Infinite Crisis: Turbine imagines an MOBA for everyone
Infinite Crisis, the MOBA which has been secretly in the works at Turbine for the last two years, is coming to PC later this year. VG247 sent resident MOBA virgin Stephany Nunneley to have a look at it, and she walked away with a massive smile.
I have never played an MOBA. They intimidate the hell out of me. I am not even one to play PvP in an MMO. I am just not too fond of it. I have a hard enough time trying to keep aggro off my squishy hunter in a LOTRO raid - which I blame entirely on the Guards - without going up against a group of Wargs in the Moors. However, after playing Infinite Crisis for 30 minutes during GDC 2013, my perspective has totally changed.
Before I sat down for my gameplay session as Green Lantern and got my ass handed to me six times by Wonder Woman, I spoke with executive producer Jeffrey Steefel, about the concept of the game, which is simple: fans get to play as every Batman or Superman from the Infinite Crisis universe and more - oh and they also get to slap around other versions of themselves.
"Any sort of DC Comics character that you can imagine will eventually be in the game. All the characters, whether the regular version or the alternate version, are fully playable with their own unique power sets in the game. They aren't just cosmetic skins or anything like that."
"In the game, a cataclysm has occurred and all the universes are falling apart, so there's a chance that everything which exists can disappear,"said Steefel. "So your character is one of many who have been chosen as protectors of these worlds and your job is to build your team with heroes and villains and fight to restore order."
You can customize your team however you like as well: for instance, you can have a team of all Batmans, Jokers, or a mix between heroes and villains. You just can't have two Gaslight Batmen for example.
"Basically, all the characters have multiverse alternate egos from the 52 earths," said Steefel. "While it's not following the Infinite Crisis storyline - the game has its own unique storyline - it's still the inspiration from where all these characters come from.
"This is great, because it gives us all these different characters which you need for a MOBA, such as vampire Batman from Red Rain, the Batman from Gotham by Gaslight - we will visualize as many of these worlds as we can with the characters and the maps as we move forward.
"Any sort of DC Comics character that you can imagine will eventually be in the game. All the characters, whether the regular version or the alternate version, are fully playable with their own unique power sets in the game. They aren't just cosmetic skins or anything like that."
Steefel said Infinite Crisis felt like the next, natural step for Turbine what with its experience doing PvP in Asheron's Call and Lord of the Rings Online. This experience also plays into the various power sets which will be available for characters in the MOBA.
"Let's say Batman is your favorite character, but your playstyle is more support than tank, Infinite Crisis allows you to still play Batman, but as a different role or whoever your character of choice is - plus, you will be able to break things."
Breaking things is where the destructible environments come in, much like Warner's other DC-based game, Injustice: Gods Among Us. So, for example, when you throw something against a wall in the game, it will break. Most of the items included in the game's maps are destructible and in addition, catastrophic events will take place as well.
"For example, a meteor comes out of the sky and crashing into the map - reorganizing it a bit," Steefel explained. "This will cause the teams to change strategies a bit and they will have to respond to it."
Other additions to the game are stronger powers that may not necessarily be inherent in your character of choice. For example: you expect Superman to be able to pick up a car and throw it at an enemy, but not the Joker. In Infinite Crisis, if you get really good at playing Superman, you can temporarily bestow such a power on your Joker character.
Now, as far as my playthough was concerned, I was given Green Lantern as he is more of a ranged character, and the type I usually play in multiplayer games. Since it was the last session of the day, I was the only media person in the room, so I played with a room full of Turbine developers who knew the ins and outs perfectly.
The gameplay was fast, and fluid, and full of extra AI bots to dish out your own particular brand of justice to – but most of all it was fun.
Luckily I had a coach sitting beside me, reminding me to upgrade, when to hit my q,w,e, or r button to perform an attack, and altering me to when Wonder Woman and her lasso of truth was heading my way, and when to head over to the checkpoint to claim it for my team.
The gameplay was fast, and fluid, and full of extra AI bots to dish out your own particular brand of justice to - but most of all it was fun. I felt zero pressure, even when playing against a room full of developers and community types.
Upon each of my six deaths, I ported myself back to my team's main resurrection point, where I was also able to upgrade my skills using the points I earned; thus giving me more powerful moves. Eventually, the ability for me to call upon a fighter jet hologram to come crashing out of the sky and into my enemies became stronger.
While I would have loved to be able to try out characters other than Green Lantern, as I have never really been a fan, I will have to wait until the beta launches and then I will have 12 to choose from.
Turbine plans to release more characters through monthly DLC as well as new storylines seasonally, and the game will also adhere to the standard MOBA free-to-play business plan, with both free and purchasable characters available to players.
Infinite Crisis launches on PC later this year, and I can say with 100% certainty, it is one MOBA I will be trying out on a regular basis, providing the community is just as mature as Turbine's other games.
