Electronic Sports, more commonly known as “eSports,” have been around long enough that they can’t simply be dismissed as a fad. These competitive electronic sports are here to stay, and are a great subculture of gaming just like speedrunners. It’s not going to go the way of the dodo simply because the hundreds of millions of dollars it generates is just too much cash. eSports is huge, and it will continue to grow in the foreseeable future.
July was a particularly significant month for eSports. The biggest fighting game event of the year took place, and was even broadcasted on cable television to boot. Blizzard showed its commitment to updating Overwatch on consoles as often as PC, and new characters hit two of the biggest competitive games. The scene is rapidly growing and its increasing hard to keep up with, but this article will hopefully gamers catch up with it.
The eSports
While eSports have traditionally taken place on PC, the PS4 is quickly growing home to having many of them (even if they aren’t always the version played at events). The major games (that are on PS4) include Street Fighter V, Overwatch, Rocket League, and Call of Duty. Other titles include the free-to-play Smite, sports titles (such as Madden and FIFA) and Mortal Kombat. From shooters to MOBAs, there is just as much eSport diversity on consoles as there is on PC now. It’s an exciting time and even more games (such as Gwent and Paragon) will look to hit this market.
As an aside, I have to mention that PlayStation LifeStyle’s Chandler Wood recently wrote an excellent feature on the Call of Duty eSports scene and the World League it takes place in. Check that out if you want to take a look at that scene as it’s a fascinating article.
Evo 2016 Ruled
The biggest eSports event in July was Evo 2016, the most prestigious fighting game event of the year. Nine different games were featured on the show officially, including Tekken 7, Mortal Kombat XL, Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-, and Street Fighter V. All of those games are out on PS4 now (with the exception of Tekken 7, which is coming next year).
Top level Injustice player (and self described furry) Sonic Fox was able to win at Mortal Kombat XL. He defeated Tekken Master in the finals (who actually plays MK better than Tekken, go figure). The winner of Tekken 7 Fated Retribution was SAINT, whose Jack-7 defeated Knee’s Bryan and Akuma. Bandai Namco then announced that both of the finalists will qualify into The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2016, which is the publisher’s own fighting game event that will take place later this year. Finally, Guilty Gear ace Machabo reigned supreme as he defeated Omito in the finals using Sin Kiske.
The finale to the event was Street Fighter V, and it was a heck of a show. The finals (which you can watch here) came down to two members of Team Razer — Infiltration and Fuudo. It was an incredibly competitive match, but Infiltration was able to stay one step ahead while playing as Nash to defeat Fuudo’s R. Mika. It was really an incredible show, and luckily a ton of people got to see it thanks to it being broadcast on ESPN2.
New Additions
Blizzard released several updates to Overwatch last month. The biggest addition was a new support character named Ana. The sniper, who is Pharah’s mother if you’re trying to keep up with the lore, can both heal allies and damage enemies with her Biotic Rifle. She’s quickly become a fan favorite (maybe even too much of one considering how often I see her used in matches) and is a good fit for the game.
The other big change came in the form of a patch that impacted several characters. While most of the buffs and nerfs were minor, D.Va got changed pretty drastically. Her Defense Matrix shield now has a much shorter cooldown, but now costs a resource in order to use. Other major changes include Zenyatta as his base shields have been increased, and Mercy whose Damage Boost skill is now more efficient but can’t be stacked upon.
Street Fighter V also received a lot of updates in July, and is starting to become the game it should’ve launched as. While there’s still no arcade mode or way to play against the CPU in versus, Capcom did add a cinematic story mode to the game. Called A Shadow Falls, it takes up 16 gigabytes of space. It’s nothing special, but fans will definitely appreciate getting to see all of the characters interact with each other.
An even more exciting addition occurred on July 26 when Juri was added to Street Fighter V’s roster. While she understandably plays a lot like she did in Super Street Fighter IV, Juri has added some new moves into her repertoire for SFV. This includes her V-Trigger which allows her to cancel her attacks into one another. This opens up some devastating combo opportunities for skilled players.
