StarCraft II – IPL Team Arena Challenge 3 – Week 9 Preview

Welcome to another look at IGN Pro League Team Arena Challenge, the StarCraft II tournament featuring the very best teams in the world. In each match the teams play a Best of 9, elimination style match, where the winning player stays on while the losing player is replaced by another player on their team. First team to five wins is the victor.

In this weekly column we preview the upcoming matches with some analysis of their current performance and their performance in the tournament thus far.

This week marks the Western teams last stand against the top Korean organizations.

TSL v Acer

Rosters

Acer

Bly, DarkHydra, Mondragon, Nerchio, ParanOid, Scarlett

TSL

RevivaL, Polt, Symbol, Hyun, Cyrano, Inori, Punisher, Shine, Dream, RagnaroK, Ultimate

Road So Far

Acer

• Won 5 - 4 v Eclypsia


• Lost 4 - 5 v Prime


• Won 5 - 3 v Mouz


• Won 5 - 1 v aTnType

TSL

• Won 5 - 0 v Check 6


• Won 5 - 4 v FXO


• Lost 4 - 5 v StarTale

Analysis

Acer keeps finding themselves in an underdog role and they keep plowing through their opponents. In the most recent match, the polls still put aTnType as the favorite, but Nerchio made quick work of their European rivals, winning 4 matches to close out a slaughter started by his teammate ParanOid.

TSL had a close match again, this time losing out to StarTale in a great comeback by Squirtle after StarTale was down 4-2. The lack of closing power is something that is uncharacteristic for TSL, usually Polt is a sure finisher, but Squirtle had too much momentum in this match.

Acer looks to be very strong with Scarlett joining the team, but this is still a team without a lot of depth, and not a single Protoss player on the roster. Even their only Terran player DarkHydra is suspect and is relatively untested and unproven. However, with three very strong players in Bly, Scarlett and Nerchio, it is very possible on of these could carry their team to an upset. All the stars would have to align for this to happen though, and I would say TSL will win a relatively close match; the depth of the TSL roster is far greater than Acer's.

Prediction - TSL 5 - 3 Acer

MVP v Karont3

Rosters

MVP

DongRaeGu, Dream, Finale, Keen, KeePing, Lure, Monster, Noblesse, sC, Sniper, TAiLS, Vampire, Galaxy

Karont3

LoLvsxD, LucifroN, Ryo, VortiX, AlastOr, MikOeL

Road So Far

MVP

• Won 5 - 0 v Evil Geniuses


• Lost 1 - 5 v IM

Karont3

• Lost 2 - 5 v Quantic


• Won 5 - 2 v Check 6


• Won 5 - 1 v Empire

Analysis

MVP looked surprisingly bad in their last match against IM. In what looked like it could have been a league final, IM completely rolled over MVP without using any of their top players. Only DongRaeGu managed to take just a single map before being defeated by Happy. They will need a much better effort against Karont3.

Speaking of Karont3, VortiX looks to be the hottest player in Europe right now after qualifying for TSL4, defeating HasuObs, Socke, LoWLey, Select and Golden consecutively, and then all killing Empire's best possible lineup after Violet left the team earlier this week. This Spanish team is proving it's here to stay with two of Europe's fastest improving players, capable of catching lightning in a bottle and then dominating any high level team.

Karont3 will need both their stars to be in top form to take this match as MVP is the most talented team they have played thus far. And while Karont3 has proven they can beat any Western based team, they still haven't had to go against a Korean lineup. MVP won't be able to look ahead however, as if they don't take Karont3 seriously, its very possible for them to lose. Still it's MVPs match to lose, and assuming they play at top strength, should be able to take this.

Prediction - MVP 5 - 3 Karont3

NsHoSeo v Evil Geniuses

Rosters

NsHoSeo

Sage, BanBans, San, Tassadar, Jjakji, Seal, Sculp, Sting, Freaky, Fairy

Evil Geniuses

DeMusliM, IdrA, iNcontroL, JYP, HuK, LzGaMeR, Machine, PuMa, ThorZaIN

Road So Far

NsHoSeo

• Won 5 - 3 v FXO.CIS


• Lost 2 - 5 v SlayerS

Evil Geniuses

• Won 5 - 3 v Infinity Seven


• Lost 0 - 5 v MVP


• Won 5 - 3 v DtG


• Won 5 - 2 v Dignitas

Analysis

EG recovered nicely after the thrashing they took from MVP Monster two rounds ago. They cruised past Dignitas behind a strong performance from HuK, who continues to make appearances and now finally has made his mark on an EG team league match. It seems as though EG may have fallen into a rhythm, however, as we stated last time, Dignitas was a team without a direction, and NsHoSeo will be much harder for them.

NsHoSeo could have beaten SlayerS, if they had used their best player and GSL Champion Jjakji. Why Jjakji was absent remains a mystery, but if he plays in this match, it will be much easier than SlayerS was for them. All of HsHoSeo's supporting cast are comparable to every player on EG, but with more consistency across the board.

Make no mistake, NsHoSeo will need Jjakji to win this match. All of EGs players have proven themselves at this point with HuK, IdrA, JYP and PuMa racking up wins in the tournament thus far. NsHoSeo remains slightly less proven though as none of their roleplayers have stepped up as a primary #2 player to Jjakji. EG has a really good chance at taking this match and I think it will be close regardless. However, at their best NsHoSeo is a better team, and I expect them to barely hold on to win this match.

