STACK #166 Aug 2018

GAMES

FEATURE

It’s common that new characters will be altered soon after making an appearance in the game, as they don’t work quite how they were intended to. Not only will the Melbourne Esports Open play host to two massive finals over the first weekend in September, but there will be plenty of other activities to enjoy including gameplay areas for attendees to check out and try their skills at a selection of games, and open tournaments will also permit those who are game enough to challenge some of the pros in person. Who knows, maybe you could even get drafted at the event? You’ll have to head down to find out!

new IP fromWorld of Warcraft developers Blizzard. Only two years old, the game is a first-person-shooter with a bit of a twist. Where in most FPS games you pick a class, some consider Overwatch to align more with MOBAs in that you have to pick a ‘hero’ to play as, with their own unique set of abilities. Overwatch ’s game objectives differ depending on the map; some are escort maps, where teams need to escort a payload through an area to the finish line, and some are control maps where you simply need to hold an area for a certain amount of time. There are even combinations of both. Overwatch Contenders is part of the game’s Path to Pro, which enables players

to be noticed and approached to play in the Overwatch League in America – the first global city-based esports league. Theses games make exciting esports titles due to their constant state of flux, patches, and new additions to the game – they are ‘games as a service’. The continual implementation of new maps and heroes/ champions means there’s always a reason for both players and spectators to come back to the game. The development teams watch how players are using their characters, and if some are deemed too powerful, they’ll make adjustments to abilities or items to make them more or less feasible to pick in-game.

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COMPETITION CLOSES 10PM AUGUST 15TH, 2018