Redrafting all the WWE Championships!

I wish I wrote for WWE creative, but sadly I do not. Instead I am writing on a blog that nobody reads about who I’d like to see with each of the championship belts on Raw/Smackdown/NXT and 205 Live.

Universal Championship

Current Champion: Brock Lesnar

Fantasy Champion: Braun Strowman

Braun is so over in 2018 that I feel he deserves the title. I am worried every week that creatives will ruin his push and destroy all the momentum he has, and therefore would like to see the belt on Braun sooner rather than later. I feel a similar run to Brock’s current run in which we have an unstoppable monster with a target on his back, would work much more effectively with a wrestler that actually appeared on Raw regularly.

Raw Tag Team Championship

Current Champion: Sheamus and Cesaro (The Bar)

Fantasy Champion: The Club

The Club have been woefully mismanaged since joining WWE. Both Andersson and Gallows are fantastic on the mic, fantastic in the ring and are (or were) over with the crowd. I don’t think the group need to be rallied around AJ or Finn, I think they are more than capable of standing by themselves. I feel that creative simply needs to be looser with them and to let them have more creative freedom to show fans how fantastic they can be.

Intercontinental Championship

Current Champion: The Miz

Fantasy Champion: The Miz

It’s hard to argue that anyone in recent times has done more for the IC belt than The Miz. He took the belt from a relatively unloved and uncared for mid-card belt and made it feel worth something to the fans. All of this work was quickly undone by Dean Ambrose’s relatively dull run and it took The Miz reclaiming the belt and taking it to Raw to rebuild it’s prestige within the company.

Raw Women’s Championship

Current Champion: Alexa Bliss

Fantasy Champion: Nia Jax

I had some reservations about this as I weighed up a few different options. I think Alexa is currently on fire with the belt and is a fantastic champion. I am all in favour for Asuka claiming the belt at some point, however I feel now is not the time. Her undefeated streak is likely to last a little while longer and I think we all remember how stale things in NXT got towards the end. I’ve gone for Nia as I believe they could tie in a very good story of betrayal between her and Alexa. Perhaps even having Nia teaming up with the recently heel Sasha Banks. The change could lead to big turmoil and instability which might freshen up the pecking order in Raw’s Women’s division.

WWE Championship

Current Champion: AJ Styles

Fantasy Champion: Sami Zayn

Oh I so want Sami to win the belt. He’s so good as a face, he’s so good as a heel. We’ve never really seen a proper Sami title run and I’m confident he’d be straight fire. On top of this I feel that AJ is just as good and popular without the belt as he is with it.

United States Championship

Current Champion: Bobby Roode

Fantasy Champion: Rusev

Rusev has always been fantastic, but he has often struggled to connect to any fans outside of the very hardcore. This is most likely due to his ‘evil foreigner’ gimmick (please WWE, it’s 2018… end this shtick). Due to a combination of his online popularity, his appearance in Southpaw Regional Wrestling and Total Divas, he is incredibly over right now. Reddit has birthed the meme ‘Rusev Day’ and it’s spread like wildfire. With WWE’s recent acknowledgement of the Reddit community, I do hope that we see the belt on Rusev in the near future.

Smackdown Tag Team Championship

Current Champion: The Usos

Fantasy Champion: The Fashion Police

WWE already missed the boat on these two. Fantastic comedy chops and two severely underrated in-ring workers. Tyler Breeze and Fandango would surely have a great and memorable run with the belt if just given the shot. Most fans are tied of this never-ending Usos vs New Day feud and would love to see new faces in the top spot of Smackdown’s tag team division. If WWE wants to go for a relatable comedy group that fans can get connected to and also be impressed by their wrestling accumen (a-la The New Day) then Tyler Breeze and Fandango are the right guys for the shot.

Smackdown Womens Championship

Current Champion: Charlotte Flair

Fantasy Champion: Ruby Riott

Charlotte is great, there’s no doubt about that. However I feel she has become somewhat stale in 2018. The entire women’s Smackdown division has become somewhat stale. With amazing talent like Charlotte, Becky, Carmella, Naomi & Nattie duking it out in the same feuds it was a welcome sight when the Riott squad burst onto the scene. Ruby Riott was one of the best indie wrestlers before joining the WWE last year. She’s quickly gone on to be a force to be reckoned with and brought up to the main roster very quickly. I feel a title run with her at the helm of the Riott squad would offer a chance for the division to reset itself and freshen up.

NXT Championship

Current Champion: Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas

Fantasy Champion: Johnny Gargano

While I was over the moon to see Cien retain the belt at NXT Philadelphia, the seeds have been sewn for Gargano to take the championship and feud it against the monster Tomasso Ciampa. I don’t feel I need to qualify why Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa, two of WWE’s best in-ring workers, most charismatic characters and members of the best feud in WWE right now fighting against each other for the NXT title would be amazing. I hope this happens sooner rather than later.

