Category: Games

Making Flexible Choices at the Start: Getting the Best Team in League of Legends

May 11, 2024
Games

League of Legends, a globally renowned multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game, thrives on teamwork, strategy, and quick decision-making. A vital aspect of securing victory lies in assembling the most effective team composition from the outset. Crafting a formidable team not only enhances your chances of success but also enriches your gaming experience. In this guide, we delve into the art of making flexible choices at the start to ensure you have the best team possible for your League of Legends matches.

Understanding Team Composition

At the heart of League of Legends is the dynamic interaction between various champions, each with their unique abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Crafting an optimal team composition involves considering factors such as roles, synergy, and counterpicks. Flexibility in team composition allows adaptability to different game situations, enabling you to capitalize on opportunities and overcome challenges.

Striking the right balance between damage dealers, tanks, supports, and utility champions forms the cornerstone of a successful team composition. A versatile lineup not only covers a broad spectrum of abilities but also ensures resilience against enemy strategies. Moreover, having multiple options enables strategic adjustments during champion select and throughout the match, keeping opponents guessing and maximizing your team’s effectiveness.

Utilizing Smurf Accounts: Enhancing Flexibility

One effective strategy to expand your options during champion select is by utilizing smurf accounts. A smurf account refers to a secondary account created by experienced players for various purposes, including practicing new champions, exploring different playstyles, or simply enjoying the game without the pressure of their main account’s ranking.

Integrating a smurf account into your gaming arsenal offers several benefits, particularly concerning flexibility in team composition. With a diverse pool of champions available across multiple accounts, you gain the freedom to adapt to evolving strategies and counter enemy picks more effectively. Whether you need to fill a specific role or surprise opponents with an unexpected champion, buy lol smurf and optimize your team composition.

Strategic Versatility in Action

Imagine a scenario where your team faces a formidable opponent with a well-established strategy centered around a particular champion. In such situations, having access to a smurf account can be a game-changer. By leveraging alternate picks and strategies, you can disrupt the enemy’s plans and seize control of the game’s momentum.

For instance, if the enemy team relies heavily on a high-damage carry champion, having a smurf account allows you to counter their pick with a suitable champion or strategy that neutralizes their threat. This strategic flexibility not only catches opponents off guard but also demonstrates your adaptability and ingenuity in navigating challenging matchups.

Maximizing Adaptability with Smurf Accounts

The beauty of incorporating smurf accounts into your League of Legends experience lies in their ability to enhance your adaptability and versatility. Whether you prefer to experiment with unconventional picks, refine your skills on specific champions, or explore alternative playstyles, smurf accounts provide a platform for creative expression and strategic innovation.

By strategically utilizing smurf accounts, you can stay ahead of the curve, outmaneuver opponents, and elevate your gameplay to new heights. Whether you’re climbing the ranked ladder or honing your skills in casual matches, the flexibility afforded by smurf accounts empowers you to approach each game with confidence and creativity.

Conclusion

In the dynamic world of League of Legends, the ability to make flexible choices at the start can significantly impact your team’s success and enjoyment of the game. By understanding the importance of team composition and embracing the strategic versatility offered by smurf accounts, you can elevate your gameplay experience and unlock new possibilities for victory. Remember, adaptability is key, and with the right tools at your disposal, you can craft the perfect team and conquer the Rift with style and finesse.

Top 6 Ways to Improve your Game in Apex Legends 2023

April 27, 2023
Games

Apex Legends is a fast-paced battle royale game that requires precision aim, quick thinking, and strategic planning. Whether you are a new player or an experienced veteran, there is always room for improvement. In this article, we will share ten tips that can help you improve your gameplay and increase your chances of winning in Apex Legends.

