Video Games – Page 5 – Ms. Bella's World

3–5 minutes

The last time I spectated a MOBA was over a decade ago when friends in Lord of the Rings Online invited me to watch them play League of Legends. While I wasn’t particularly interested in participating in PvP myself, I had a blast watching them play. It was exhilarating to see strategies play out in real-time, and the energy of the matches kept me hooked. However, after that, I hadn’t found another game that sparked the same level of interest—until now.

Enter Deadlock, Valve’s new 6v6 MOBA that’s currently in early development. The game is a third-person shooter with a high-energy twist, and from what I’ve seen, it’s shaping up to be a good contender in the MOBA space.

Deadlock: A Work in Progress

It’s important to note that Deadlock is still in its early stages of development. The build I watched had plenty of temporary art assets and experimental gameplay elements, so everything is very much a work in progress. Access is currently limited, available only through friend invites from playtesters, but even in this rough state, there is potential.

Spectator Mode: A Fun Way to Watch the Action

One of the standout features for me was the Spectator Mode. Deadlock offers a front-row seat to all the action, allowing viewers to get right into the thick of the battle without picking up a controller. As someone who enjoys watching more than playing in some cases, this mode was a real highlight. The matches are packed with energy, and the gameplay looks like a lot of fun to experience, even from the outside.

An Interesting Map and Diverse Characters

The map itself is intriguing, with a layout that encourages dynamic, fast-paced battles. It’s designed to keep players on their toes, whether in the thick of battle or ziplining overhead to get to the next destination.

The character roster in Deadlock is another area where Valve seems to be hitting all the right notes. From what I could see, the characters are divided into classic roles like healing, tanking, and damage dealing, but the diversity among them is what really caught my eye. Here’s a quick breakdown of the characters I noticed:

3+ robots
2+ aliens
3+ people of color
1 older Native American woman
1 Elvis impersonator
4+ women
6+ men, some quite burly-looking

Each character looked unique and potentially fun to play, with their designs reflecting a wide range of backgrounds and personalities. What’s particularly impressive is how Valve has managed to focus on fun first and foremost, allowing diversity to naturally follow. This approach makes the diversity feel organic rather than something that’s been forced in for the sake of inclusion.

But Not Everyone is Happy

I may have found the game fun to watch, but I’ve heard from players that the game isn’t as fun to play. Among the complaints I’ve heard are –

Matches last too long. Since my only experience in the past has been League of Legends, I don’t know how long matches usually last in MOBAs. However, it did seem that some of them were a bit long, running close to a half hour, so I can’t discount this one.
Gameplay is uninspired, not very engaging. From my perspective as a spectator, I found it to be quite fun to watch. However, I was also able to hop from player to player and see how each character worked. If the characters aren’t fun to play for a length of time, that will be a problem.
Character models are ugly. What I saw as unique character designs with their own distinctive profiles and appearances, others saw as generic and ugly. Since I mainly saw them from the back, I can’t say for certain if this is true. However, there were characters I particularly liked, such as the one lady character that reminded me of Rosie the Riveter from the old WWII posters, the Elvis impersonator, and the Native American woman with the bow. We’ll have to see if the designs improve in the future.

There were other complaints too, ranging from the game crashing on launch to the lack of ranked matches and penalties for people leaving matches early. My guess is these are things this test was meant to reveal so that Valve can make the necessary changes before a full release.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Deadlock

While the game is still far from complete, and the graphics will undoubtedly evolve as development continues, I’m cautiously optimistic about the direction Deadlock is taking. I hope Valve maintains this spirit of fun, competitive gameplay first and foremost.

And as for Spectator Mode? I certainly hope it remains a permanent feature because I foresee myself watching a lot of matches in the future!

4–6 minutes

There are thousands of games out in the wild nowadays. From old classics like Doom to the latest hits like Black Myth: Wukong, gamers have a wide variety of genres and games to choose from. This abundance is enough to make even the fattest wallet groan in despair. However, with a little patience and research, you’re likely to find a plethora of games on sale at any given time.

