Smite the Monstrous

For anyone that has even thought about trying out a MOBA (Massive Online Battle Arena) within the last few years, they’ve probably heard the name of a game called “League of Legends”. Riot Games is it’s developer, and to most it seems like the game just can’t be beat in its genre.  With a consistent flow of people throughout both days, so far it seems as though more attention is being paid to it than any other game here at PAX 2013.  I, however, don’t want to talk about this giant – as the name of this article implies. I want to talk about a gem that I found this year that had a small booth hidden inside of TwitchTV, and developed by Hi-Rez Studios.

It’s called Smite, and it has a variety of refreshing aspects that haven’t been popularized in a MOBA before. After spending a few hours playing the demo, I realized that there is a lot more to this game than I had initially thought. Without further ado, here’s some of the more important things to know about this game.

• Camera angles are NOT top-down. This sets it apart from the major titles like League, HoN and DOTA2 already. It looks as though it was inspired by Mass Effect, with a very close third person perspective. It gives a feeling of being more closely connected to the character that you’re controlling, and feels like you are actually a part of the fight as opposed to simply commanding someone around a field. 

• Pacing: The game plays at a pace similar to Guild Wars 2, albeit the fights are shorter- there’s no true healing classes or anything of the sort. There are still characters that complement others well and enhance or support their fellow teammates well, but if someone is under heavy duress, there is no way to keep them alive with sustained direct heals and this keeps the pace extremely quick.  Every single “God” has skill shots and it engenders the player to keep focused on every action that they or others around them may be making.  It’s not to say that other MOBAs don’t have this, it just seems that much more intense in Smite.

• Graphics: With incredibly detailed character models and breathtaking scenery even on the smallest of maps, Smite is easily the most breathtaking MOBA I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing.  The skins available are mostly color swaps, but that’s easily overlooked by just how amazingly the base models of characters look.

• It’s low-cost in comparison: While we’re talking about skins, we may as well talk about paid content. Let’s take League as the quintessential example, since it’s the most popular of all MOBAs. You can use their free currency earned by playing matches to unlock champions for an exorbitant cost, or you can pay a small fee and have access to the same champion instantly. While this “pay-to-win” mentality has been around for years many people (myself included) have spent an incredible amount of time, money, or both to have access to the coolest new aspects of the game. In an attempt to not repeatedly stab their players in the wallet, Hi-Rez has introduced something that’s been overdue for a long time for these games. For the flat fee of $30USD, access to every “God” and all skins that are out at that time is permanently granted to a purchaser.

• Items are tiered: This one is more for players of MOBAs already. When you’re in the midst of battles, sometimes there are moments when you say to yourself, “Man, I could really use some more health and a bit of armor.” Instead of waiting around to build up for a recipe to an item and buy the individual parts to make something powerful, Smite allows players to buy a low-powered version of the item and then pay more gold for a strictly better version of it later. It lets you address glaring issues with your play style much quicker and with small bonuses as opposed to massive jumps in power. Someone that is being absolutely destroyed in the game can still feel like they are managing to build themselves up despite the spanking.

These things help to set Smite apart from others in its genre. Is this going to be a “League-killer”? No. Just like how TERA, AION and Rift were supposed to be “WoW-killers” this game won’t “take down” League. What it will be is a fun alternative to the giants that exist out there, and I for one can’t keep the smile off my face when I play this game.  I urge you to try it, and see what other developers have to offer before just blindly picking up what’s popular.