Geeked: Free to Play and Loving It

You knew it was coming, right?  Yes, the Hearthstone propaganda is here.  Blizzard's free-to-play, Magic: The Gathering-styled, collectable card game became available on iOS for iPad this week, and so far, I am loving it.

I will dispense with some preliminary quibbles first.  I went in full well with the understanding that free-to-play wasn't the complete package.  While in the early going, that hasn't seemed to matter (I haven't spent a cent yet).  I am sure the more I play, the more apparent it will become and the more I'd covet that ability.  I'm the same guy that more or less refused CoD because I thought advanced weapons tilted gameplay balance.

I wish there were asynchronous gameplay.  First impression leads me to believe there is not even offline gameplay.  For me, both features are ones that just increase my opportunity to play and play with friends.  Given that must multiplayer gaming in my house is reserved for the console, Titanfall currenty, I see less opportunity to make Hearthstone appointment gaming with friends.  Then again, we did do that with Ascension.

The last is not so much a complaint as it is a matter of fact, there's a lot going on in the game and not a lot of explanation.  Gameplay is fairly intuitive and the cards themselves contain easily accessible information about their characteristics.  You have an attack number and health.  Each card requires an amount of mana to play.  Over the course of the game, mana increases round to round to a maximum of ten.  But building decks, discovering the rarity of cards, understanding how to craft cards, figuring out what the gametypes are, where you can get bonuses, where and how to buy, there's a bit of fend for yourself or find an online wiki or app here.  It speaks more to the game's depth of options and complexity than anything, but the same depth makes it a bit intimidating.

And now, the good news.  It's downright fun to play.  I was not in the beta, open or closed on the PC.  I've never played WoW.  I needed to get a Battlenet ID.  I downloaded the game for the iPad as soon as I was aware it was available, Wednesday evening I think.  Though I'm not sure of the actual number, I would say I've logged an easy six-plus hours of gametime.

Part of the early going was spent getting acclimated to how the game plays and feels.  I ran through the tutorial with some six opponents to detail the game's mechanics.  I then set about trying to unlock all nine hero types.  I think during that first evening, I made it through seven.  Playing on the Normal level, I had that feeling of learning as I played.  I could sense developing strategies that worked for me versus certain enemies and understanding the cards and their powers, what I liked and why.  I can't explain it, but the more I played, I had such a palpable feeling of improvement.

By the next night, I had unlocked all of the hero types and began trying to unlock all of the mage's basic cards.  I created my first custom deck and headed into the world of "Play" against live opponents.  There were both victories and defeats, and there was that dichotomy of "I outskilled you" and "You got lucky/cheap/OP cards" that frequently accompanied each.  All the while, I leveled up, gained access to new cards, earned gold to purchase new packs or access The Arena.  Incentives appear frequently and all without need to partake of the microtransaction process.

The short of it is the game feeds into the inner-geek.  It appears so noob-friendly but strategy and complexity lurk for those that want it.  Even in the early going, deciding strategy of attacking and defending, hero versus minion, using cards in combination, healing, hiding, forcing attacks, foregoing attacks.  It's not that the game is unique in doing so, but there's a feeling that's nice getting in on the ground floor.  Online, familiarity of the rules of course helps, but the game won't let you do something the rules don't allow.  It's like the ease of scoring Catan or Carcassone on XBL.

And yes, the animations are fun.  Picture Ron Weasley playing Wizard's Chess.  The attack animation, sparks, shakes, crumbles, +/- updated stats.  It adds that flair, especially when it's in your favor, that makes you smile.  I have always enjoyed seeing some bit of the attack animations, Advance Wars, Pokemon, Bravely Default.  There's action to the real world equivalent, "My mage will use four mana crystals to use Fireball to damage your hero six HP."  And yes, perhaps I did just that with a single flick of my finger on the iPad.  But it felt much cooler.  Especially in a win.

I'm not sure how long the fun will last in Hearthstone, but right now, there's no end in sight.  I'd be willing to pay, but at this point, there's been no need.

Improving Titanfall: Taking the Next Step

I have 20+ hours in Titanfall and am approaching Generation 3.  The thing is, while I really enjoy the game, I can't help but feel like the game could be so much more.  For me, console multiplayer need look no further than three mega-titles to find a recipe for long-lasting, addictive, competitive gameplay: Halo, Call of Duty, and Gears of War.  To ignore successful attributes from those series is to have the blueprint for the wheel and decide that one can improve it.

All I have to do is look at my friends list and realize a majority of those friends were people I "met" playing Halo 2.  Ten years ago!  Ten years ago, Bungie created not only one of the great multiplayer games ever, but it helped establish an onine gaming communty with bungie.net.  While the forums were good, linkable stats to re-live gaming glory were great.  Waypoint and COD pushed not only the notion of tallying kills and wins but recording them.  Sure, we can take advantage of Twitch and Game DVR, but in Titanfall, it's almost like winning and losing isn't all that important.  Scores appear for such a brief instant, it's near impossible to process, and perhaps, more importantly, to gloat.  I mean, we see who's on top and bottom, but I feel like in exchange for the lowest lows for a terribly played game, we have given up the highest highs in victory.

And that's what we got in Gears.  The other night, we were playing Titanfall and at times, other than knowing we were in a party together, it was almost hard to tell we were playing together.  I rarely see teammates on maps.  I rarely feel like I provide cover or am covered.  There's less raucous moments of defeat and glory.  It's nice to win together and we've had some close games the last few nights.  But there's not a whole lot of sharing in the glory because how often do others get to see it?  In Gears, especially with the "death room," how many laughs and cheers went up seeing someone overcome a two-on-one situation?  How many times would we helplessly urge folks to abandon the sniper?  Last night, with an ogre and shield core and some nub opponents, I went one-against-two and lived to tell about it.  But no one saw the encounter and it lives only in my memory.

I'm not saying we need online stat tracking or even a "death room" to improve Titanfall.  But little things like letting you see the last game's stat, perhaps while choosing a map (!), and playing against each other so at least maybe the victim of a glorious titan takedown coud confirm, it creates a more shared experience as opposed to players sharing a map. I understand that Titanfall is a next gen shooter and perhaps wanting to take the FPS forward.  But with a few additions of not-revolutionary features, a good game can become great.