Pick Up Groups
Out of all my recent gaming, Sniper Elite 4 has proved the most entertaining. The engaging mechanics and stealthy gameplay have held my attention and kept me engaged. So far, I spent over seventy-two hours playing through the campaign and DLC. After watching several You Tube videos I was tempted to try the co-operative mode, something that I don’t always do in these sorts of games. Overwatch allows two players to work together as sniper and spotter respectively, to complete objectives within a custom map. It requires communication and co-ordination. It should also be noted that multiplayer in Sniper Elite 4, is dependent on peer-to-peer connection rather than dedicated servers, with the players hosting the games themselves.
Games We Cannot Play
I have written in the past about how certain games can be very appealing conceptually but the reality is quite different. Often the fundamental disappointment doesn't lie with the game itself but with our inability to play them. For me the Battlefield franchise is a prime example of this and more recently For Honor. The trailers for these games are frenetic, focusing on action and spectacle. The associated marketing certainly sells the idea of “awesome action”. Sadly, my personal experience of Battlefield has usually been running across an inordinately large map, only to arrive at the hot spot to get one-shotted. As for the planes, helicopters and vehicles; I can't fly them or drive them effectively so team mates tend to abandon me. I can only describe my experience in For Honor as being a flesh piñata for other players. The fun experience depicted in the advertising was as elusive as a good, odd numbered Star Trek movie.
For Honor: Multiplayer Problems
Most multiplayer games use peer-to-peer networking as a cheap and easy way to connect players. Running dedicated servers and writing the accompanying connection code is costlier and requires a greater degree of developer involvement with a game, post launch. If you play Overwatch or any of the Call of Duty franchise, then you’ve experience multiplay via this technology. It’s cost and convenience are offset against its technical weaknesses. The player that hosts a game has a potential speed advantage and if they quit the game will pause while a new host is found among those still playing. Then there are exploits and cheats that can be used by unscrupulous players such as lag switches and DDoS attacks. Thus, P2P networking is far from an ideal alternative to dedicated third party hosts.
For Honor
Every now and then, I’ll see a trailer for a game and think to myself, “man, that looks cool. I want that”. The curious thing is, the ones that enthuse me the most are those that I know I’ll be utterly crap at. For Honor definitely falls into that category but I just liked the idea of running around hitting things with a huge sword so much I ended up buying the Gold Edition today. Luckily, I got a very good deal on a key, so if this game is beyond my skills set or fails to meet expectations I won’t be too disappointed. The last time I “come a cropper” with an impetuous purchase of this nature was with Watch Dogs, back in 2014. Spookily enough that was a Ubisoft game, same as For Honor.