[Review] Blacklight: Retribution

Alright, time to get to the review I have been meaning to do for days now. Blacklight: Retribution, a free to play FPS.

I would like to start out by saying that I have not played to much of this game, but I feel I have played enough to give it an honest review. (about 10 hours). I do love this game, and I can find very little wrong with it. The only thing that jump out is that I am still watching there cash shop carefully for dreaded "pay to win" items, but generally it seems okay. The cash shop is on a rental system, and the prices are cheap (in both real money and in game money.) You can unlock anything for either, for a variety of time periods, including permanent. I like the system they have in place a lot, actually.

The game itself is really solid, it's basically a Halo meets Call of Duty, frantic, twitch based fps. Everything you could want from a free game. The game does have it's own features, one of which is, instead of a radar you get a vision mode that lets you see through walls for a short time. Another is mecs that you can pilot after  accumulating enough in game points from getting kills and assists. These points are different from the currency that you unlock things with. The game also feature a large variety of upgrades, and customization options for your guns, which is good for a game set up in this way. It adds a sense of progress to the game.

Also the game plays really really well. The controls are top notch, the art style is great, and there is really not much to hate on if your a fan of First person shooters. Personally I like the game better then Team Fortress 2 and Tribes: Ascend. Thats personal opinion though. Hell the only reason I have not played more of it is because I have been playing to much League of Legends lately.

Overall I would give the game a 9.5/10. This is only because there are a few shady things in the cash shop, and there are still FPS's that I personally prefer to it. It is an amazing game though, and if you like fps's you really should give it a try.

[General] Why I Think That Competitive Gaming Can Be Good For You

So, I had a thought on my personal blog just a little bit ago that I wanted to take a moment and expand on. The thought was:

I think that competitive gaming is good for ones being. It can teach you to be more confident, and assertive in your life. It can ease your doubts, and more importantly allows a means of relaxation.

I say this because of a few things, but lets looks at some in depth examples. Lets take a game of Starcraft for example first. In Starcraft you have to be able to react quickly. That's just a fact, you have to make on the fly decisions, and you have to be able to multitask. These are things that you naturally learn while trying to get better at the game. When the time comes, you have to make the decision to attack your opponent, and from experience when you are first starting out that can be a tough decision. You will lose matches because you didn't make decisions fast enough. You will lose matches because you didn't execute those decisions fast enough. It will suck, and you will lose. But eventually you will learn. And you will win. It can also help your concentration. One thing that you will notice is that the more focused you are, the more quickly you will execute your decisions and the more you will win. Because of the type of game Starcraft is, even 30 seconds of distraction can cost you the match.

Now lets look at League of Legends. The one big thing that I think most people will learn in League is how to work as a team, with minimal communication (because most people Solo que). It will teach you how to deal with jerks, and again how to focus. It will teach you how to separate good and bad decisions (should I chase my opponent down the lane and get the kill, or will I not get the kill making it not worth it.)

FPS's will teach you generally the same skills, with a little more focus on the quick thinking part. The more I look at it, I would say that all competitive games probably have life lessons you can take from them. This makes competitive games the best kind of games in my mind, because I like games that even after putting them down, your left a better, more reliable, human being. I like knowing that the more league I play I'm learning skills. I like knowing that Starcraft is making me a better decision maker. However the thing I like most of all, is that I love playing these games, just for fun. It's not like going to some decision making class, or something. It's learning these things in an environment that I like being in. I think that it's moments and thoughts such as these that will bring gaming into the public eye, and seen as a true hobby and not just something that "nerds" do.