Gamers just can't get enough Strife

Strife is a fun Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game with beautiful graphics, captivating background music and fun sound effects – and it’s easy to play.

Developed by S2 Games, it hasn’t yet been publicly released. It’s still in “closed beta” testing, with selected users across Southeast Asia trying it out under the watchful gaze of Asiasoft Corp and YY Inc. 

If you’d like to try it, request a beta key from Asiasoft and download and install the client software, made for Windows, Mac and Linux.

The game action is set on the Planet Strife, whose rulers are staving off an invasion by evil forces. Warriors are being recruited for an Army of Light and must undergo trials.

In the arena, teams of five players attack one another’s base, with the victors rewarded with the means to craft their own equipment and an upgrade for their “pet”, which develops its own skills that will be an aid in the fights to come. You choose a pet to suit your style of fighting. Some have healing powers, while others absorb damage on your behalf.

Once installed, the game has three tutorials to get you familiar with the play and control of the characters. Get through these and you’re eligible to participate in online battles with other players. You can set up your own playroom or join someone else’s, in either case choosing Team Glory or Team Valor or simply being a spectator.

The playroom’s creator starts the game once all 10 places have been filled – five on each team. If you want further practice so you will be more familiar with each character, create a private room and fill all the seats with bots or programs so you can play alone.

There are 14 hero characters to choose among for a battle, each with different skills. You must remember which keys on the keyboard are used to activate those skills.

The heroes come in four types – front-liners (damage takers), powerful attackers (“nukers”), “damage inflictors” and supporters. The team with the best combination of all types is likely to win. If your character is killed in battle, it will be reborn at the base.

The game developer points out that Strife is part of the second generation of MOBA games, so it overcomes problems that arose in the earlier ones.

One such common problem was that players on the same team lacked unity because they competed with one another for the highest rewards by being the one to destroy the enemy base. In Strife, teams compete only against other teams, cohesively, knowing they will share the rewards and gold coins during play.

Players no longer have to “buy” heroes, either. All of the heroes are accessible and their abilities don’t have to be unlocked. The developer says the game reduces conflict among players and ensures that inexperienced players don’t feel so bad when they lose a fight.

Asiasoft says play will continue to be free even after the final version is released. In the meantime the “open beta” testing still hasn’t been scheduled.

 

 

Requirements

_ Client software that runs on Windows, Mac or Linux computer

_ Fast or broadband Internet connection