Game Review: Multiplayer Online Battle Arena

The new generation chess game - but not literally with its mechanics but on how you perceive the game utakan ang laban, lakas ng loob, tibay at tyaga (ano yan campaign jingle?) The more creative you are in terms of strategy, the more challenging. You can be like Sun Tzu, leading the team and making an Art of war or be someone like Leonidas I. standing at battle of Thermopylae. It is also known as Action Real Time Strategy (ARTs) so, it is basically a creative and innovative way of gaming.

It was started way back 2003 with Warcraft: Defense of the Ancient created by ice frog i was eight way back then and here in the Philippines Defense of the Ancient (DOTA) made a huge hit. Eventually, several Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games started to sprout around the world from League of Legend in 2009 to launching of Heroes of the Storm by Blizzard Entertainment this year (2015).

Gameplay:

mobile MOBA Vainglory features a single lane

There are two opposing teams whose goal collectively as a team is generally to destroy their enemy's base to win, though some games have the option of different victory conditions. Typically, there is one main structure which must be destroyed to win, though destroying other structures within the opposing team's base may confer other benefits. Defensive structures are in place to prevent this, as well as relatively weak computer-controlled units which periodically spawn at each base and travel down predefined paths toward the opposing team's base. There are typically 3 "lanes" that are the main ways of getting from one base to another. There are also specific type of roles, the names of which vary from game to game (typically a damage role, a support role, and a tanking role).

DOTA 2 Heroes

A player controls a single powerful in-game unit generally called a 'hero'. When a hero stands near a killed enemy unit or kills an enemy unit, it gains experience points which allow the hero to level up. When a hero levels up, they have the ability to learn more powerful skills and abilities. When a hero dies, they have to wait a designated time, which generally increases as they level up, until they revive at their base.

Each player receives a small amount of gold per second from their base. Moderate amounts of gold are rewarded for killing hostile computer-controlled units and larger amounts are rewarded for killing enemy heroes. Gold is used by heroes to buy a variety of different items that range in price and impact. For the most part, this involves improving the combat viability of the hero, although there may be other items that support the hero or team as a whole in different ways.

As the heroes of each team get stronger, they can use multiple strategies to gain an advantage. These strategies can include securing objectives, killing enemy heroes and farming gold by killing A.I. units. The stronger a team gets, the more capable they are at destroying the enemy team and their base.

Members of the genre do not generally feature several other elements traditionally found in real-time strategy games, notably base management, and army building. Some video games have certain heroes which control a few specialized units. The RPG genre has a much closer resemblance to the gameplay, only limited to an arena.

Why MOBA games are very popular?

1. Most of them are Free-to-Play
From DOTA 2 of Valve to Sins of a Dark ages by Ironclad Games, i think being free-to-play made it popular, who doesn't want to have fun for free? Gaming is quite expensive, i mean expensive hobby for people like me - i usually play when i was young, i'm in eager to save money just to play Video games in arcade and eventually i realize, i have to be practical. Practical, like rerenta na nga lang ako ng computer tapos may bayad pa yung game na lalaruin ko yung totoo? mayaman? haha I'm not against from people who save, invest and have fun paying for the games they play like Warhammer Online or World of Warcraft - as long as they are having fun, its ok. But the point is MOBA games triumph over other genre is because most of its games are free-to-play.

2. Group Game
It is group fight, you have to learn be with your team no matter what. It is very friendly in terms of increasing camaraderie among your barkada or with other people around the globe.

3. Skill is important
Like what i said earlier, it is a mind game - you have to make sure that you are in advantage from the opposing team like kung complete mo na yung item na binubuo mo or sapat pa ba yung mana mo for supporting the team? It is more of just a game, people and most of our parents doesn't know what are the skills we acquire while playing - akala nila pag naglalaro ka nito, masama ka na at kasama mo masasamang elemento ng lipunan? Lahat naman ng bagay pag sobra na - masama, kaya ka-iskolar sobra na ba? sya tama na muna, gawa muna ng assignment. Playing like chess, backgammon (hindi ko alam kung paano to? haha) Monopoly or any other games, are brain enhancers, exercise and usually play with skills - the same with MOBA games, you have to think before you move, every touches and move do have a corresponding response. Play the game and make a rampage.  

4. Motivating because it is recognized
Philippines recognize the e-sport industry, like Inquirer Philippines, a well-known newspaper company recognizes the potentiality of e-sports and we also do have Philippines E-Sport Organization and Philippine E-Sport Association (PesPA), that supports and promote professional electronic sports here in our country.

Sen. Bam Aquino Said: “In the Philippines, eSports needs to grow more. Admittedly it’s still a fringe interest, not mainstream. The more it becomes a mainstream activity like in Korea or the United States, where the eSports industry and the support to their players is really huge, the better, We are always lagging behind, so I think as the industry grows, being a pro player would be more fruitful.”

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Game Review: Multiplayer Online Battle Arena

4 / 5

Oleh Aeron Emmanuel

Aeron Emmanuel Pada 6:33:00 AM