Choose a legend that suits your playstyle

The first step to becoming a better Apex Legends player is to choose a legend that suits your playstyle. Every legend in Apex Legends has unique abilities that can give you an advantage in different situations. For example, if you prefer to play aggressively, you may want to choose a legend like Wraith or Octane, who have abilities that allow them to quickly move around the map and engage in close-quarters combat. If you prefer to play defensively, you may want to choose a legend like Gibraltar or Wattson, who have abilities that can protect you and your teammates from enemy fire.

Experiment with different legends and find the one that suits your style. Don’t be afraid to try new legends and abilities, even if they seem unconventional. You never know when a new strategy or ability may give you an edge over your opponents.

Learn the map

The next step to becoming a better Apex Legends player is to learn the map. Knowing the map well can give you a significant advantage over your opponents. You can use your knowledge of the map to plan your movements, avoid enemy hotspots, and find high ground positions that give you an advantage in gunfights.

Take the time to explore the map and learn the different locations, chokepoints, and high ground positions. You can also watch gameplay videos or streamers to learn new locations and strategies. The more you know about the map, the better prepared you will be to deal with unexpected situations.

Practice your aim

Apex Legends is a game that requires precision aim. The better your aim, the more likely you are to win gunfights and come out on top. To improve your aim, you need to practice regularly.

You can practice your aim in the training mode or play aim-focused games like deathmatch. Start by practicing your aim with your preferred weapons, and then move on to other weapons to expand your skillset. You can also experiment with different aiming techniques, such as flick shots or tracking shots, to find the technique that works best for you.

Use cover to your advantage

Cover is your best friend in Apex Legends. Always use cover to protect yourself from enemy fire. Peek out from behind cover to take shots and retreat back when necessary. You can also use cover to conceal your movements and surprise your opponents.

When engaging in gunfights, try to use cover that gives you an advantage. High ground positions are particularly advantageous, as they give you a better view of the battlefield and make it harder for your opponents to hit you. Use your knowledge of the map to find the best cover positions and use them to your advantage.

Communicate with your team

Communication is key in Apex Legends. Use your mic to communicate with your teammates about enemy locations, your next moves, and where you plan to go. Communication can help you coordinate your movements and strategy, making it easier to win.

Make sure to keep your communication clear and concise. Avoid unnecessary chatter or background noise that can distract your teammates. Use callouts to quickly convey important information, such as enemy locations or loot drops.

      6. Apex Legends Boosting Services

You know how does Apex Legends boosting works? There are multiple ways to get your account boosted. First is that you simply share your acc details to the booster who are also known as professional players. Secondly you can play with them in party and they will help you win the games. There are many boosting companies that are providing this sort of service.

Get a Grasp of the Different Genres of Gaming

October 22, 2022
Games

Whether you’re new to gaming or have just started playing video games, it can be overwhelming to even think about all the different games. Various video game genres may help you figure out what you like best. There is also a plethora of platforms and software that can also make your gaming experience the best possible. For example, WHOkeys is a professional gaming platform essential for video games. In addition, this company supplies game codes and keys for various gaming products and other services. So whether you like action and adventure, sports, strategy, or even horror video games, there are so many video games in each genre for you to choose from.

All about action

Action video games are the most popular genre of video games. This is because they are usually the easiest to start playing and get into. These are video games where the player is right at the center of all the action, and most of the challenges are physical ones that the player must overcome to win or advance further. There are further subgenres of action video games, including platformer, shooter, fighting, combat, stealth, survival, and rhythm. As you can tell, these video games are any that include movement and range from Super Mario Bros. to Call of Duty, all the way to Dance Dance Revolution. So, if you enjoy being in the middle of all the chaos and action, this is the genre for you!

All about adventure

Adventure games are defined not by the story or content of the video game but by the style of the play. These are the kinds of video games where the players follow clues to solve puzzles while interacting with their environment and other characters to advance the story. This gaming genre is not the most popular among many mainstream gamers as it has few elements of traditional video games. Subgenres of adventure video games are text adventures, graphic adventures, visual novels, and interactive movies. There is also an action-adventure genre of video games if you like to combine these two for something a little bit different!

