Overwatch Improvements - Beta Over. Game Launch Incoming!

The beta phases have come and gone. Everyone has had the opportunity to play the game by now and probably already made their minds up if they are going to buy the game or not.

I personally will be buying the game. Its quick, simple, and FUN shooter game. I think Blizzard did a great job of making the game fun and challenging for both super casual and very competitive players a like. The fast pace, different roles, and variety of unique characters are the main thing that I love about the game. This article is not to talk about that though. It is going to take the awesome game that is already developed and add a few things that would make the it even better...

...in my opinion at least. Since I am the one writing the article and one of the few people that read will read it, my opinion is super important MMKAY!?!

These are my 3 big improvements about the game. 

• Progression & Challenge System
• Multiplayer Only Games
• Play of the Match

Progression & Challenge System

Overwatch kinda has them. Basically you level up as you play and when you reach a new level, you get a lootbox (or buy one with micro-transactions). The lootbox contains a variety of options for a specific character....and there are TONS of options...like up to 70 different items per character.

There are in-game coins that can be used to by any item that you can get in lootboxes as well. So if you really want a specific item. You can save up your in-game currency and buy it when you get enough.

There is also a Ranked mode which is unlocked at level 25 which I think Blizzard is hoping that a large amount of the population will play. I am not sold at ALL with that thinking. Typically competitive FPS modes are played the least. Most of the players just want to jump in a few games and own a bunch of noobs. I guess we shall see how it plays out but I am not optimistic.

There are challenges and achievements in the game, but it is pretty small when you compare it to what it could be. Here is a full list.

I don't have any problem with the current lootbox system. I think it is fine as is, but I really wish there was something to show / grind for to prove your commitment to playing. The possibilities are endless...

Example
Challenge - Get 500 kills as Widowmaker
Reward - A Player Icon

You can have this type of challenge / reward for all characters. You could even then have a challenge that says once you get 500 kills with every Defensive character, you get a special skin tint or gun skin....something silly and cool like that. This is the kind of stuff that I really like and keeps me playing in multiplayer games. In order to get the shiny reward, you have to put in the time to get it. You set a goal and it feels GOOD once you complete it. You get that accomplished feeling. It is the same type of system that Blizzard uses in its other games and I am not really sure why it wasn't really a main focus in this one.

Another positive thing about a challenge system like this is that it adds a whole new reason to play the game. The game is fun, but it can get repetitive after a while. I started to get that feeling about 10 hours in or so during the open beta. I still wanted to play, but I got kinda bored.

No biggie, I just played another game for a little bit and then went back to Overwatch. After a few hours though, again it got kinda stale for me. I'm still having fun, but it would be nice if there was a huge challenge list I can focus on that will make playing the game more enjoyable.

I want some sort of grind. It keeps the game fresh and is also fun. Black Ops 3 is a great example of something that could easily be implemented and put into the game. I mean look at all of these....its a crazy amount. Obviously Call of Duty has alot of challenges that just wouldn't work in Overwatch, but they also have a ton would work PERFECTLY in the game.

Example
Challenge - Receive the most MVP votes at the end of the game 100 times
Reward - Something totally badass and shiny that you can use to win arguments on internet forums with!

I just want more grind-oriented challenges and rewards that proves that I have invested alot of time into the game. I think it will make this already fun game, more enjoyable for a longer amount time.

....speaking of time and possibility getting bored. On to my second point....

Multiplayer Only Games

Are they doomed? Remember all the hype around Titanfall? I sure as hell do. I played the game for two weeks straight and then never again. Now, to be fair, I like Overwatch and have already played way more of it then I ever did of Titanfall....but the point still remains.

Does a Multiplayer Only game that is not FREE have a certain lifetime? Pretty silly question....of course all games have a certain life time. It is VERY rare that multiplayer game has a healthy player base for a long time. I feel fairly confident that since Blizzard is the developer and has already announced that new maps and heroes added to the game will be FREE...that the game will be fine for years to come.

...but still, I remember Titanfall. I couldn't believe how hyped I was and how I little I actually played.