Prediction - NsHoSeo 5 - 4 Evil Geniuses

Prime v FXO

Rosters

Prime

AnNyeong, BboongBboong, Byun, Creator, MarineKing, Maru, AriA, Classic, Dayfly, Salmosa

FXO

asd, Choya, Crane, Gumiho, jks, Leenock, Lucky, Sirius, Supreme, TheBest, Tear, Tree, Weekend, Whale

Road So Far

Prime

• Won 5 - 4 v Acer


• Lost 3 - 5 v Team Liquid

FXO

• Lost 4 - 5 v TSL


• Won FF v Quantic


• Won 5 - 3 v compLexity

Analysis

Prime had a stunning defeat at the hands of Team Liquid, or more specifically, Liquid`TaeJa who all killed Prime, the defending GSTL, KSL and Team Arena Challenge champions. Prime has now looked vulnerable in a few matches, with their near loss against Acer coupled with their loss to Team Liquid. While they haven't had one particular weakness in their game, they will need a stronger effort all around to defeat FXO.

Meanwhile, FXO has looked like they have taken a step back. While Tear has proven to be a top player now with big team league wins for several weeks in a row, losing Oz and the fall of Gumiho and Leenock is starting to show. Neither player are as good as they once were in late 2011, and while Lucky has been a bright spot for them, they will need more than just two players to carry the load. Unless FXO gets help from their former superstars, they will be in a lot of trouble against Prime.

Prime still has one of the top 5 players in the world in MarineKing, and Creator has proven himself to be the ace that Prime needs, winning in the clutch in a few matches. At only 15 years old, it's astonishing what Creator has been able to do in carrying his team through wins. FXO's only chance is a strong performance from Tear, and then Leenock, Lucky and Gumiho returning to their former glory. Prime will be just too good for them.

Prediction - Prime 5 - 3 FXO

What do you think about this week's matches? Can FXO reclaim their past riches, or will Prime continue it's team league dominance?

Let us know in the comments below and make sure you watch all of these great games on the IPL site and tune in next week for a wrap-up of these matches and our breakdown of Losers Round 4.

Source : ign[dot]com

Tiny and Big: Grandpa's Leftovers Review

Great game design teams can take a well-tread genre and throw in a change to make it feel new all over again. Portal exemplifies this, taking first-person shooter mechanics and tossing in brilliant and inventive elements from puzzle and platformer titles to make it about using your brain, rather than spilling those of your enemies. In the same vein we have the quirky indie-developed Tiny and Big: Grandpa’s Leftovers. While its challenge level and narrative are uneven, Tiny and Big nonetheless brings a unique twist to its platforming that, when paired with its fantastic aesthetic and personality, creates an endearing and delightful little experience.

Tiny and Big is the story of the two titular characters. You play as Tiny, a bookish little guy with a penchant for science, using your wits to overcome obstacles in your quest to find Big and recover your inheritance – a pair of underpants. Big’s a jerk, though, and will do everything in his power to slow you down, constantly running away and using his underpants-conferred magical powers to throw gigantic chunks of the world or levitate himself to the higher ground.

Not to be outdone by magic, Tiny’s got a few tools in his arsenal that make him deft at reaching the unreachable. If Tiny encounters a sheer wall he has no chance of jumping up, he can pull out his raygun and slice the world apart. With a few clicks of the mouse you can dynamically cut apart rocks and structures, shaving a column into a set of stairs that you can easily hop up. With your raygun it’s easy to cut up the world, then deploy a rocket booster, use your arms or a grappling hook to push and pull the stone into a configuration that allows you to progress.

At its most basic level, Tiny’s quest really boils down to a few environments you have to scale, but it manages to stay fun because each step is a little sandbox that lets you use your imagination to succeed. You could walk up to a wall and slice it into tiny chunks if you wanted, or you could just as easy do a gigantic slice that allows you to bring the whole wall down in one swoop. Sometimes I would cut stairs out of the world, still other times I might attach a rocket booster to a felled piece of stone, jump on top of it and then ride across a chasm. I died a whole heck of a lot, but forgiving checkpoints didn’t make it too much of a headache. Even when I did die, it usually was the result of hilariously poor planning, with a piece of a rock or wall coming down and crushing me.

It only takes a few hours to get through the entirety of Tiny and Big, but in this case that’s a good thing. Tiny and Big’s slicing mechanism entrances, but since you immediately have access to all the gameplay mechanics from the start, it’d grow wearisome if it went on much longer. The occasional boss battle might force you to be a bit faster with your cuts, but Tiny and Big doesn’t introduce anything new or tweak the formula throughout the story. In many ways it kind of feels like a really long tech demo with incredible aesthetics.

Really, it’s hard not to talk about Tiny and Big without spending time on its looks and music. The most valuable collectibles in each stage are cassette tapes that unlock phenomenal – and often bizarre – indie rock tracks. With so little done as far as the character’s voices -- they’re mostly composed of single sounds and grunts-- it’s nice to have fun and beautiful melodies accompanying your journey. The music feels right for the scenery, too. The look of Tiny and Big feels like someone took the cartoon Adventure Time and put it into the Borderlands engine. Along with its quirkily drawn characters, there’s just so much character in everything you see. Even the game’s menus are fun, and keep in step with the whimsical feeling of the story.

Like I said, Tiny and Big’s length is just about right for what’s included, but I’d really like to see the team at Black Pants Game Studio do more with their ingenious slicing mechanic and story. Some parts of Tiny and Big made me feel like I had to think to overcome them, but other parts felt a bit repetitive or so obvious that I wondered why the studio even bothered to put it in the game (cut a very conspicuously placed column to get across a gap? I’ve done this before…). Likewise I’d love it if the story went deeper. The funny in-game cut-scenes really show that the team has a knack for humor and making lovable characters, but in between all you have is the music to listen to. Games like this, where you spend so much time alone, need more witty banter between a companion and backstory to make the world interesting.



Source : ign[dot]com