NXT Tag Championship

Current Champion: Bobby Fish & Kyle O’reilly

Fantasy Champion: TM61

During last years Dusty Rhode’s classic one of the teams that impressed me were the Aussies of TM61. I’d seen them as a relatively mid-card and decent but average team up until that point. They made it all the way to the final with some stellar wrestling. However just as their star was rising, injury struck. TM61 have been out of action for the better part of a year and are just now set of a return. I’d be excited to see the belt on the team and to see a feud against Fish & O’reilly as I feel their styles will mesh relatively well.

NXT Women’s Championship

Current Champion: Ember Moon

Fantasy Champion: Peyton Royce

I absolutely love the iconic duo. However I think many can agree that it’s potentially run its course and a break up has been teased for quite some time. I’d love to see Peyton turning on Billie to take the belt (perhaps in a fatal five way with Ember Moon, Shayner Baszler & Nikki Cross) and see a feud between the former best friends. It’d be petty, violent and deliciously bitchy.

Cruiserweight Championship

Current Champion: None

Fantasy Champion: Noam Dar

Noam Dar is great in-ring and great on the mic. Why WWE has allowed him only to be either background help in group fights or as Alicias Fox’s sexual harasser boggles the mind. Noam could bring an interesting and explosive reign with the belt, perhaps featuring a feud against Akira Tozawa.

United Kingdom Championship

Current Champion: Pete Dunne

Fantasy Champion: Neville

Please come back, Neville… we miss you!

Top 12 Best Selling Games of All Time

The games industry is a seemingly never-ending juggernaut with, as of 2017, a worth more than both the film industry and music industry combined. With a barrage of games hitting markets every single day, lots of releases do not make a splash in the ocean of the video game industry. However, some games become cultural phenomenons unto themselves and sell millions of copies becoming part of pop culture. In this list we will look at the 12 best selling games of all time.

12 

Diablo 3 had everything going for it, being the sequel of two of the most iconic RPGs of all time created by a trusted and respected developer in Blizzard. The hype was massive for Diablo 3 before release. However the launch of Diablo 3 was a shambles. The game launched with server issues making it virtually unplayable for most, yet still managed to sell 30 million copies, showing just how well the game was marketed.

11

Similarly to the previous entry, The Elder Scrolls Skyrim gripped the gaming landscape before it’s release back in 2011. Taking a beloved title and bringing into the modern era with beautiful graphics and a huge world to explore, everyone was excited for the release of Skyrim. The game delivered on all fronts and as a result managed to sell 30 million copies.

10 

The first and certainly not the last time you’ll see the Italian plumbers on this list, New Super Mario Bros Wii is our number 10. Super Mario Bros Wii didn’t mix things up much in terms of gameplay, but it did incorporate the newly release Wii consoles unique controls to refresh the Mario gameplay. Nintendo have long since learned that Mario is a license to print money as they managed 30 million, 100 and 10 thousand copies of New Super Mario Bros Wii.

9

Similarly to the previous entry, the Nintendo DS title New Super Mario Bros took the tried and test Mario gameplay and brought it to a new system. In this case it was the hugely successful Nintendo DS console, a handheld, lightweight console designed for gaming on the go. This version of Mario brought in 30 million 800 thousand copies for Nintendos mustacheoed mascot.

8

Pokemon took the world by storm in the mid to late 90’s. Everyone at school during this period either collected the cards, played the Gameboy titles or a combination of both. Pokemon Red and Blue were game changers for the Gameboy market. They provided a relatively rich and detailed RPG in a massive world for the time, with 151 pokemon to catch, 8 gym badges to win and the elite 4 to conquer, many kids spent hundreds of hours building their pokemon army. 31 million, 380 thousand kids to be precise.

7 

I was surprised to find Wii Sports Resort on this list, let alone so high. It is  a game that was mostly forgettable, most unremarkable and not unique in anyway. The only explanation I can fathom is that it rode the coat tails of it’s big brother Wii Sports, which you’ll see later on in this list. Wii Sports resort utilised the Wii’s motion controls to allow for multiplayer party games to be enjoyed by the entire family. 33 million, 60 thousand copies found their way into homes.

6

Yet another Wii title and yet another Mario title. This time the Italian plumber brought his popular racing series to the Wii. Mario Kart Wii was a game changer for the series, enabling players to utilise the Wii’s motion controls by placing the controller in a wheel peripheral and allowing players to drive the kart like they would in real life. The Wii variant of Mario Kart also brought a face lift to the aging Mario Kart series. 37 million, 20 thousand copies were sold.

