March of Giants Preview (PC)

My MOBA experience started with the Guardians of Middle-earth on the PlayStation 3 and ended with League of Legends. Between the two, there were fewer sweaty players on Guardians of Middle-earth, which meant a bit more balance between competitors. I certainly never felt like I was behind in the game; rather, I always felt like I was getting better. It was one of the best MOBA experiences I had reviewing the genre. As for LoL, well, you know how those folks can get. They are a competitive and unforgiving bunch when it comes to noobs trying to get through a match. In other words, they’re ruthless as hell, but it’s a game that sparked the genre, so there is that. Anyway, as I toured the genre as a noob, there were a few hits and misses in between, but both of these titles caught my fancy with the MOBA world and had me enjoying it for years to come.

I give you this background because Digitalchumps was privy to a virtual preview of developer Amazon Games Montreal’s March of Giants. It’s a MOBA that has some interesting features I have never seen before, and I’m hoping they will be innovative and push the genre forward. While the game totes the usual three-lane movement of a MOBA, it also features incredible characters, neat ways to play, and a boisterous personality that might just be what the doctor ordered to raise the bar of the MOBA game development world.  I’m crossing my fingers about the latter because it needs some pep in its step.

So, let’s jump right into this light preview of March of Giants to see what we can see.

Jumping in
Before you get your mind set that this is just another MOBA, you should hold that thought just a bit. It isn’t what it appears to be, which is another MOBA game. Instead, the devs put together a brand new way of thinking about MOBAs. With March of Giants, it’s a mixture of real-time strategy wrapped up inside a typical MOBA shell. The former is important because it sets the tone for what to expect from this game.

The RTS elements of March of Giants start with introducing the setting of the game, which is more of a World War I-type setting rather than a modern or completely magical fantasy game. You get the limited weapons of that age, dedicated soldiers that know they have to fight to survive, and the raw nature of the world war environment that was introduced during that period of history. That’s already a departure from the traditional MOBA experience, as most just have magical team A invading magical team B. This introduction gives some good context to the world and builds it well for the player to understand and all into. If you can engage and hook your player into a well-built world, then you more than likely have a hit on your hands. At the very least, you’ll have a passionate and vocal community.

That’s a good start for this title, but it goes further.

Within the game, players command troops on the battlefield that have different job types and act accordingly to their jobs. For example, the game has WWI ground troops that can move and create multiple formations of attack or defense. It’s not just a run-down-the-middle-lane type of MOBA strategy; rather, it’s an honest to God formation of troops for particular scenarios of battle, which only stands to make this genre a deeper and richer experience. Most of the time, it’s just slow-mo running foot soldiers that are probably going to die quickly. This doesn’t appear to be that situation for March of Giants. You command the troops, you build the strategy.

If that wasn’t enough, the good folks at Amazon Games Montreal also included the ability to alter the battlefield. One example they showed was the digging of trenches, which would allow soldiers to form a position and alter the map. I cannot recall if a MOBA has ever gone that direction before, but it’s a neat mechanic that will make MOBA battles interesting. And given that this game runs on a WWI backdrop, this type of strategy fits right into the gameplay. I’m anxious to see how this turns out with the closed alpha. I’m not sure I’ve ever been fascinated with trenches and formations this much.

The

game will also feature different types of weapons and vehicles, all mixed in with one of the cooler elements of the game…GIANTS. Before we get there, let me just sprinkle in, again, vehicles are a new concept for me in a MOBA game. They lean heavily into the RTS side of gaming, which is what Montreal apparently intended, and only stand to reinforce the idea that the devs were finding ways to mix genres. This should also be equally as interesting as ground troop formations and land alterations.

Now, about those giants, March of Giants uses said giants as your main characters in the game. The characters are broken into Goliath (a tank-type of player), Brother Light (a mage-type of giant), Le Poilu (maybe a fighter/assassin), and Stratus (a mage-type as well). The characters are larger than life, as most MOBA characters are, and they lead the troops into battle with what appears to be a focus on towers and larger enemies. They’re cool characters in the game, and I’m looking forward to seeing exactly what each of them can do. They certainly add to the ambience of the game and sprinkle in some fantasy into this release.

Anyway, while we only got to see a taste of this game last week, it certainly looks chaotic as much as it does cognitively satisfying with strategy. If what the devs have planned with the merger of RTS and MOBA turns out to be true and seamless, then March of Giants would set a new standard for new ways to play the MOBA genre. If the game is as fun as it looks, then it’s going to force other devs to think outside the box when developing a new MOBA of their own, which isn’t a bad thing. Out of all the genres in the gaming world, that one needs a new breath of fresh air. This game might be it.

On that note, let’s wrap up this preview.

Current Conclusion
With a closed alpha starting tomorrow, gamers should find out really quickly whether this is all it’s cracked up to be. Amazon Games seems to think it will be a game-changer, so we’ll keep an eye on it as it develops and keep you all in the loop.