Not content with Mass Effect, The Old Republic, and Dragon Age, Bioware has announced open beta for Wrath of Heroes, the Free-to-Play PVP game based on the Warhammer Universe.
Okay, now she's ugly…
Here’s the rub: The game is Arena-style PVP, consisting of three-sided, six-player competition. So 6 vs. 6 vs. 6… A menage-a-dix-huit? That sounds insane.
From Bioware: “This cutthroat setup creates highly dynamic matches where teams constantly live on the edge of victory or defeat and alliances are quickly formed and just as quickly forgotten. With the instant playability of battles that last an intense 15 minutes, a small download size, and no cost to enter, Wrath of Heroes can scratch the competitive PvP itch for gamers of any type.” (source here)
That’s perfectly understandable PR copy, but what about the gamer? Can you maintain the necessary focus and longtime dedication to a game where you, “constantly live on the edge of victory or defeat”? Or one where “alliances are quickly formed and just as easily forgotten”? I am personally excited for these possibilities, because even if a well-oiled group of six start a match, the other two teams could gang up on them, creating a buttload of chaos that sounds rather enjoyable.
Everybody go for the dorky dwarf!
Of course, most of my avatars in PVP matches somehow end up wearing giant targets on their backs; I’m not sure how that always happens, which brings me to my next point: matches are capped at fifteen minutes, meaning that people like me (read: no legitimate skill) won’t get continually tea-bagged for too long.
Whether or not a free-to-play competitive PVP game based on Games Workshop’s long-lived and loved Warhammer franchise will have what it takes to thrive remains to be seen, but from what’s out there now, it looks promising.
Go here to start playing for free.