It does not appear that I am alone in this thought process. Force made a video on the subject and as always, brought up some great points / food for thought. Check it out.

Play of the Match

First off, what a fucking awesome feature from the developers. Seriously, well done. My only gripe with it is that it gets tweaked to show more "play-maker" players instead of just kill feeds. They already stated they feel roughly the same way and are trying to make it better...so I feel pretty good about that.

Support and Utility players needs some love as well Blizz! One of my favorite Plays of the Game. Oh my...just oh my.

Can't wait for the game to drop in  a few games. I need it in my life!

Until next time freaks! Twitter Machine --> https://twitter.com/WTFspaghetti #MakeBloggingGreatAgain

Glorious Lion, Video Games, and Random Thoughts that are Random

How cool is this wallpaper? It isn't too often where I see a wallpaper and IMMEDIATELY update mine, but damn this image is art. So colorful and vibrant. I have no idea who the artist is but they are very talented.

Overwatch Ramblings, Learning Curve, and My AH HA! Moment

It is strange when you get lucky enough to be in a closed beta of a highly anticipated game. I was excited and played the crap out of it. That being said, I didn't put the amount of time anywhere close compared to others. I personally got to level 23 and I want to say that had about 20 to 30 hours of gameplay.

The learning curve was steep for me and I was very bad until it all clicked. The whole time I was playing I couldn't figure out why I was below average when it came to this game. I didn't understand it. I am not a bad FPS player. I normally average 1 to 1.5 kills to death ratio in all of the other FPS games I play. WHAT GIVES OVERWATCH?!?!!1!?

Well, it is because Overwatch will actually punish you if you try to play it like you are not apart of a team. Seriously, it will chew you up and spit your punk ass out. Don't get what I am saying twisted....there are some characters (Tracer for example) that want to go off, do their own thing, and be an utter annoyance to the enemy team...but even then there is a time and place for it.

However, most characters are not designed to be played like that. In this Overwatch blog post I linked Gamespot's three part video series on "The Story of Overwatch". It talks about a lot of cool stuff, but one thing that I found rather interesting is the design choice to not put a Team Death Match (TDM) mode in the game.

I thought to myself....yeah...why isn't there a TDM in this game? I mean, I can't remember another FPS game that I played and enjoyed this much that didn't have the option available. It is an absolute standard in FPS games.

The development team basically said fuck that. They brought up the fact that all TDM really means is that you can't kill half of the players in the match. Overwatch is designed to be all about teamwork and TDM is essentially a Free For All that promotes non-team game play. That is why all four game modes in Overwatch require a large amount of team-play and working together to accomplish the map objective.

Once you realize this and start tuning your own game play around it, you will start getting MUCH better at this game. I went from about a 40% win percentage to around 60% just by changing my mindset from the Call of Duty solo warrior to the Overwatch team tactician.

Madden 16

It is well documented how I feel about the NFL the last few months. Prior to that I played the "Ultimate Team" mode in Madden 2016 for a solid 5 months straight....with really no other games in the mix.

It was quite the addiction. At my highest rank, I was in the top 1% of the Madden players. I never won a Super Bowl in that league, but needless to say, I was pretty damn good. My team was never amazing, but always good enough to win against any team - even the super crazy teams.

Since I haven't played in awhile and don't really plan to I decided to do a little giveaway on the Madden Ultimate Team sub-reddit. Anyone that plays on the PS4 can enter and all they have to do is post in the thread something that will make me laugh at a chance at 100k gold (in-game currency).

So far the entries have been top notch. My current favorite is http://imgur.com/gallery/OqRDvj5. It is a long GIF image...so I don't want to embed it but it is totally worth checking out. DO IT!!!

I converted the rest of my coin stash into MUTHead currency called MHC. EA actually supports it and it is not against their rules or anything. So maybe if I decide to play Madden again I can turn my MHC credits back into in game gold. Better then it all going to waste right?

