beta for quite some time now called Paladins. Two groups of five compete against each other, usually battling over control points and / or payloads that must be escorted until one of the teams emerges victorious. It's pretty standard stuff for the genre, but one thing in particular is very difficult to ignore in the game: its characters.

While aesthetically, they're reasonably unique, or at least so much as this is possible without them feeling completely out of place in an FPS, they have a lot of moves very similar to those in Overwatch's roster. We could be here all day making comparisons. Whether its Reinhardt, Roadhog, Pharah, Reaper, or Torbjorn, or others, you'll finding a very noticeable analog running down the corridors of Paladins.

What's resulted is a mix of people taking pot shots at the game for being so similar, and others embracing it as an alternative since they don't want to play Overwatch for whatever reason, but still would like a similar experience. Personally, I find it difficult to go after Hi Rez too hard. It's not uncommon for certain types of characters to become archetypal over time in a genre, with variants slowly making their way into a number of games. We could just as easily point a finger at Overwatch for doing the same thing. After all, how many of its characters bare a striking resembles aesthetically or gameplay-wise to the cast of Team Fortress 2? Quite a few.

This isn't to say that two wrongs suddenly make a right, but as genres of games develop or a certain period in its development really begins to take form, similarities will begin to take root across a number of games in said genre. Whether it was the legions of fighting games that copied ideas from Street Fighter II in the 90s, 3D platformers taking cues from Super Mario 64, or everyone hopping on the hotkey-based MMORPG in the wake of World of Warcraft, there have been plenty of times where we've seen this pattern of several games in a genre absorbing, and sometimes quite blatantly, ideas from their peers. It's the nature of the business.

While Paladins has obviously taken several ideas from Overwatch, it still feels just different enough not to come off as an obnoxious clone, and for the most part it's proving to be reasonably entertaining, even with the game still in beta. I'd definitely recommend folks take a look at the game if they're curious. It's certainly worth one's time.

Review: Firefall - Part I (PC)

At this time in my life I don't have the necessary patience to grind, grind, grind, grind... and grind some more. And every free-to-play game relies on the grind to make money. The logic being, "Hey players that want to climb the ladder to avoid the grind they'll pay real money to buy items and XP boosts in the game! Cha-ching!"

Think it's boring to run between objectives? Well, there are vehicles available for purchase right now rather than grind with the idea that one day, maybe, you'll have enough in-game currency to buy one and affirm yourself a masochist.

Review: World of Warplanes (PC)

One aspect of World of Warplanes that the developers absolutely nail is the feeling of flight, at least on a casual basis because this isn't a flight sim by any stretch.

It makes me wish I still had my three-button Gravis joystick (circa. 1991). It also makes me wish there were more games that nudge up against that part of my brain that releases endorphins every time I think of X-Wing, Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe, or the Rogue Squadron games. Then World of Warplanes makes me wish there was more to do within the confines of the game.

Digesting Free to Play

Neverwinter is another in a recent stream of free to play MMORPGs
to come out

Over the last week, another batch of free to play games became readily available to the public either as a full release, or an open beta. Those games were Ragnarok Online 2 and Neverwinter. This isn't going to be a review of those games, or the time I've spent fiddling around in either of them, but more a chance for me to try and articulate my own thoughts on the current state of free to play, and by "articulate" I largely mean prattle on incoherently. So, business as usual.

News: Hawken Updates Their Site, Gives A Release Date

Hawken was without question one of the coolest new titles at E3 this year.  The F2P multiplayer mech shooter has captured a lot of attention in the press and created a large number of fans hungry for news.

The official site recently underwent a redesign and new forums have been deployed.  Additionally, a counter up at the top of the page is counting down to a launch date of December 11 of this year.  Naturally, this is always subject to change without notice, but it could be a very mech-y Christmas this year for a lot of gamers.

News: Phantasy Star Online 2 Coming to US and Europe in 2013

After much wondering if they'd announce a Western release for the game, it looks like Sega will be making an official announcement today for a US and European release for Phantasy Star Online 2 according to PSO World.  PSO2 is a free to play sci-fi online RPG, and sequel to Phantasy Star Online, which debuted on the Dreamcast over a decade ago.

The game takes a much more action oriented approach to combat with three classes to choose from including the melee fighting hunter, gun toting ranger, and magic using force.  If you haven't already, be sure to check out our gameplay impressions of the Japanese version of the game.

Video: Phantasy Star Online 2 Gameplay Impressions (PC)

With the free to play MMORPG recently having come out of beta in Japan, Mr. Nash tells us a bit of what to expect while playing it.

News: Dota 2 Going Free to Play

In a not all that surprising move, Valve has confirmed that their entry into the world of MOBA games will be going free to play.  Anyone will be able to download and play Dota 2, however there will be an in-game store attached to it where players can buy items that will allow them to make aesthetic changes to their heroes.  Interestingly, Valve has opted not to charge money to unlock heroes in the game, instead making them free to everyone from the get go, unlike other titles in the genre.  All-in-all it looks like the company is doing as much as they can to avoid the game being pay to win, and going for a purely optional aesthetic route for making money from the player base.