5

The final mention of the Bros takes us back to the 1980’s, back to the second title in the Mario family, Super Mario Bro’s released for the NES in 1985. While it was the third game we’d seen Mario in, the first being as Jumpman in Donkey Kong and the second being 1983’s Mario Bro’s. Super Mario Bros was the game to take the world by storm. Cementing Mario as a cultural icon and Nintendo as kings of the industry, netting them 40 million 240 thousand sales in the process.

4

The last Nintendo title to make this list was one that had a caveat that enabled it’s sales to balooned much higher than it would perhaps have sold with it. Wii Sports sold 82 million 830 thousand copies, a staggering number and twice as much as the previous entry. However this mamoth figure can be attributed to Wii Sports being bundled together with the Wii console. This does not mean that Wii Sports was a particularly bad game, and in fact it was a fantastic entry into the gaming industry for many that might have been put off by the more traditional games of 2006 such as Gears of War. Wii sports was the christmas party game to play with your 3 year old nephew and your 70 year old Grandma.

3

Grand Theft Auto is synonymous with the gaming industry, for both positive and negative reasons. Grand Theft Auto 3 was one the first major 3D open world games, Grand Theft Auto Vice City, San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto 4 continued to build and grow the franchise, but Grand Theft Auto 5 was a game changer. Offering the most detailed, rich and beautiful world to date, Grand Theft Auto 5 had all the hype of the gaming industry behind it before release and it capitalised on this to the tune of 85 million copies sold.

2

Minecraft sold 144 million copies. More copies than anyone could have ever predicted. Created by Notch, a middle aged Swedish developer as an open world sandbox game with low poly graphics and a focus on allowing players the freedom to create whatever their heart desires. Minecraft became a cultural phenomon, eventually leading to it’s purchase by Microsoft for 2 billion dollars, making Notch one of the Richest men in the gaming industry as a whole.

1

If you ask someone what nation the best selling video game of all time comes from people will likely guess, the USA, the UK, Japan or Sweden. Very few people will guess the Soviet Union, but in fact that’s the country Tetris hails from. Created in 1984 by Alexey Pajitnov a Soviet Era programmer living in Moscow, Tetris spent the first part of it’s life unavailable to anyone outside of the Soviet Union. However the game proved too good to be kept from the world and became the first entertainment software to be ported to the US during the cold war. Once the game was upon to the world, it spread like wildfire. The fun and unique but simple gameplay of Teris appealed to the massed and lead to sales of 170 million copies.

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5 things Battalion 1944 needs to do to succeed as an Esport

Battalion 1944 hopes to become the next big thing in esports and offer something that has been somewhat missing in the last almost decade. After the demise of the competitive PC COD2 and COD4 Promod scenes, there’s been a hole in the market for a face paced teambased twitch shooter. Most players were forced into other titles and tried their hand at CS:GO or eventually Overwatch, but there’s something special about COD2 and COD4 Promod that just haven’t been replicated since. Battalion 1944 hopes to replicate that and has already made great strides during it’s creation process to offer twitch shooter fans something unique and something that’s been sought after for many years.

5. Differentiate itself from CODWW2

In the midst of its competitors blasting around in space with mech suits and robots, Battalion 1944 decided to bring things back to where it all started with a title set in WW2. However in 2018 the landscape looks very different with both Call of duty and Battlefield having returned to WW2 and WW1 respectively. Coming from a smaller publisher in Square Enix and a smaller Development team, Battalion 1944 doesn’t have the graphical polish, celebrity voice actors or the sheer marketing power that it’s AAA competitors possess. Battallion needs to be building on it’s unique selling points. The fact that the game is built with high level competition in mind and the fact that the game has a higher skill cap in comparison to its rivals are two areas in which Battallion needs to focus its marketing and show that it isn’t another COD clone.

4. Capture market interest early

Another game with an esports focus and a tonne of hype going into 2017 was Lawbreakers, a game that bares many similarities to Batallion 1944. Lawbreakers was sadly declared dead on arrival by most of the community due to low player numbers that sadly have never recovered. A similar fate was suffered by Titanfall 2. Battalion 1944 needs to cultivate a dedicated community before the game hits beta, something that it seems they are attempting and hopefully succeeding to do.

3. Offer something for the casual audience

While it’s important to focus on the very top tier and deliver a polished and streamlined product that does what it says on the tin, this is not always enough for the casual audience. Additionally gameplay elements like Call of Dutys Zombie mode, Overwatches holiday themed horde modes and Counter Strikes endless supply of unique gamemodes are proof that the casual audience often stick around for something other than the base gameplay and by providing more for players to do, you drastically extend the games lifespan. Currently Battalion 1944 is focusing heavily on it’s base gametypes during producton, but I hope additional content will work its way into the game before release.