Random is Random

• This is why it takes me so long to finish a game

• I have created a goal for myself to post a blog post once a week. I think that is very doable and so far I have been on pace for over a month. OH YEAH!
• St. Louis Blues are kicking ass in the playoffs (very rare) I forgotten what it is to still watch the NHL in May. 
• Game Of Thrones is back and I am just happy. 

Until next time freaks! Twitter Machine --> https://twitter.com/WTFspaghetti #MakeBloggingGreatAgain

Battleborn VS Overwatch...FIGHT!

The way I titled this post with FIGHT! is probably not the best term for comparing the two titles. Even though they are both FPS (First Person Shooter) games with a variety of characters that fulfill a certain role on the team (tank, damage dealer, support)....they are pretty damn different.

Here is what I will be ranting talking about in this post:

• WTF are you talking about? Overview / Summary of Battleborn and Overwatch
• Why I don't think it is fair at all to compare the two games
• Why I will be purchasing Overwatch and not Battleborn
• ????
• Boobs

WTF are you talking about? Overview / Summary of Battleborn and Overwatch

So I could write a lot in this section. The main points I want you to take from this are as follows. 

1. They are both a hero / class based FPS game with teamwork being the most important skill / aspect to have. 
2. Battleborn plays like a standard MOBA game. Slower paced, methodical game-play with gear and talent systems.
3. Overwatch plays like Team Fortress 2. Never played Team Fortress 2? Think Call of Duty but with classes and a huge importance on teamwork. It's fast paced with simple and straight forward map objectives. 

Comparing the two games just isn't right...

Watch both of small trailers I posted below. The rest of this section won't make as much sense if you don't watch the short clips, SO DO IT RIGHT MEOW!

It is a pretty common thought or question to have after you watch the trailers to ask which one is better. It is also logical to think that they would play similar enough that if you are interested in the concept of a hero based FPS game, it's probably best to just get one of them. 

As I mentioned above, they just play too different to me and it just doesn't feel right comparing them. I saw this short video from a YouTube Creator and while I don't agree with everything he has to say...the overall point he is making I do agree with. You should not compare these games. 

The main part that I disagree with is how he made it seem that Overwatch doesn't have much strategy to it. 

He stated at one point "...you just load in and start fighting people". 

While at a casual level I believe this statement is very true. However, the more skilled you get at playing the game, the more complex it gets, the more strategy really comes into play. Overwatch is a game where you can switch characters as many times as you want in a match (after a death). If  the enemy team has a composition that your team is having problems with, you can switch to another character (maybe one with a different role) to counter them. There is so much back and forth that happens at higher levels of game-play. It is extremely rewarding and fun. 

Check out this guys video. It is short, to the point, and really sums up this section. 

Why I will being buying Overwatch and not Battleborn

It is not because I don't like Battleborn and its not because I think Battleborn is too similar to Overwatch. It is because Battleborn is a match-up of different genres and I don't think that it is fun enough to purchase. In other words, I don't think the fun factor will last long enough to buy. 

Let me explain. 

I have played A LOT of FPS games in my day. When it comes to multiplayer FPS games, I gravitate to the fast paced ones that have games last about 5 to 10 minutes. There are tons of examples of this - Titanfall, Gotham City Imposters, and the Call of Duty series. 

I also have a lot of experience playing MOBA games. I played League of Legends (LoL) for a few years and I am currently playing Heroes of the Storm (HotS) a lot. I love the genre in general but I really enjoy the flavor of HotS due to the quicker pace, more team fighting, and shorter games (20 minutes). 

Overwatch is a great fit for the FPS games that I like. It is face paced, it has a high skill cap, there are fun and unique role based characters....it's right up my alley. I was lucky enough to get in the beta and I loved it. Easy purchase for me. I will play the crap out of it. 

Battleborn isn't fun enough to me to surpass playing Overwatch in a FPS sense. It also isn't fun enough for me to surpass a standard MOBA game like HotS to me. Therefore, I really don't have much reason to buy or play it. The single player campaign looks fun enough to rent a few times or to buy once it goes on sale...but that is kinda how I feel about it.

Hopefully my point and everything that I wrote to explain it makes sense. If not...ummm my bad? 

????