So, you like strategy?

Strategy video games tend to be for those players looking for a bit more mental stimulation than other video games. These games require players to use tactics and strategy to advance in challenges. 4X, artillery, real-time strategy (RTS), real-time tactics (RTT), tower defense, wargame, and multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) are all examples of subgenres in the category of strategy video games. In addition, these video games include Civilization, StarCraft, Real War, and Fire Emblem. This genre of video games is perfect for anyone skilled at developing strategies to advance to the next round.

So, you like sports?

For all sports enthusiasts, there are more than enough sports video games for you. Video games simulate football, basketball, soccer, baseball, and golf. Often, these video games work because your opponent is not another player but is computer-controlled. However, some sports video games do have the option for live competition. Subgenres in this category include racing, team sports, competitive sports, and sports-based fighting games. These video games include FIFA, Forza, Team Fortress, and Fight Night. So, there are plenty of sports video games out there. Some people might even consider video gaming to be a sport!

Enrich the Gaming Experience with Nifty Gaming Chairs

May 2, 2022
Games

People who do not play games online and just follow the usual set routine might wonder why they spend money on purchasing gaming essentials. But the gaming fanatics love gathering such items and exploring online stores to buy gaming equipment and needed elements. It is so uncomfortable to sit on an unadorned chair used for normal sitting while playing games, so the gamer first equips himself/herself with a comfy and user-friendly gaming chair.

Now you don’t need to complain and stretch after long gaming sessions because you can purchase a gaming chair of your choice. Yes! individuals avoid the purchase of gaming chairs because they think that comfort is too expensive to get. But brands and different companies are selling cost-effective gaming chairs so that prices don’t stop gamers from buying a needed chair.

Gaming chair attributes

Mostly when it comes to explaining the attributes of a gaming chair everyone just mentions the aspect of comfort, but it has a lot of other good attributes as well. Some attributes are elaborated below:

  1. Unique look

Gaming chairs depict outstanding looks though office chairs lack this attribute because they are made to fit a formal work environment. While a gaming chair comes in marvellous colours and can enhance the beauty of the room when placed near a gaming PC, you can even purchase a contrasting chair that suits the colour scheme of your gaming PC or set which also supports ergonomics.

  1. Colour

You can get any colour of your choice whether it falls between refined green or tantalising red or any other colour of your wish.

Purple aficionados

If you want to add purple colour to your gaming room, then Respawn Raven-Xi will surely intensify the entire look of the room. Besides that, this chair is so famous among people who fancy Raven’s legendary ensemble. Footrest, armrests, seat cushions, and backrest all contain wide padding of foam and are covered with stunning vinyl leather in purple colour and feature grey and black to illustrate the Raven theme.

Pink aficionados

If you want to buy a gaming chair that looks cool and just refreshes your mood when you look at it then a pink chair having bunny ears might capture your attention. This gaming chair is auto full and allows a high-back option, it does not just look good physically but also allow gamer 155-degree reclination. The gamer can keep arms on fluffy armrests which can be adjusted accordingly and is nifty supportive.

Cost-effective gaming chair

No doubt gaming chairs are quite expensive to purchase but there is a solution to this problem. Users can research online because varied web shops allow users to purchase high-quality gaming chairs at rates that do not empty their pockets. Marvel Avengers, OHAHO, and cougar armour are some examples of gaming chairs that are not much expensive and comfortable as well.

At-last

If you are a professional or casual gamer, then you must have a relaxing and friendly gaming chair to raise your experience. Besides, gaming chairs keep your posture accurate and allow you not to feel any pain after gaming sessions.

Recovering Data from Damaged Hard Drives: How Do I Get My Files Back?

April 28, 2022
Games

If you’ve ever experienced the heartbreak of having a hard drive crash, you know that you need your data back as soon as possible. Recovering data from a damaged hard drive can be frustrating, but it doesn’t have to be.