2. Work with Tournament Organisers to create something tangible early in the games life

Within esports there are three models currently used by developers or tournament organisers. The Overwatch or League of Legend model in which the developer has all control over the esport product, but also front all costs. The Clash Royale or Halo model in which the develop has most of the control over the esport and fronts most of the costs but hires a well known and trustred esports production team to control this for them, or the CSGO, Dota2 method in which the developer does not interfere very often and leaves the scenes to grow (or die) organically. While LCS and OWL have proved that perhaps that method is the most effective in terms of generating income, I don’t believe that Bulkhead have the funds to create something of this magnitude, at least not anytime soon. I believe that it’s important for Bulkhead to be working with tournament organisers like FACEIT, ESL or PGL to create grass roots competition for Battallion 1944 as early as possible to create a small dedicated playerbase of hardcore players.

1. Pretty Collectible items

One critisicm that can be pointed at Battallion 1944 is that it’s a very grey and drab looking game, keeping consistent with the location and time period the game is set. However, if anything can be learned from it’s competitors in the competitive space, it’s that players like pretty trinkets. Whether that be TF2’s hats, CS:GO’s weapon skins or League of Legends character skins. Players have proved to prefer collectibles that they have to pay for than for keeping historical accuracy, and I really think Battallion 1944 would benefit greatly from introducing this feature… as long as the upgrades are purely cosmetic.

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Top 12 WWE Wrestlers of 2017!

2016 was the year that I got back into wrestling. Flicking around the channels on a hotel in Atlanta, I stumbled onto Raw and a link to my childhood was re-established. Throughout 2017 I was a superfan, watching almost every raw, smackdown and NXT as well as every PPV. Fully invested in the characters and storylines, 2017 was the year that my old wrestling passion reach new heights, including attending my first PPV. I’ve examined the roster and put together a list of who I feel were my top 12 WWE wrestlers of the year.

12. Baron Corbin

In at number 12 is the lone wolf himself, Baron Corbin. Corbin has had quite a year so far. Starting the year as an emotionless and rather dull character that did not mesh with a majority of fans, despite having won the Andre the Giant Battle Memorial?. Baron Corbin slowly began to develop into a true force to be reckoned with as the year got under way, with some fantastic matches with Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles along the way. His momentum has begun to slow as the year progresses, but a surprise MITB victory has given him the MITB briefcase to work with. He was hit with unfortunately hit with a punishment stripping him of his briefcase and has spent the remaining half of the year trying to regain his heights.

11. Charlotte

At number 11 sits the Queen, Charlotte. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to place her higher on the list, but after an amazing 2016 with a groundbreaking feud with Sasha Banks, she has faltered somewhat in 2017. Moving to Smackdown and seeming to blend into the background of the smackdowns women’s roster, despite holding the championship belt, Charlotte is struggling to reach the same heights that she had while competing on Raw.

10. The Miz

When The Miz joined the main roster he was an unlikeable babyface that the fanbae absolutely detested. He struggled backstage, to the point of having to change in the hallway due to being banned from using the locker room. The Miz earned his respect. He earned it from his colleaugues and he earned it from the fans. In 2016 the miz managed to take an unrested mid card belt and raise it to new heights. After dropping the belt to Dean Ambrose, the belt slowly returned to it’s previous state. Thankfully in 2017 the belt was put back on The Miz and has since experienced a revival. Despite a questionable Miztourage gimmick going on currently, the Miz is looking great and his partnership with his wife Maryse is at an all time high, with talks of a reality show for the pair in the works.

9. Alexa Bliss

2017 was a great year for Alexa Bliss who is our number 9. Despite not being known as one of the better wrestlers on the roster, she’s had two Smackdown women’s championship runs after starting the year with the belt and after being transferred to Raw after the super star shake-up managed to defeat Bayley for the Raw women’s championship. Despite having some relatively poor matches in 2017, Bayley continues to capture the attention of the fans with her heel tactics and her strong character work. She has also managed to become the longest reigning owner of the womens raw championship belt of all time, a feat that she is sure to make sure we all hear about.

8. Goldberg

Goldberg’s shocking but short run in WWE is surely one of the marquee moments of 2016 and 2017. Returning at the end of 2016 thanks to ‘Fantasy warefare’ becoming reality after the release of WWE 2K17. Gold had several high profile matches in 2017. A dominant display in Royal Rumble that lead to the elimination of many superstars including lesnar. Goldberg setup a final confrontation with Lesnar at Wrestlemania 33 and on route squashed Kevin Owens in 22 seconds to win the Universal championship. A very odd but impactful WM 33 match ensued in which Goldberg would lose the belt to Lesnar. Goldberg returned for a very short ammount of actual wrestling, but would still manage to capture the attention of the audience and ride the nostalgia wave and stamp his mark over 2017.  

