Video game versus: League of Legends, not overhyped

In Saratoga High, students obsess over multiple computer games, thus forming groups of gamers who play together. Among these games are Starcraft, Minecraft and Call of Duty. League of Legends (LoL) is another prominent example, yet those outside of the LoL gaming circle complain that it is overhyped. 

In my opinion, the game easily lives up to its hype. It has solid graphics, requires strategy to play and is a very teamwork-intensive game. The typical objective of the games in this genre is for a team to work together to defeat enemy players and destroy their base; without cooperation and strategy, victory is impossible. 

As a result, students, including me, commonly play together and form teams. In fact, I’m the captain of one of these teams. We communicate with one another over Skype to coordinate our movements and attacks. The game has the ability to bring groups closer together. For example, juniors on my team play with freshmen, allowing a closer bond between the classes. There is even a LoL Facebook group called “League of SHS” with students from various classes. 

LoL belongs to the genre of MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) games. Compared to other games of its genre, I find LoL to be exceptional with its large fan base and variety of characters, items, abilities, strategies and maps.

Due to this variety and the many players throughout the world that the game may place on my team or on the enemy team, every round is different than the last one. Thus, I have to use different strategies each game and must be very flexible and adapt to different scenarios. With a constant need to change strategies and plans, each round is fun, exciting and fresh. 

There are various game maps and modes that can take varying amounts of time. Games can last from 15 minutes to one hour. In fact, if I’m short on time, I play “Custom Game” mode which one can exit at any time. With the amount of fun, variety and interaction it offers, I believe LoL easily lives up to its hype and deserves its reputation as a popular and insanely fun game.