STACK #146 Dec 2016

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GAMES FEATURE

Each month, STACK takes a brief look at what’s happening in eSports, both locally and overseas. eSports Round-Up Junglist with

F or a game that brought in the fifth most revenue out of all PC games in 2015, you might not hear much about World of Tanks . While bus ads and blog posts scream the flavour of the month, this Russian phenomenon quietly churns away, monetarily putting them to shame. A disproportionate chunk of its playerbase is Australian tank enthusiasts, prompting the recent Asia/Pacific finals in Sydney (despite no Aussie team participating). It all climaxed with a showdown between an inventive Japanese side and a Chinese team which had barely lost a round all competition. Team Japan flipped through NFL-style playbooks brimming

with Xs and Os, and quirky strategies like perching tanks at precarious angles on cliffsides to avoid detection -- but China was just too good, and cruised to a comfortable win. In Melbourne, more and more booths at PAX Aus 2016 were using eSports as a way to draw people in. Commentators’ exclamations over pieces of fine gaming skill served as aural beacons – the big screens

World of Tanks

and bigger amplifiers in a competition of their own, hoping the

passers-by might pause and inspect a keyboard or headset good enough for the pros. The loudest of these was easily the ESL arena, and the tale on everyone’s tongue was the Rocket League final. Legacy eSports, one of the few Australian outfits to support Rocket League , lost three straight rounds in a best of seven. They were able to

pull it back for a 4-3 win, and as someone who was on-site at all times, I can confirm that was the loudest a crowd had been the entire weekend. Rocket League doesn’t have the in-house eSports support that other games enjoy, but its spectator-friendly blend of cars and football has grown it through word of mouth to be one of the most anticipated eSports at big shows.

Rocket League

If you want to get the most out of your racing games, there is only one option: you have to get a racing wheel. W ith a copy of the sensational Forza Horizon 3 in hand you'll want to take the driving experience a step further, and for that you're going to need a racing wheel. There are many options currently available, depending on your budget. We recently tracked down the Logitech G920 for the specific purpose of coupling it with FH3. It comes with the wheel, and three stainless steel pedals for your accelerator, brake and clutch; if you want a gear shifter, you’ll have to buy this separately. The d-pad and controller buttons are now situated on the wheel, all within easy reach. A durable, hand-stitched leather wheel featuring quality, adjustable forced feedback

feels exceptional in hand, bringing added realism to the racer you're playing. And it’s a breeze to set-up (although we only road tested it on the Xbox One). Plug in the power, hook up a USB to the console and you’re off. The brake on the pedal set will take a little getting used to; it’s a non-linear pedal designed to

LOGITECH G920

simulate a progressive pressure-sensitive brake system found on the sort of cars a journalist will never be able to afford. If you sport a racing cockpit at home, the G920 will attach seamlessly, or if you’re using the IKEA option, like we did, it will fit perfectly onto a table too. The build quality is excellent for a mid-ranged wheel, and despite not shipping with a gear shifter, this wheel gets a firm thumbs up. See you on the road.

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