7. Sheamus

My number 7 pick may come as a bit of a surprise to some. Sheamus I feel has had one of the most impactful years in terms of how much he has grown and how much he has changed in the eyes of the public. An honourable mention goes to the man that could arguably be attributed to this success, Cesaro, but Cesaro is and always was a crowd favourite. Sheamus has gone from being one of the dullest members of the roster to being a celebrated tag team champion in a short period of time. In 2016 after being drafted to Raw, both Cesaro and Sheamus were drafted to Raw and found themselves in an odd spot of having nothing to do. A best of 7 spanning a couple of months was setup with the winner being awarded a non-specified title shot. This best of 7 would end as a draw and the men would be setup as a tag team and awarded a tag title shot. The team went into 2017 with the belts and remained a decently over tag team. It wasn’t until the team turned heel against the Hardy Boyz that Sheamus and his teammate Cesaro really began to shine. Now very much one of the top tag teams in the company, future looks bright for both men, even if they are broken up and become singles competitors once more.

6. AJ Styles

AJ Styles is without doubt one of the best wrestlers in the world today. After debuting at Royal Rumble 2016, 2016 was a landmark year for AJ, with a world title reign and a solid feud with Dean Ambrose. 2017 has been a slower year for AJ, but he has still managed to keep the world focused on him due to his masterclass with Kevin Owens around the US title. With the feud having Shane Mcmahon and Chris Jericho as side characters, it was one of the sleeper hits of the year. AJ had an odd and unexpected feud with shock headliner Jinder Mahal and managed to produce some decent matches against Mahal managing to win the World championship title at Clash of Champions. AJ is currently feuding with both Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn going into 2018 and is looking like he will hold his belt into the next Wrestlemania.

5. Samoa Joe

Debuting on the main roster in January 2017, Joe kicked off with a bang. Acting as a henchman for NXT boss man Triple H, Joe attacked Seth Rollins, who HHH was feuding with at the time. The following week Joe went onto win his in-ring debut against Roman Reigns, no small feat against one of the hardest pushed stars in wrestling history. Joe has his PPV debut against fellow NXT Alumni Sami Zayn in which they put on one of the strongest matches of the night. Joe went on to beat Reigns, Rollins, Wyatt and Balor in a fatal five ways match to win a chance to take on Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. A strong feud followed with Joe showing off some fantastic ability on the mic and bounced off of Lesnars manager Paul Heyman fantastically well. Later in the year Joe competed in one of the highest rated WWE matches of all time, competing in a fatal four way between Lesnar, Reigns, Strowman and himself. All four men held their own and put on a fantastic display.

4. Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns is at an odd position in his career. WWE have spent years pushing him more than anyone else on the roster. This has caused the fans to resent him, something that has been building for years. Things reached a fever pitch after Wrestlemania 33 as Roman Reigns retired fan favourite The Undertaker. Roman Reigns could be one of the biggest heels in wrestling history, if WWE just embrace the hate that is already thrown at Reigns, they would have a new a super villain. In terms of wrestling, Roman is undoubtedly one of the strongest wrestlers on the roster, despite having a rather choreographed moveset, he puts matches together well and has put together fantastic bouts with a great number of the locker room. On top of this, Roman is clearly very respected by the entire company. Corporate clearly trust him and like him and it has been reported that Roman has taken over from the Undertaker as the locker room judge to deal with wrestling disputes.

3. Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho has rebranded himself more times than argueably anyone else at WWE. Sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. None can argue that his 2017 character work has been one of the strongest of his career. His friendship angle with KO has been stellar, his work with AJ Styles has been stellar and his feud with KO best of all. Managing to transition seamlessly between a heel and a face when opportunity arises, Jericho has enthralled the viewers, despite the fact that his actual wrestling ability is begining to diminish with age. None would argue that he won’t go down as one of the greatest of all time.

2. Neville

In at number 2 is Neville. The Brit spent several years since his call up from NXT as a mid carder with very little direction and very little to do on the roster. This all changed when Neville was moved to the floundering cruiserweight show 205 live. Neville shed his superman gimmick of ‘the man that gravity forgot’ and instead crowned himelf as the heel king of the cruiserweights. Focusing more on brutality over flashy aerial moves. Neville took the division on his back and elevating the division dramatically. With fantastic feud between Austin Aries, rebelling against the decision to have the cruiserweight title match on the Wrestlemania preshow by putting on a show stealer and high profile feuds with Jack Gallagher and Akira Tozawa. Neville has conquered the cruiserweight division, but unfortunately looks to be on his way out from WWE due to issues over storyline and treatement that arose at the tail end of 2017.

