Lore Hound had a unique opportunity to check out Motiga’s freshman entry to gamedom. Designed by James Phinney of StarCraft, Gigantic is shaping up to reshape the multiplayer online battle arena genre. Phinney and Co. aren’t focusing on creating a niche game, slicing out a piece of the League of Legends dominated pie for themselves. Rather the company, perhaps taking a card from his former employer Blizzard Entertainment, is attempting to one-up the competition with every line item.
Complaining that all MOBAs are the same? How about we drop the standard lane-pushing minions that die to a static tower and replace them with mini bosses? Oh, that isometric view forcing you to squint? How about adopting the third-person perspective popularized by SMITE, which enables you to literally sneak up from behind? Shenanigans to those “weeds” mechanics. Art style you ask? Will a more angular, but no less timeless, interpretation of Borderlands suit your snobby requirements? Oh, really, skills shots are your next concerns? Let us assuage your fears with the ability to murder opponents from across the maps. Should you actually possess such skill.
I may have absolutely sucked at my attempt to crush our cameraman in a match of Gigantic, but that doesn’t mean the interview sucks. In fact, it goes 20-0, two Guardian – that’s what they call towers – kills and a swath of assists. That’s why you should check out the conversation with James Phinney. Oh, and we may be scoring some alpha keys for Twitch viewers. So there’s that.
