Zeros

I’ve always enjoyed “underdog” games, since it can be rewarding to move from last place to first place (or even watch last place players move to first place). For instance, maybe you’re on a losing streak, but then at the very last moment, you sweep your opponent by constantly winning each round, because you were setting up the game with traps, spells, and hazards (which is especially true in TCG/CCGs or in turn-based RPGs). But of course, that’s not exactly an “underdog” game, but more of an “underdog” play style to a game, and I think this article mainly talks about “underdog” play styles rather than “underdog” games.

But when it comes to “underdog” games (not play styles), the best I could think of is Mario Kart, because the game always balances out to give last-place player a chance to catch up. For instance, you’re in 8th place, then as you grab a mystery box, the item from that box is something useful like a bullet bill, a star, or a blue shell which can help you catch up in the race. I don’t think there’s a single game that’s deserving of being called “underdog” more than the Mario Kart series. And with this sort of underdog game, it doesn’t “require much research, attention, or sensitivity to various factors and variables” since the game determines how to balance itself out.

I think CS:GO skins are great, if that’s what people enjoy about the game. Personally, I feel like games focused primarily on gameplay, especially FPS gameplay, really don’t benefit as much on skins as games that are more social, like a handful MMORPGs. For both MMOFPS and FPS, I just prefer the gameplay, not so much skins, so it’s not something worth it from my point of view.

Esports is growing, but I don’t think it’s growing that substantially, especially with lockdowns. It’s just that more people are looking into games, when they’re just stuck at home almost all day, almost every aspect of gaming rises in popularity (mobile games, esports, social games, etc.). I’m sure it’ll dwindle a bit, once people go back to their normal lives after lockdowns are lifted, but a number of places (especially populous places) still have lockdowns.

Interesting; never thought about cricket at all, especially for video games. Real Cricket 20 seems like a good one though; it’s available on both iOS and Android.

I think it’s kind of ridiculous to bar people from watching streams, because there really isn’t a reason to. Maybe if someone’s stream sniping, sure, but I think that’s a lame excuse for a stream ban, plus people will always find a way anyway (like VPNs). Barring them from chat, on the other hand, that’s fine. Only good reason to ban people is to control chat behavior, generally.

Steam does have quite a lot of games. Usually you can narrow down searches by genre, and you can find games you have never heard of before, but it’s usually hard to tell if the games are hidden gems unless they’re popular or highly rated.

Rainbox Six: Siege is a safe bet considering it’s massive popularity. Not too sure about the other games.

Nearly all games are online these days, especially the popular games. Hard to imagine online gaming declining anytime soon. And I think it’s cool that older games like classic arcade games are transitioning to the online milieu; many online services have already been doing that for years now, porting arcade games and other games to newer consoles and to PCs where people can download or play games online.

Better technology just yields better games, or at least more diversity of games, generally. Whenever there’s new technology, that has allowed developers to do things that could never have been done before, and it’s been a trend for a long time. So long as there are always new ideas and innovations, you can expect better online games.

I feel like GTA V and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare are a bit overrated at this point. Maybe not so much COD: MW since it’s a different game than COD4: MW, although the title of the game can be confusing, but GTA V definitely is overrated since that game’s been around for so long now. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is a pretty good choice though since every Assassin’s Creed game feels like a whole new experience.

Sun and Moon were alright; those games did some things right like eliminating the need to teach Pokémon HMs by just letting the player ride Pokémon instead and by introducing newer, permanent forms of older and memorable Pokémon. Removing gyms was a radical change though, so I think opinions will drastically vary since some people enjoyed gyms. However, I felt like X and Y were the games that renewed the most interest, especially for older fans; so many Kanto Pokémon from the original Red and Blue had Mega Evolution forms (including fan favorites like Charizard and Mewtwo) and these games didn’t bog down the gameplay experience since they didn’t throw in so many cutscenes like Sun and Moon did.

Rocket League’s a good one. It’s a game that anyone can easily pick up and great to play with friends.

Resident Evil’s been around for a long time, and I don’t think the original ever made it to Xbox until the 2019 remake. The Walking Dead’s a pretty good choice since that one is available for a ton of platforms including Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and even the Ouya which is kind of surprising.

I try to avoid RGB lights for computer parts, if I can, because blue light is often an issue, and just opt-in for one color whenever possible. Personally, I like a standard red light since it’s less distracting during the nighttime and something about the color red keeps me more focused on activities like gaming.