1. Braun Strowman

When we talk about growth in 2017, one name comes to mind. Braun Strowman. Strowman began as a background character to Bray Wyatt and if you’d asked me a year ago if I thought Braun would ever challenge for the Universal title, i’d have laughed. However that became reality, becoming a fan favourite as a result of great WWE booking, the monster was born. During the royal rumble, Strowman knocked out 7 people, including fellow big men Big Cass, Big Show and Mark Henry. Brauns feud with Roman Reigns is without a doubt one of the strongest feuds of the year. The backstage segment featuring the ambulance… you all know that one, will remain one of the defining moments of the year. Braun would face Roman is a standout match at Greatballs of Fire, which would see the monster overcome Roman much to the glee of the audience. More recently Braun was involved in the highest rated WWE match of the year, the fatal four way between Brock, Roman, Joe and Braun. Braun looked like an absolute machine in this match going head to head with the beast Brock Lesnar. Braun has captured the attention of the fanbase and it’ll be fantastic to see his continued growth.

Honourable Mentions

Honourable mentions to both Jinder Mahal, a man that has shown it’s entirely possible to escape low-mid card hell and reach the very top of the business and to James Ellsworth, the little jobber that could.

 

Top 12 Heroes in Overwatch

Overwatch was always destined to be a smash success. It had everything going for it before it even released. An experienced game developer with a storied history in esports, a unique blend of many different FPS styles and a rich world full of character history and beautiful scenery. I’ve put together a list of what I feel are the top 12 heroes within Overwatch judged on a variety of criteria including ‘Popularity among players’ ‘Character look’ ‘Character Lore’ and ‘How the Character handles’ so without further ado here is ‘The top 12 Heroes in Overwatch’

12

Soldier-76 is the entry level choice for most players as he holds the most familiarity in terms of playstyle for most people. With an relatively low skillcap and the ability to have large impact on a fight Soldier will always be among one of the most popular heroes within Overwatch

11

Reinhardt is the key to such a great number of metas that he will forever be valuable among OW players. Dropping out of fashion somewhat after the introduction of Orissa, Reinhardt has continued to be one of the go to defence heroes due to his ability to absorb damage as well as being a fierce fighting in his own right. Reinhardt has a unique look with a gigantic hulking body holding a mammoth hammer which is juxtaposed against his advanced age of 61, the oldest of any hero within Overwatch.

10

The first healer to hit enter the countdown is the omnic Zenyatta. Featuring the unique blend of both a healing orb as well as a corruption org, players must learn to be able to pay attention to teammate location and health as well as focusing down the most valuable targets with your discord orb on top of firing your basic attacks to damage down the enemy leading to a high skill ceiling for a good Zenyatta to work towards. In regards to design, the Nepalese hippy robot is one of the coolest and most unique characters within the game by a long margin.

9

Lucio is without a doubt one of the most fun characters to play due to his wallrun mechanics enabling players to flank the opponents and get into valuable locations. On top of this Lucios right click pushes enemies backwards making him one of the scariest foes on a map featuring a cliff edge or a sharp drop. Lucio posses the easiest heal mechanic, despite being a worse healer in terms heals per second in comparison to his rival healers, being able to heal multiple teammates purely by proximity can be a game changer during a big team fight and on top of this his speed boost can make all the difference when racing back to defend the point.

8

DVA is a retired 19 year old ex-progamer who uses her skills to pilot a giant tank mech suit with two shotguns, a missle launcher and a bullet matrix. Need I say more?

7

Winston is one of the main mascots for Overwatch having featured in much of the games marketing material. A giant terrifying scientist monkey who uses both his might as well as his mind to win fights, featuring a lightning gun that can spread to multiple opponents at once and does not require aiming, a popup temporary shield and blind monkey rage. Winston is a formidable foe that is well used in a variety of metas to deal with poke champions like Genji and Tracer.

6

Mcree is the character that most fits the Counter-Strike playstyle. Possessing a revolver that does massive damage with a low rate of fire, Mcree require fantastic aim and quick reflexes to master. Despite being a very generic cowboy character with some cheesey catch phrases *add high noon catch phrase* he remains one of the most used characters in both public and pro play, potentially due to his extremely high skill ceiling that is nigh on impossible to master.

5

Road Hog is potentially the most visually displeasing hero in the pool wearing next to no clothes with a gas mask and giant exposed gut. However he is one of the most fun to play thanks to his hook mechanic. Road Hog is designed around singling out specific enemies and pulling them away from their teammates. If the Road Hog can pick a healer or a DPS just before a team fight then it can equal a loss for the team before the fight has even begun.

4

Pharrah is the winged bomber from Egypt. Equipped with a jetpack and a rocket launcher she is able to rain death from above and can be exceptionally difficult to deal with for the enemy team forcing a specific set of champions to shoot her down. Featuring twitch shooter mechanics from games like Quake or Unreal tournament, Pharrah requires quick flicks and positioning predictions to master. Secretly flanking the enemy and unleashing a torrent of rockets on the unsuspecting enemy is one of the greatest feelings in Overwatch.