It’s important to take proper precautions to minimize the chances of this from happening again. Follow these tips to get your data back from a damaged hard drive:

Check if the hard drive is still functioning

Before you begin the hard drive recovery process, check to make sure that your hard drive is still functioning. If not, you will likely need to replace it.

Try a different hard drive if possible

If you have a second hard drive available, try it out. If not, you could use the recovery process to transfer your data to a new hard drive.

If your hard drive has multiple partitions, try recovering from a different partition. If you have more than one partition, each one should be labeled and named in a way that makes it easy to identify where the data is located.

Recover to another operating system

Even if your operating system is Windows, you might still be able to recover some of your data. If you have access to another operating system such as Mac or Linux, you can always try recovering your files there.

Consider additional recovery options such as cloud storage services like Dropbox or Google Drive. You could also opt to back up all of your important files before the hard drive crashed in the first place. This will help make sure that you always have an up-to-date copy of all of your important files for when the time comes for recovery.

Test the drive with an imaging program

If you can securely remove the hard drive from your computer and place it in a separate system, use an imaging program to test the data recovery process. This will help you find out whether or not your data is salvageable.

Check the cables

Some people believe that the cables to your hard drive are more likely to be damaged than the hard drive itself. If you’re unsure, take a look at your cables. If they don’t have any frayed or broken wires, then it’s probably best to just replace them.

If you still have some questions about checking the cables, here is a list of things you can check:

  1. Look for bent or worn out pins
  2. Check cable ends
  3. Check both ends of cables for dust and debris
  4. Check for loose or missing connectors
  5. Make sure there is no corrosion on connectors
  6. Check the ends of the cable for any signs of damage

If you’re still having trouble, call in a professional data recovery service. You can also try using a data recovery program or an imaging program to check your hard drive. If you can’t get your files back, then you might have to start over with a new hard drive or reinstall Windows.

Test the hard drive with another computer

It’s important to get a second opinion of your data. This will help determine if the drive is damaged. You can use an external hard drive or flash drive and test the hard drive from another computer to see if it’s healthy.

Test the computer with a drive diagnostic program

First, test your computer with a drive diagnostic program. There are plenty of free programs out there that you can use to test the health of your data and hard drive. If your computer is healthy, you’ll be able to recover your files without any problems.

Conclusion

There are a few ways you can go about recovering data from a damaged hard drive. You can try to salvage the data from the drive, test it with an imaging program, use a different drive, ensure the cables are functioning properly, and use a drive diagnostic program to test the computer. If any of these steps don’t work, then it may be time to replace the computer.

5 Reasons Why Multiplayer Video Games Require Fast Internet

December 10, 2021
Games

The Video Games and electronic brands sector is rapidly moving toward a multiplayer future, with many major titles abandoning single-player material in favourfibre of a purely multiplayer experience.

When it comes to multiplayer online gaming and internet speed, here are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Effect on slow internet.

When playing games with slow connections, lag or sluggish computer reaction may be your most formidable adversary.

After all, the optimum gaming experience will allow for real-time player movement and intervention.

If your gameplay experience tends to lag, you may notice a “buffering” impact in your action.

Whereas others are engaged in a fast-paced war, your laptop may eventually load, only to discover that you have not only been struck but that the game has gone on without you.

Even though many resources will give you an overall speed suggestion for various types of video games, it is best to look at your connection speeds.

Upload speed, download speed, and ping rate are the most key attributes of in-game latency that is why you need to find the best internet service providers around you.

2. Difference between upload and download.

Upload speed is the amount of time it takes for the transfer of data from your computer/device to the web servers, calculated in Megabits per second (Mbps).

Linking a file to an outgoing email, for instance, would fall under the category of upload speeds.

In contrast, download speed indicates the rate at which your computer acquires data from a server.

The speed with which you can load a web service or stream videos is determined by your download speed.