Finally, a potential new eSport competitor hit the market in Videoball. Released July 12, this minimalist sports game supports two teams up to six players. The overall goal is simple and comparable to soccer, as players just have to shoot a ball into a goal. There’s plenty of depth and different modes, though, and fans of competitive gaming should give it a look. Developer Action Button has made a really compelling multiplayer game.
Let me know in the comments if you would be interested in a monthly feature focusing on different aspects of eSports. This would include everything from tournament updates to explaining the jargon that easily confuses newcomers.
Essential Reading:
Games With Tacked on Multiplayer That's Actually Good
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Games With Tacked on Multiplayer That's Actually Good
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Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
While Assassin's Creed's signature competitive multiplayer has been missing from recent installments, it really shined in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. It was one of the best takes on multiplayer stealth yet, which isn't seen very often. You also get to virtually cosplay as a pirate, so it's highly recommended even if Edward Kenway's adventure is the real draw in Black Flag.
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Batman: Arkham Origins
While nobody was really asking for a multiplayer to Warner Bros.' excellent Batman series, Batman: Arkham Origins offered one up anyhow. It has the unique hook of having Bane and Joker thugs fighting, while Batman also lurks in the shadows attempting to end their night of crime. This is surprisingly fun, and letting your enemies take each other out is always a satisfying strategy.
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Dragon Age: Inquisition
One of Dragon Age: Inquisition's coolest features is the game's cooperative mode (that can also be played solo if you don't play well with others). This dungeon crawl has players teaming up in order to battle enemies, and there's three separate campaigns. It's a separate experience from the single-player, but it's still a really fun way to experience Dragon Age with your friends.
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DOOM
While DOOM features three distinct modes, the campaign is the real focus. That said, it does feature a lot of cool stuff that justifies the inclusion of multiplayer. For example, the two round-based modes, Freeze Tag and Clan Arena, really standout when compared to other console shooters. The game's creation tool set, SnapMap, also supports multiplayer, and allows players to play cooperative levels (or just ring a cowbell).
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Grand Theft Auto V
Grand Theft Auto V's online has been constantly evolving since the game released. Not only have new features been added to it, such as online heists, it continues to be upgraded to this day. Wrecking shop in San Andreas is a blast online, and it's great to see Rockstar coming up with plenty of reasons for players to jump back in.
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The Last of Us
Naughty Dog really outdid themselves with the multiplayer in The Last of Us. Sure, it seems out-of-place considering how emotionally draining the campaign is, but there's a really satisfying third-person shooter here. One of the really nice touches is how you can populate your clan by using Facebook. Naughty Dog has always toyed with integrating social media (anyone remember the awful Uncharted auto-tweets?), but this actually worked.
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Mass Effect 3
Like Dragon Age: Inquisition, Mass Effect 3 features a separated multiplayer component. Called Galaxy at War, the mode allows a group of four to tackle on exclusive missions. This horde mode features 15 different maps, and the wave-based combat requires both quick reflexes and strategy to succeed.
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Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
While the microtransactions will make you roll your eyes, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain's online mode is a ton of fun. This isn't much of a surprise, since the game plays so damn well, and there's a special joy that's triggered when you fulton another living person and not just a computer controlled character. Even the health club company that published the game can't ruin this mode.
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Tomb Raider
While it's missing from its sequel, the reboot of Tomb Raider had a sneakily good multiplayer mode. The four versus four multiplayer really shined due to the game's destructible environments and solid gunplay (or more realistically how much fun the bow and arrow is to use).
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Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End features the Uncharted series' best shooting yet, and enhanced melee combat. That great gameplay carries over to the multiplayer side. While it won't give Overwatch something to worry about, there's still good fun to be had here. Plus, it's dumb fun to see Uncharted characters doing wacky dances.