3

The Japanese assasin Genji has in my opinion the most unique playstyle of any hero in OW and therefore I believe he is the hardest to master due to his playstyle being unlike any other FPS games playstyle. Zipping around the map with his sword and shuriken, Genji is designed to poke and prod until his ult is ready and he can unleash hell. With one of the coolest looks in Overwatch if you use one of his covered skins Genji is often a go to pick for many new players who quickly learn that to succeed with Genji you have a great number of skills to master.

2

I’d considered Tracer for my number one spot but decided against it at the last moment. Tracer is as iconic as it gets in Overwatch. Featuring on virtually all promotional material before release and even now being used as the Overwatch Leagues logo has cemented her places as the face of Overwatch. Causing a bit of a stir upon release due to her derriere Tracer was destined to one of the most picked hero’s by players. She also has one of the most unique gameplay mechanics of being able to reverse her own timeline by several seconds enabling fantastic poke playstyles to zip behind the enemy, rain down some damage and then teleport away.

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And in at number 1 is Hanzo the Japanese archer of death… *record scratch* no my real number one is the angel herself Mercy. Arguably the most useful hero in OW and someone that has been present during every single meta since the games release. As a pure support who does very little damage, Mercy is designed to glide around the map healing and providing damage boosts where possible as well as reviving downed foes which can make all the difference in the heat of battle. A good mercy can be the difference in a win or a loss and is perhaps the most noticeable hero to notice when one of your teammates is letting the side down. With great character design not focusing too much on sex appeal and being very relevant to the characters mechanics mercy is my pick for the greatest hero in Overwatch.

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Top 12 Facts you didn’t know about FF7!

FF7 is one of the greatest games of all time, many would argue it was the game that started their gaming passion. With oceans of nostalgia to be enjoyed, a riveting storyline and engaging gameplay, FF7 truly is a timeless classic. With a remake on the horizon, interest in FF7 is as strong as it has ever been. So here are 10 little known facts that you may not know about FF7.

12. Cloud and Tifa almost had a sex scene! 

Towards the end of disc 2, Cloud and Tifa share a romantic scene in their hometown of Nibelheim. The game hints towards a night of romance and passion between the two, however developers had originally planned to make their activities a little more obvious. The two would have been shown sneaking out of the chocobo stables after having had a roll around in the hay!

11. The Original Story was VERY different!

The original concept for FFVII was to be a simple detective story featuring a hot blooded detective named Joe and was planned to take place in the year 1999 in New York. Series creator Sakaguchi planned to have detective Joe pursue several suspects after a bombing takes place in the city. However after the death of developer Hironobu Sakaguchi’s mother, the direction of the game changed drastically. The game took a much deeper and more emotional turn, with more focus on the themes of death and loss felt throughout the game. The game shifted from New York to the fictional technologically advanced city of Midgar. The bombing storyline however did make it to the end product. However this time with protagonist Cloud Strife helping to commit the bombings against the Shinra corporation as a freedom fighter.

10. References to earlier titles

With 15+ games and counting in the series, the developers find themselves with an abundance of lore and history for the final fantasy world, and sometimes games will reference earlier titles in the series through easter eggs. One such example exists in the ghost hotel in the Gold Saucer. In one of the rooms a large green pumpkin can be found in the corner. If you interact with it, a cackle can be heard. This cackle is a slowed down version of Kefkas laughter from the previous title Final Fantasy VI. 

9. A bug or a forgotten storyline?

If you ask most players what the remember from FFVII, they will likely tell you one thing. Aeris death. Most players were so traumatised by her death that it left it’s mark on the gaming industry as a whole. Following the death, the game gives several clues and hints that Aeris may be resurrected, sadly this never actually happens. That didn’t stop players from trying anything they could to bring back Aeris. Some players found that when revisiting the church where Cloud originally meets Aeris, it’s possible to spot Aeris next to her favourite flowerbed. Developers have never confirmed if this is an easter egg or just a coincidental glitch. 

8. The first voiced song in the series!

Final Fantasy X was the first game in the series to feature full voice acting, however Final Fantasy VII was the first game to feature voice acting in the final fantasy series. A voice can be heard briefly over the intercom during X, which was the first use of voice. On top of this the song One Winged Angel is the first Final Fantasy song to feature vocals. 

7. Religious themes are woven throughout the story

FF7 features a number of religious themes woven throughout the story. One of these heavily featured themes is Kabbala, the Jewish school of thought. Some examples of this can be found within character names. Sephiroth could be argued to come from the word Sefirot, a term used to identify the ten divine attributes of Kabbalah. Likewise the character of Tifa, known to be the feisty beautiful female companion in the story, could be linked to Tif’eret, the divine attribue of beauty. 