On rare occasions, Internet Service Providers may provide symmetrical download/upload rates.

This implies that both the download and upload speeds are the same.

This is unusual, nevertheless, because most services prioritize download speed.

Most suppliers include a considerably faster download speed in their broadband solution.

This is since most web users download more data than they upload.

3. Minimum internet speed required.

Mbps is a data-rate measurement that is used to calculate the speed at which data is transferred.

Mbps, as the term indicates, measures the number of megabits that can be transferred from one origin to another in a single second.

The greater the Mbps, the faster users can access and transfer information, which is critical for bandwidth-intensive operations such as streaming and online gaming.

Fortunately, most games only necessitate somewhere around 3 and 10 Mbps for a smooth gameplay experience.

This is a rate that most of today’s Internet packages can easily meet.

Bandwidth requirements rise with the number of people connected to the same network, particularly if they’re already gaming.

Consider a house with four flatmates, three of whom are avid game players and a fourth who frequently stream live movies and tv shows in 1080p.

If they share a 10 Mbps connection and are all online at the same time, they are highly unlikely to have a seamless, lag-free connection.

4. Professional gamers requirements.

It’s critical to distinguish between suggestions and internet service specifications.

Casual players typically require at least a speed of 1 Mbps.

Pro players, contingent on the game and platform, typically have a range of 3-5Mbps on their own.

Massive multiplayer players will require something near the top of this spectrum, whereas first-person shooters and RPGs will require at least 3Mbps to provide such a high-quality gameplay experience.

While eSports players may spend thousands of dollars on high-performance equipment, a reliable internet connection can mean the difference between victory and defeat.

Professional gamers prefer AT&T dedicated network plans due to their dependability and speed.

5. Upload speeds for multiplayer gamers.

Upload speed is widely regarded as more essential for online gamers than for the average internet user.

This is because most people only use their bandwidth to browse social media or watch movies.

This is since when you play a game, you are continuously sending data to a server, whether it is in-game activities or notifications to other players in a multiplayer game.

However, while upload speed is more essential for video game players than for regular users, it does not need to be exceptionally fast.

Most internet gaming sessions will require an upload speed of 1Mbps, which is made available by most ISPs offering a fiber optic package.

If you’re uncertain, you can use an online speed checker to determine your internet speed.

Conclusion

Most video game players would agree that the bandwidth of their Internet connection affects their performance.

After all, it doesn’t matter how well-trained your response time is; a sluggish connection is simply too much of a disadvantage to win.

How to Climb the Ranks in TFT

October 26, 2020
Games

History

TFT, or Team Fight Tactics, is a video game produced by Riot Games. Riot Games is mostly known for their smash hit game for the past 11 years League of Legends. TFT, being only a few years old has become incredibly popular and this essay is to help those who want to start and rank up as soon as possible.

TFT came from a mod called Auto Chess from a game called DOTA2. DOTA2 came from a mod of a game called World of Warcraft III which also spawned League of legends. This makes the second game Riot has taken from a mod of a competitor.

The game resembles that of a scene from Harry Potter where they are playing chess with pieces that move on their own.

Boosting in TFT

If you play team fight tactics you have most likely heard about the term called boosting. TFT boosting is a way to get a higher rank level in the game. You can achieve a higher rank by purchasing the boosting service which is being offered by many professional players.

Gameplay

First, the game starts in something called the carousel. Just like a real carousel TFT’s carousel goes around and around but instead of horses there are champions and every champ is holding an Item component. An item or item component and a champ can be separated when the champion is sold.

There are 58 champions in the game and they are all sorted in various ways. The champions possess passives that activate when you gather other champions with the same passive depending on the demands of that passive. The passive then attributes the champions in question special abilities or additional stats. Most of the champs in TFT possess two passives but there are a few with three. Champs with three passives are very useful when trying to create a strong team.

