Pokemon Unite a genuinely fun experience

AMMAN — July 21 was a strange day for Pokémon fans, what with the release of the latest game in the franchise, Pokémon Unite. The game, which was expected to follow the franchise’s standard formula, is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA). اضافة اعلان

It’s strange, I know — a franchise that followed such an iconic formula since 1996, opting to create a MOBA. But before you jump to conclusions, you should give it a try.


(Photos: Pokémon Unite’s website)

Pokémon Unite is an entertaining and surprisingly difficult-to-put-down MOBA. Consisting mainly of quick 10-minute battles packed to the brim with tense moments, it is no surprise that the game already exceeded 9 million downloads globally. What makes Unite different from other MOBAs is it doesn’t follow the cookie-cutter recipe. Instead of destroying structures, you have goals to score. So, you need to level up, collect points, and hash it out to score as many as possible and earn juicy wins.

It’s easy to pick up

What Unite gets right from the get-go is the simplicity of getting started. After you create your account, you are taken to what is essentially a character creation screen for your trainer. Next, you’re set off into an obligatory tutorial. 
When you first start moving your Pokémon (which is Pikachu in the tutorial), you realize that the game is not nearly as complex as other popular MOBAs — a good sign if you’re trying to build a player base. Once you complete the tutorial, you are presented with five Pokémon to choose from before getting sent to the game’s main lobby screen. 


(Photos: Pokémon Unite’s website)

Unites developers, Tencent Games, hit the mark with keeping everything easy to navigate. The interface design is simple and concise, keeping everything accessible to all players. 

Choose your Pokémon

What is striking about these games is the diversity of their rosters, and being out for three months now, Unite does not disappoint. With 26 playable Pokémon available, and many more to be released over time, you get to search for what suits you. 

The Pokémon have a role classification that signifies what type of gameplay to expect, but these roles also have a bit of leeway, allowing for strange and funky team compositions that can lead to some entertaining chaos.

Ranking systems and game architypes 

There are three game modes to choose from: standard, quick, and ranked. Standard and ranked are pretty much the same game — a 10-minute 5v5 with the same purpose, with the only difference being that one awards you with ranked point and the other does not. Then you have your quick battle, which is a 5-minute match with rotating maps that host either a 3v3 or a 4v4. The popular picks for players seem to be the former two, with many people opting to try and rank up as much as possible.


(Photos: Pokémon Unite’s website)

Unites ranking system is pretty straight forward. There are six ranks to achieve, five of which have five sub ranks within them. Every player starts at the Beginner rank and can go all the way up to Master. The first five ranks follow the same formula: win four games to go up a sub-rank before going into the next one. The Master rank is different, however, throwing that out the window, and instead going with a point system that shoots all the way up to 9999.

Verdict

I recommend for everyone who enjoys playing MOBA games, or is curious about the genre, to give Pokémon Unite a shot. With easy to learn mechanics and ease of access, it is no surprise I haven’t been able to stop playing, clocking in 400 games in the past week and a half. Keep in mind this release is still in its BETA phase, so it isn’t perfect just yet. 

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