Monday, August 7, 2017

Shadow of War Microtransactions: My Thoughts

Hey Guys, I am aware that microtransactions have been a problem for years. However, we're usually used to seeing them in multiplayer games until Ubisoft popularized using microtransactions in single player games. I have never once used microtransactions in single player games, but apparently people do it enough to the point where Ubisoft continues to implement them in their games. The only thing though is that this isn't Ubisoft.

Image Provided by PlayStation

















The main question is: Will microtransactions ruin the Shadow of War experience? If the gameplay is similar to Shadow of Mordor, then the game itself should be good. You could tell that this new Nemesis system is meant to spice up the gameplay to be more "team-oriented" compared to the original game. It's kind of reminiscent of Clash Royal or Clash of Clans.

However, if these microtransactions provided unfair advantages to make the game a breeze then what would be the point of playing it?

According to Monolith, "An important aspect of the Nemesis System now comes in forging, customizing, and leading your own army of unique Orc followers against the fortresses of Mordor...There are different ways to do this, including dominating Orcs by exploring the vast open-world and encountering them as part of Orc society, or players can acquire Orcs and other items through the Market (in-game store)."(Monolith).

While orcs and other abilities can be achieved in-game, something tells me that the game will purposely be made to be a grindfest in order to influence people to go to the Market to speed up their progress. That would just defeat the purpose of the game! Grinding is a love or hate thing. I just hate grinding! I feel that it gets in the way of progression as most of time you are just doing unnecessarily repetitive actions for far too long.

What pisses me off the most is that these "other items" are probably going to be "achieved" through random loot boxes-yes there will be loot boxes. Oh my goodness, random loot boxes in multiplayer games are already a pain in the ass. Just look at Overwatch during events or Destiny as a whole.

Shadow of Mordor was unique in the sense that you were made to be overpowered, but every time you died your enemies would grow in power. Additionally, you can't always use the same strategy as each orc boss had different weaknesses or strengths. Sure, the story wasn't on the strong side, but the gameplay was action packed.

If these microtransactions literally let you pay to beat the game, then everything that Shadow of Mordor brought to the table will go down the drain. Let this be a warning that microtransactions should not be in single player games. However, I feel like this is just going to be an industry standard if people actually pay for this shit.
Till Next Time!!

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