The Life Pro Tips on Reddit! is great. You should check it out and become a better professional at life. Here are two random ones that I found and do all the time now. 

• Love to play music while working? Play a video game soundtrack. They are designed to work as background music and not disrupt your focus.
• Use the phrase "My understanding was..." instead of "I assumed..." 

Boobs

Until next time freaks! Twitter Machine --> https://twitter.com/WTFspaghetti #MakeBloggingGreatAgain

The Story of Overwatch: Gaming Journalism at its BEST

Guys...

Girls....

Homies....

Amigos....

The last time I got this excited for a documentary / journalism piece in the gaming world was when I was SUPER into the professional League of Legends scene. It was a piece on one of my favorite teams at the time, EU based Fnatic. 

The documentary series was top fucking notch. Each episode focused on a specific person on the team (including coaching staff) and MOST importantly talked about their life outside of competition. They really knocked it out of the park and I watched every single episode. The documentary series was called Life of Legends. Here is a YouTube Link if you are at all interested. 

ANYWAY! I went off on a tangent, what a shocker....

This is what gaming journalism is all about. It asks all of the normal questions about game design choices and mindset. It has one on one interviews with the developers...you know, all that normal stuff....but this series DOES SO MUCH MORE THEN THAT. 

It does a fantastic job of walking you through how the failure of Blizzard's "Titan" project lead all of these developers into a depression. They went back to the drawing board, focused on what they thought was FUN in a game, collaborated, and what came out of it was Overwatch. I can't give the series enough credit and it made me into an instant subscriber of their YouTube channel. 

Each part is roughly 20 minutes long. I highly suggest all of them. DOOO ITTTT!

Until next time freaks! Twitter Machine --> https://twitter.com/WTFspaghetti

#MakeBloggingGreatAgain

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Heroes of the Storm - Full Roster Available this Weekend!

It is kinda weird that a MOBA game that I have been playing on again / off again since it's alpha phase has not been mentioned once on my blog...but that ends TODAY.

I have a few ideas for future posts about this game, but I needed to let ALL OF THE GLORIOUS,  MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF WTFSPAGHETTI FANS KNOW...

...ahem

Blizzard has announced that every single hero in the game, Heroes of the Storm, will be completely available to play for FREE starting now through the weekend.

That's right....FULL ROSTER at everyone's fingertips. I absolutely love that Blizzard is doing this type of thing. I don't care that it is a promotion for their finals of the "Heroes of the Dorm" series. I hope it works like charm and attracts metric tons of new players to the game.

New to the game? NO WORRIES BROS. I got you

New player yourself? Good news! The game is FREE. You can follow this recruit link if you like to download, and start playing. Its kinda worth it as well as you get two free heroes and some other bonus if you join using the "Recruit a Friend" program.

Here are a few VERY useful guides for new players. Especially if you are transiting from League of Legends or another MOBA game.

- Welcome to the Nexus! A Basic Guide to Heroes of the Storm
- Transition to the Nexus! Adjusting to Heroes of the Storm from other MOBAs

So if there is ever a time to try the game out or come back, why not have it during a time where every single Hero is available to play?

AMIRITE?

Until next time freaks! Twitter Machine --> https://twitter.com/WTFspaghetti

#MakeBloggingGreatAgain

It's been long enough....update your Desktop Wallpaper!

Let's be honest here. It's been way too long since you updated your desktop wallpaper. We all know it and as your friend, we are concerned about you. 

Keep it fresh man! 

Change is a good thing and updating my desktop wallpaper is something that I find a lot of joy doing. I can't really explain why either...it just feels right you know? I enjoy finding new wallpapers, its sorta a hobby of mine.

A few years ago I found the holy grail of Desktop Wallpaper sites. The site was called wallbase.cc and it was a beautiful thing. Here is a link to my blog post if you are interested In fact here is a custom link that will show all of my Desktop Wallpaper posts. Pretty nifty shit right there.

Anyway...MOVING ON

Long story short...wallbase.cc is no longer there. Like, its gone. RIP and all that noise. Such a waste of great community, seriously sad stuff. However, after awhile a new site popped up trying to reclaim some of the awesomeness that was wallbase.cc! 