For me, finding deals is both a necessity and a fun side quest. With rare exceptions, I never pay full price for my games. Here’s a list of places I go to find out what’s on sale:

Steam – The first place I always check is Steam. There’s almost always a sale running. Currently it’s the Steam Rhythm Fest, ending tomorrow (Aug. 26th 2024 @ 7am EST), with games like BPM:Bullets Per Minute going for 75% off right now.

If you go into the New & Noteworthy section of Steam, you can also find Special Offers and Sale Events there. With the sheer number of games on the platform and the constant rollout of new sales, Steam is a must-have in the arsenal of cheap game hunters.
Humble Bundle – Humble Bundle is my second go to for finding cheap games. Between the constantly rotating bundles offered to the monthly Humble Choice, you’ll fill up your catalog of games pretty quick! Among the current bundles is a full collection of Resident Evil games for $30 and a Capcom Summer 2024 bundle with a selection of 12 games for $30.

It’s worth noting that Humble Bundles often include not just games, but books and software as well

August’s Humble Choice includes games like Sifu, High on Life, and Gotham Knights for a low monthly subscription (for me that’s $12 a month USD, but prices may vary as I have a legacy Humble Choice subscription).

Finally there is their store, where you can filter by On Sale to see what treasures you can find. Currently, I see that Valheim is 60% off, Deep Rock Galactic is 74% off, amd No Man’s Sky is 68% off.

With the wide variety of bundles and sales, it’s no wonder that Humble is the second place I head when I want to save money!
GOG (Good Old Games) – GOG is the next place I check, and it has the distinction of offering older titles and DRM-free games. This one is particularly good for gamers like me, who’ve been playing for decades and have old classics on CDs but no way to use them anymore. Not only do they provide a variety of games, but they also test them, fix bugs, and apply patches to make sure these older games can run on newer computers. For the most part, they do.

A quick search shows me that most of the old Hitman games are 90% off right now, Darkest Dungeon is 85% off ($3.74 USD), and Steel Rising – Bastille Edition is 80% off ($11.99 USD).

GOG also has its own launcher, similar to Steam, with the added feature of linking to Steam, EA, and Epic so you can see an extended view of your games in one place.

Finally, GOG periodically gives away games. These are almost always much older titles, but usually games that were good back in their time. It can be a fun way to fill up your library and try (or replay) old games.

Between the variety of games and their promise of DRM-free experiences, this is a must in my list.
Fanatical – Fourth in my list, Fanatical is a great way to find cheap games for your library. Featuring bundles, similar to Humble, Fanatical provides a wide array of games, software, and books for you to peruse. One of their current bundles is the Diamond Collection: RPG and Fantasy Edition, where you can select from as few as 3 games for $5.00 each all the way up to 7+ games from $4.50 each. Games in this bundle include Kingdom Come Deliverance, Steel Rising, and Fallout 76.

If you’re feeling particularly lucky, they have mystery bundles available where, for a small price, you get a number of randomized keys for different games. These could be anything from small, unheard of indie games to AAA titles. One of their current offerings is a VIP Mystery Bundle of 3 keys for $4.99. Think of these as the loot boxes of buying games—you don’t know what you’ll get, but whatever it is, it’ll be cheap. And hey, if you don’t like them, you can pass the keys off to someone who might.

They even feature a section for Upcoming Games, where you can see what’s coming out and perhaps preorder them for a small discount, usually ranging between 12 – 15% off.
Green Man Gaming – Last on my list is Green Man Gaming, the newest addition to my collection and, admittedly, the one I’ve used the least so far. I initially used this site to get old Sims 3 expansion packs for incredibly cheap, and I’ve stuck around to see what other sales they offer.

Currently, they have the Mafia: Trilogy pack for 78% off ($13.05 USD), although that’s still a tiny bit more expensive than Steam is offering it right now. Going to their Value Vault section, you’ll find their best deals at the moment, making sorting for cheap games easy and efficient.

They also reward you for buying with them via XP, and each tier of their XP program unlocks more deals and rewards, including exclusive offers, free games and vouchers, and store credit and key giveaways. I haven’t gotten that far with them yet, so I can’t speak to the quality of the rewards, but it’s there.