TFT has had 4 sets since the game was introduced. Each set represents a different group of champions, passives, items, and rules. We are currently in set 4. Here is a list of passives that are available in set 4: Cultist, Divine, Dusk, Elderwood, Enlightened, Exile, Fortune, Moonlight, Ninja, The Boss, Tormented, Warlord, Adept, Assassin, Brawler, Dazzler, Duelist, Emperor, Hunter, Keeper, Mage, Mystic, Shade, Sharpshooter and Vanguard.

TFT boosting

It’s best not to let yourself get overwhelmed with the amount of information I’m sure with just a few games you’ll understand everything.

Let’s take Warlords as an example and try to explain the passive and how to build the team for simplicity.

The Champions that have the Warlord passive are Nidalee, GarenJarvan, VI, Katarina, Xin Zhao, and Azir.

Each champion costs gold to use and there are Five cost tiers. Garen and Nidalee cost one gold, Vi and Jarvan cost 2, Katarina and Xin Zhao cost 3 gold and Azir costs five gold.

Gold

Gold is earned in many ways; we will go over the main ways in which players can get gold.

The first way to gain money is to wait for a turn. At the end of every turn, you will gain five gold but for each ten gold, you have up to fifty gold you accrue interest of one gold coin per ten gold. Let’s say you have 50 gold so that means at the end of the turn you get 10 gold. That’s 5 gold for the end of turn and an additional 5 gold for the interest which means you want to save up to 50 gold as much as possible.

The second way to earn gold is to sell the champs you have on your sideline or board for the gold you bought it for. Let’s say you bought Garen for one gold but you change your mind then all you have to do is drag him to the store from where you fought him and get your money back.

The third way is to win streaks or losing streaks. If you win two to four times in a row you get an additional one gold, for five to seven wins in a row you get a 2 gold reward, and for a winning streak of eight-plus, you get a 3 gold reward. Los streaks are a bit different. For having a loose streak of three to four games you are awarded one additional gold, for a losing streak of five to six games you are awarded an additional 2 gold award, and finally, for loose stress of seven or more, you are awarded an additional 3 gold.

All Champions on the first carousel are one cost champions and they all hold one item component. You and the other seven players fight over who gets what in the carousel. Everyone is placed behind their force field and released at the same time as the champions are placed in a smaller circle spinning clockwise very slowly. Depending on your strategy you must fight and beat out the others for the champion or item component you would like.

Items

Item components are important. It takes two-item components to create one item. There is a total of nine-item components and a total of 72 different items available. Depending on the two items you intend to combine you can get any item.

Here is a list of the item components: B.F. Sword, Recurve Bow, Chain Vest, Negatron Cloak, and Needlessly Large Rod, Tear of the Goddess, Giant’s Belt, Spatula, and Sparring Gloves.

Let’s take the B.F. sword as an example. If you were to combine the B.F. sword with the Chain Vest you’d get a Guardian Angel item. Items have passives and stats that make them superior to item components. Guardian Angel for example can prevent the wearer’s first death putting them in stasis for two seconds returning to life with 400 healths and shed all negative effects.

The way you combined components is by making a champion hold them. Each champion can hold up to three items.

The warlord passive is as follows: Warlords are granted bonus health and spell power and each victorious combat they participate in increases the bonus stats by ten percent and it can stack up to five times.

You need a combination of three Warlords on the field to get the Warlord passive, six to get the upgraded version, and 9 different warlords to unlock its ultimate potential.

4 Ways to Win Over Customers as a Game Retailer

August 26, 2020
Games

The average game retail store is quite similar to the old video rental shops, in that video shops stocked similar collection of movies. The level of patronage enjoyed by individual video shops was mainly dependent on the customer-friendliness of their services. It takes about the same effort to visit the website of Humble Bumble as it is to visit Fanatical; however, the type and quality of services provided by either of these online game retailers will significantly influence my final choice.

