By Joshua Williams
For Honor is Ubisoft’s attempt to break into the ever-growing Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) genre of video games. The game possesses the traditional elements of a MOBA from the battlefield that the characters fight on being a substitution for the lane in more traditional MOBAs such as Vainglory and the ever-popular League of Legends. For Honor is a game in which history’s greatest warriors face each other in combat.
The story of the game focuses upon the three warring factions of the Knights, Vikings and Samurai who are locked in a centuries old war. The game offers a story mode which is comprised of various missions for each of the three factions to complete. However, since it is a MOBA, much of the game is experienced through its multiplayer. The story mode can be looked at as an extended tutorial session to help the player prepare for the online component of the game.
In For Honor’s multiplayer, teams of 2 or four battle it out in various game modes. Dominion is the most popular 4v4 mode in the game due to its large battlefield and heavy focus on capturing points. The other game modes range from Duel, a simple deathmatch fought 1 on 1; or Skirmish, a 4-on-4 deathmatch.
The thing that truly sets For Honor in a category of its own is the combat. The gameplay in For Honor is heavily based upon how well you can switch from offense to defense. The combat is conducted by changing your stance with the right analog stick to attack and defend against incoming attacks. While this seems simple in principle, it takes hours of practice to become adept in properly switching from defending to attacking. Figuring out the proper balance of attacking and defend adds a layer of complexity to the game which is much needed and serves to balance the flow of combat, and the power fantasy of being an ancient warrior.
Being able to cut down the endlessly spawning waves of NPC foot soldiers that each side produces and then switching to a fast-paced and well-executed battle between players bring an excitement that is difficult to match. Learning the exact right time to defend and parry an opponent is immensely rewarding. Actively watching your opponent’s movements and matching them with your own to gain the upper hand in battle provides a great sense of accomplishment. I highly recommend spending an hour getting adjusted to For Honor’s style of combat before jumping into multiplayer simply because of how different of an experience it is.
While it is a fun experience, getting used to this new play style can easily become tedious. During the time of learning the game, it is very easy to feel as if you’re mindlessly hammering buttons in hopes of killing something. Overall after ample time with the game, For Honor easily feels like one of the best games to come out of Ubisoft’s lineup in the past few years.
Rating: 4/5 Atoms
from Nerd Reactor
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