New Site - http://alpha.wallhaven.cc/ 

Is it amazing like wallbase? No, but it is getting there. The more people that know about the site and attribute to it, the better. Check it out if you are interested and find you one of those new fancy wallpapers to update your desktop with ya hear?!

Here are some of my most recent favorites. Until next time....

Twitter Machine --> https://twitter.com/WTFspaghetti

#MakeBloggingGreatAgain

Peach is all grown up

Feels Good

Please Hold

South Park

Standard Pinup

...this is just a tribute

Music Matchups - The Biggie Hendrix Experience

I have no idea why I love this mixtape. I used to play the SHIT out of it back in the day.

Nasty Boy / Purple Haze is probably my favorite track, but I love the whole album. Sadly I think that I am one of the few that did because I have never heard anyone else talk about it. Music Matchups are a strange thing...especially two super different genres like Jimi Hendrix and Biggie.

I mean LOOK AT THAT ALBUM COVER ART and tell me you are not in love?!?! Here, let me post it again for your viewing pleasure.

I mean damn man, that is a beatiful thing right there. Seriously love the artwork.

Until next time freaks! Twitter Machine --> https://twitter.com/WTFspaghetti

#MakeBloggingGreatAgain

The Breakup

A part of my soul has been crushed and over the last few months has been slowly dying.

DONT WORRY PEOPLE.

This isn't a sad, boohoo, woe is me, post. I just feel like I should get my thoughts out there on a major change in my life and a major shift in one of my main hobbies.

"95% of this blog is about my addiction to video games. The other 5% is a mishmash of the chaos that is my brain and it's thoughts...which is mostly mindless entertainment like sports (MMA & NFL), TV series, sexy females, and hearing random stories that are thought provoking and entertaining"

That is what the description of my blog states.  I have always been a fan of sports, but really....it was about 90% NFL and 10% everything else. I absolutely loved the NFL and what got me into the sport was when the LA Rams moved to St. Louis in 1994. Previous to that, I liked the sport, but it was just meh...whatever. I am from St. Louis and the grand majority of sport fans in the city is for baseball. The St. Louis Cardinals are fucking everywhere here and dominates the sport news.  It was pretty hard to get into the NFL in that kind of environment. However, when the Rams came to STL....it was all bets off. I slowly became addicted to everything NFL.

Over the last two seasons the possibility of them moving back to LA has been the main topic with me. Then it actually happened. I was legitimately shocked and even though I thought I prepared myself for that outcome...it hurt ALOT.

Stan Kroenke - Owner of the now LA Rams. Missouri Native.

This post isn't to rehash those bad feelings though. It is about a void and what in the hell am I going to fill it with? I mean fuck man, it has been 20 years!

I thought that I was a big enough fan of my Rams to survive a move back to LA. However, I am totally feeling and acting like a jealous EX  lover. If I read or hear anything about the NFL or the Rams I just can't help but to feel the following...

FUCK YOU, FUCK YOUR PRODUCT. I HOPE YOUR FAIL AND I GENERALLY HOPE YOU NEVER FIND HAPPINESS...

Pretty crazy right? I don't know to explain it or why I react that way....it just happens. I am very interested in how I will react once NFL seasons starts again. Will I get back into it miraculously or will the RAGEY EX-LOVER emotions continue? I am assuming it will be somewhere in the middle and that I will slowly lose interest in anything related to the NFL. That is my hope anyway because who wants to have those angry and hurt feelings forever? Not this guy....that is damn sure.

Insert Witty and Random Topic Change Title Here!

I was talking to a friend recently about blogging. It brought up memories of how much I enjoyed creating something and writing random shit. Too bad I live a pretty boring life and with being a stereotypical family man now, my free time is used to play video games and reading stupid shit on Internet sites like Reddit.

We shall see how it goes... First things first though. I must update my blog with new pictures and get around to changing my blog description!

Until next time freaks! Twitter Machine --> https://twitter.com/WTFspaghetti