We shall be taking a look at the services the average online gamer looks forward to accessing on an online gaming retail store, how best to actualize these services, and in the long run, make your game site a force to reckon with in the gaming world.

1. Gamers’ support

Toby has just started a campaign in one of the latest multi-player games made available by your online game retail store; being a new game release with sophisticated features, he soon gets stuck at one of the levels. Now, where Toby goes to for the required help and the kind of support you can provide for him as a gamer will be a telling factor on if he will continue subscribing to your services.

Incorporating a chatbot (similar to those provided by Zendesk tools) that has been preloaded with solutions and advice to solve the most recurrent user issues will do just fine to help a subscriber enjoy their online gaming experience. You do not want to send your user to the FAQ section of your website or a docile community forum before they can pick off from where they got stuck in the game. Subscribers are likely to boast, for example, about gamesdeal.com to their gaming friends – if they find alluring support features is a flagship service of the brand.

2. Facilitate social media platforms and online communities

To get sizeable followership, you could start interactive forums online for your game retail business. Here, you get to share gaming tips, news on latest game releases, or version upgrades. Please avoid making these forums an avenue for pitching the business, as this would likely make the platform burdensome to the participants, especially when you throw unsolicited adverts in their faces. Instead, add value (relating to gaming) and watch as your business naturally markets itself.

As part of the retail game store domain, it would be a good idea also to start an informative gaming blog. The blog will keep the site visitor up to breast on gaming hacks, and news. Lastly, utilizing the blog as a tool for ramping up the SEO capabilities of the business brand will be a plus.

3. Hold random competitions with gifts of discounted or free services on your website

What is the point of a soccer game without goalposts? Occasionally publicize contests that will allow your subscribers to win giveaways and equally attract new users to your gaming site. Make sure information on such freebies and discounts get noised early enough on all online platforms of the business.

4. Join popular gaming forums

If your online game store is new, you will win yourself a sizeable following if you join the popular gaming forums online, actively engage participants, offer solutions to common issues, and where necessary refer acquaintances to your business website.

Grand Theft Auto V

March 24, 2020
Games

To call Grand Theft Auto V an ambitious game would be utterly underselling it. This is the first game that actually feels like a living, breathing world. It also implements mechanics that makes games like Call of Duty and even The Sims work so beautifully. Grand Theft Auto V is like the Rome of video games; it melts down the best features of other games and puts them into a bow-tied delicate gameplay package.

One of the big features with Grand Theft Auto V is the new concept of playing as three main characters. This caused some confusion as gamers were worried that the writing wouldn’t be as sharp or the game just wouldn’t mesh well as a whole. Luckily, all this is completely taken care of and the way you switch between the main characters is both innovative technically and also from a gameplay perspective.

With the three main characters in Grand Theft Auto V, you’re getting different experiences. Franklin is the youngest one who focuses on his driving ability and Michael is sort of like a washed up mobster who now lives the family life. Then there’s Trevor. Trevor is basically a ticking time bomb whose leash has been completely removed and almost fits into Grand Theft Auto V too well. Think of him as the Joker with a drinking problem, only even more murderous.

The storyline was very eventful and at times it was downright one of the best mission structures I’ve ever seen in a game before. Not to spoil anything, but you’ll be flying helicopters, stealing bulldozers and occasionally flying through windows. With games these days only lasting about 8-10 hours it was great to play a game that was a marathon in length. There were so many character specific missions to partake in other than the actual story- needless to say, this game will keep you busy.

In my opinion there are actually four main characters; the fourth is Los Santos, the city where all of this takes place. Los Santos is based on Los Angeles and tries to replicate the craziest aspects of that area. You’ll have beaches to run around in, military bases to infiltrate, upscale mansions to invade and even wildlife to shoot at. The best part of this world is that it will keep going with or without you. For example, I saw a high speed chase and eventually the perpetrator stopped and got out of his car and there was a massive shootout between him and the police. The game is just downright fun.