6. Is there anything Star Wars hasn’t infiltrated?!

Science Fiction juggernaut Star Wars has seeped itself into all manners of media not created by directors name, from TV shows, to movies and even video games. FF7 is no exception, with two characters holding a connection to the star wars universe: Biggs and Wedge. The two members of avalanche that the player meets early in the story as you help them to destroy a Shinra Macho reactor, sadly don’t stick around for long. The two characters sacrificed their lives against an evil power to serve the greater good. An act paralleled by their star wars counterpart Biggs Darklighter and Wedge Antilles. Biggs was killed while trying to take down the Death Star whereas Wedge managed to survive the battles of Yavin, Hoth and Endor and remain the only other pilot (other than Luke Skywalker) to make it to the end of the original trilogy with their heads. 

5. A landmark achievement for the industry!

Final Fantasy 7 was a landmark achievement in the video game industry. Taking the detailed lore and compelling story that the series had become known for and thrusting it into a 3D world, rich with detail and things for the player to explore. The game can take players up to 100 hours to complete, with a seemingly endless array of enemies to fight, NPC’s to speak with and discoveries to be made.

This accomplishment came with a hefty price tag however. Squaresoft spent $45 million on the development of FF7 alone! A further 100 million was spent on marketing to equal a total budget of 145 million. This number was unfathomably large at the time and FF7 smashed the records for the most money spent on a video game. They held onto this record for 14 years, before losing out to Star Wars; The Old Republic. In the 20 years since the games release, only 3 games have surpassed this expenditure.

4. Boobs.

If you manage to acquire Yuffie while playing with Tifa as the party lead during the second disc then she will refer to Tifa simply as ‘boobs’… the 90’s were a different time.

3. Optional Characters

Both Yuffie and Vincent are not animated into any of the games cutscenes as both are optional characters that have the potential to not be found.

2. Can you imagine the iconic hair changed?!?

Due to budget concerns, developers initially planned for Clouds hair to be black and swept to the side, so that it’d be easier to animate and therefore cost less.

1. Imagine the game with full voice acting!

2018 is a very different year to 1997, the advancements in the industry have resulted in many changes, one of which being the inclusion of full voice acting in every major game. Final Fantasy 7’s remake is being full cast and is sure to challenge our own notion of what the characters voices sound like.

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5 Things I feel PUBG needs to do to make it as an Esport!

There’s no doubt that PUBG has taken the gaming world by storm in the last 12 months, becoming the most popular game on Steam and developing a huge following in the largest three markets, Europe, North America and Asia. With that success comes the expectation of a competitive esports scene, something which has begun but seems to have faultered and already hit some stumbling blocks. I will touch upon 5 areas I feel PUBG needs to improve or develop if it hopes to survive as a big esports.

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One of the main areas of complaint for many viewers is how difficult the game is to watch in comparison to playing it. PUBG is still very glitchy and the spectator tools are very much still in their infancy. When compared to the main two FPS competitors that it’ll be competing with for viewership, CSGO and Overwatch, PUBG’s spectator tools falls short.

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Another complaint is that a majority of competitive games follow the same pattern. An exciting opening 5-10 minutes, an action packed closing 5-10 minutes and then 20 minutes inbetween that are relatively dull and uneventful. This is in my opinion due to the sheer size of the map being played. Creating an esport specific map that forces more cooperative teamwork and more use of the environment to succeed as well as being considerably smaller than the two maps currently on offer in PUBG would reduce the dull moments in each game drastically.

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Following on from my previous point I believe that an esport specific ruleset could aid the game in succeeding as an esport. Games like COD4 Promod have shown that competitive play and casual play don’t necessarily play the same way and there is space for both in the market. Perhaps reducing health within competitive, increasing player speed or tweaking the speed of the killzone would improve the style of PUBG that pro’s are playing.

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One of the most difficult things while watching competitive PUBG is that 80 people are fighting at a single time and often several fights are happening concurrently. This means that action is bound to be missed. To combat this PUBG should have an automatic highlight system to capture kills that occur offscreen and can be easily played at the click of a button when action has died down. This is doable with expensive production equipment and a large production team currently, but would be much simpler as a game feature available to everyone spectating a game.

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Regular grass roots projects are missing from the PUBG scene. While PUBG is having a few large international tournaments semi-regularly, there is a huge lack of grass roots smaller tournaments or leagues for players to grow and develop with. I feel this lack of a ground level to competitive PUBG is harmful and will stem the flow of new talent into the competitive scene. Games like CS:GO and DOTA2 flourished by allowing small $1,000 tournaments to flood the scene and enable smaller teams to survive and grow underneath the ‘big dogs’

While I feel PUBG is stumbling right now, I do think there is potential for a fantastic esports scene to develop alongside an incredibly popular game. The developers just need to make sure they are addressing the communities issues and make sure they act quickly incase a rival developer beats them to it.

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