With a game so large, it would be hard to imagine them focusing on visuals, right? Rockstar is pushing the aging PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 to their limits. While you’re playing, just fly over the ocean and marvel at how gorgeous it is and how the waves come in. It’s not all rainbows, though- the graphics do come at a price. There were plenty of times when the framerate would dip down pretty significantly, especially when you’re in a highly populated spot full of NPC characters. The worst seemed to be when you were driving in the middle of Michael’s upscale neighborhood.

With so many things to do and experience it truly feels like this game doesn’t end. Even after beating the game and all the major side quests, I’m still busy with other tasks. For example, I’m trying to run a bar with Michael and even playing the stock market with all my characters. And nothing is more fun than jumping out of your burning airplane and opening up your parachute to enjoy the view. Heck, you can even customize your vehicles and weapons.

It seems the best is still yet to come with Grand Theft Auto V. In October, Rockstar will be launching the online portion of the game titled (of course) Grand Theft Auto Online. This will almost entirely be its own experience and the game is vastly ambitious. If they can pull off all the things they say are possible, we won’t ever leave our televisions.

Animal Crossing

March 23, 2020
Games

Once you begin the story, you’ll be notified that you’re the mayor of a randomly generated town! This is exciting because you as a player can make choices that affect the look and feel of your new found destination. Want to make your own town jingle? Feel a need to kick out a pesky resident, or even create your own town flag? Well, you can do all of these activities, and more. Animal Crossing: New Leaf is all about giving the player choices on how they want to play, without ever making them feel overwhelmed.

Animal Crossing is a cross between a game like The Sims but with a bit of Minecraft mixed in there as well. The main appeal of this title is that it’s ever changing. The world evolves with you, you can catch new fish or insects in your village depending on what time of day or even what month of the year it is. This is a great way to keep the player coming back, as there are certain things you can only do at certain times.

Whenever I logged into the game, there would always be something that I had to do. I always feel like I have to harvest all the fruit from my town’s trees, and destroy all the weeds that have been collecting around the town. Animal Crossing makes you feel responsible in a good way without ever making the gameplay feel like a chore.

What I found really addictive was decorating my house. There’s a plethora of items you can use to make yours feel unique- almost unlimited customization. In fact, you can use the Nintendo 3DS step-counter to get exclusive coins that you can use in one of the shops. You can buy these fortune cookies that will reward the player with a unique item from the Nintendo universe. It’s completely random what you’ll find in them but again, it felt rewarding and never like a carrot on the stick gimmick.

Sometimes Animal Crossing‘s coolest features can also be it’s lamest. Take for instance, I’m a pretty busy guy and the only time I can play the game is really late at night. Well, most of the shops in my village are closed after 9 or 10 pm. Granted, you can eventually switch how the town functions, and how late stores open and close but for a while I felt like I was being punished for not playing the game.

Another fault that plagues Animal Crossing is of course Nintendo’s online network. It’s not entirely the game’s fault but Nintendo’s incredibly annoying friend-code system is outdated and actually holds the game back. It would’ve been really impressive if New Leaf could implement an actual living and breathing online community in the game itself, without the need of the silly friend codes. Nintendo’s general paranoia with online gaming hurts one of their best franchises on the system.

That being said, if you do have friends on your Nintendo 3DS, the online functionality was amusing at best. The only real reason to use it is to gather things from their town that isn’t available in yours. For example, my town only has cherry trees but my friend has apples. I can take his apples and plant them in my town and get extra bells (Animal Crossing‘s currency). They could have done a bit more with it.

Other than some design choices, I found Animal Crossing: New Leaf to be a very enjoyable experience. It’s rare to have a game that will keep you coming back day in and day out, especially when it also creates new experiences for the player. If your Nintendo 3DS hasn’t been played in awhile, this game will keep the handheld in your hand for years to come. If you’re looking for a game that will keep you busy for some time to come, Animal Crossing: New Leaf is it.