The MLG Blog

by Trunkers

People have an odd fascination with celebrities. More significantly, people have an odd fascination with watching celebrities do anything and everything, regardless of whether it’s something they’re actually proficient at. The examples run rampant in popular culture. Prime-time programming has long been littered with half-baked ideas fueled solely by star power. Dancing with the Stars, celebrity versions of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, The Simple Life. While these celebs may have made a name for themselves through their works on the gridiron, performances on the silver screen or via inheritance of endless wealth from the hotel industry, viewers are more than eager to watch them try their luck at the Tango, trivia, and milking a cow.

It’s the personalities that sell the whole thing. It’s gotten to the point that an Austrian body builder, who barely passed as an actor, is now governing America’s most populous state. Certainly few tune in to a celebrity golf tournament to admire the caliber of game being played. Michael Jordan certainly wasn’t posting all-star numbers when stepping up to the plate during his infamous stint as part of the minor league squad Birmingham Barons. Yet, his presence undoubtedly produced record attendance figures for the Barons and one can imagine the crowd’s roar after each hit that composed his career .202 batting average.

Simply put, it’s difficult to be world class in more than one field. The Bo Jacksons (an athlete who professionally played in the NFL and MLB with tremendous success in each) of the world are few and far between. Yet, the personalities of established stars draw spectators from all around.

In Major League Gaming, few stars are as big as the hallowed names of the Final Boss roster. Anyone who has been to an event can attest to the fact that fans are watching these all-star players’ every move. Adoring fans gather in mass to catch a glimpse of the Ogres playing a casual game of foosball, Walshy downing a Red Bull or Strongside rocking it out to Guitar Hero.

With the introduction of new games to the Pro Circuit, the possibility for a wave of the league’s first "multi-pros" now exists. While in the past various Halo 2 and Smash pros tried their luck at competing in the other title, their efforts never found much success. Regardless, players who had never even laid a hand on a Gamecube controller took notice when Karma and Shockwave practiced their Smashing skills during Friday’s pre-event warm up time. Smashers gathered to cheer on Robmoney as he entered the Open Halo 2 events tournament after tournament.

A variety of pro gamers are looking to test their skills and expand their repertoire by taking up a second game. As was evident by the interest in Ghostayame coaching Gears of War team The Last Resistence, fans are eager to see whether pros sink or swim outside of their game of choice. If and when he does make his Gears debut as a player, one can expect plenty of fans to gather around to see how his playstyle translates.

Shadowrun’s addition to the Pro Circuit has already piqued the interest of various professional players and coaches. Most notably, Ogre 2 and Walshy will sport their old team name, ‘Shoot to Kill, for the competition and have already been pegged by many as favorites to take home the top prize. Fans of the Pro Circuit have grown quite familiar with these two players during the past four years and are well versed in the innovation and high caliber play that Walshy and Ogre 2 have always displayed. For years we have seen them featured in the Championship Match of every tournament they enter, always staying at the top of the ranks.

Now they face a new challenge. Questions surround their every move. Can they juggle two competitive titles at once? Will they introduce revolutionary new strategies as they have in Halo 1 and 2? Are they even the team to beat?

The story of StK has introduced considerable interest in the Shadowrun ranks before the first tournament has even started. Can they take home a first-place prize check in two different titles? How will other pros, such as Shook On3, LegendJRG and Insane X fare? It’ll all unfold like in Chicago in just a week!

by Brick

10. Quake III: Arena
This game was an achievement both in terms of gameplay quality and graphics and for its statement: multiplayer only. The bots in the game were challenging and there were enough maps to justify having a “single player” mode centered around head-to-head challenges with the bots. The game was smooth, the graphics were sleek and the maps were awesome. I was never any good at it, but a rare rail-gun kill in a multiplayer game was satisfying enough to keep me playing. I never got involved with the community. so I searched around a bit. There is a lot of great stuff out there and it’s worth checking out on Youtube and also community sites such as Own-age.com. After consulting Synide about what to watch, I had the privilege of seeing this video, called Annihilation, which set the standard for editing in gaming videos:

9. Mortal Kombat II (SNES) (page 2)
This game was just cool. Fatalities. Crazy spear throwing, ice-projectile-firing Ninjas. Four-armed bosses named Goro. The graphics were some of the best the Super Nintendo had to offer. I played against my friends for countless hours. The game was cool to have for middle schoolers of my time. Ultimately, I think a lot of gamers have their favorite side fighter, mine happens to be MK II. So back off, Street Fighter II fan boys. 8. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES) (page 2)
This game marked my development into video-gaming maturity. It was the first time I became engaged with a story and didn’t simply skip through text to smash buttons and stare at the screen like a zombie. The game play was quality. There were enough upgrades in armor, health and weapons to keep you moving along in anticipation, but it wasn’t too complicated. The learning curve was very mild and, as the game progressed, you moved along with it. I played until I could beat Gannon on half health and then I had to call it quits. But A Link to the Past solidified my love for a good story and my belief in video games as a legitimate form of art. 7. Final Fantasy III (SNES) (page 3)
Final Fantasy III made me want to level-up, a lot. I spent way too many hours walking back and forth in the forest waiting to fight another monster for easy experience so I could have a full party of level 99s. The game’s final stage featured an epic three-part adventure that led to three full parties of your characters meeting-up to destroy the end boss. Actually having to use 12 people at the end of the game gave a newfound purpose to having so many different playable characters. With all the ridiculously overpowered equipment, I eventually figured a way to essentially make two of my characters indestructible killing machines. But even that was fun because nothing like it had been done before. I don’t think I have ever played any other single-player game for over 100 hours besides FF III.
6. Fireteam
Fireteam is a little-known PC title. Developed by Multitude in December 1998, the game came with a microphone and was therefore the first game to make voice-chat standard. The game was an amazingly simple 2D overhead shooter and that’s what made it beautiful. Three character classes with varying strength and weaknesses (thief: quick, less health; tanker guy: powerful and slow, big gun; commando: best all around) duked it out in games such as territories, team deathmatch and destroy the opponents’ base. The characters were balanced and added a level of team-based depth rivaling more complex shooters. Fireteam captured so much of my time because of the voice technology and the game's graphical simplicity made it possible to play on my 56K modem. Unfortunately, the project failed and I was left to move on to newer, nerdier things…

5. Everquest
I’m not sure how I got involved with Everquest. I think I played a PC Demo and got hooked. In high school I went away to boarding school and I hated it more than anything . Having no desire to socialize with anyone around me, I set out to play Everquest and make some money while I did it. By the second half of my sophomore year my mom was convinced I was dealing drugs (perhaps that is why she was so supportive of my return to public school). She couldn’t understand that my Ruby Breastplate was actually selling for $300 on eBay.

While I never achieved greatness in terms of skill like some guilds, who would defeat monsters with 12 people where others required 50, I spent way, way too much time chatting to people and camping for some random piece of armor that, looking back, was absolutely useless in my character’s development. Anyone who has played a Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game understands this strange quality. There’s just something about these games that keeps you playing…and playing.

4. Subspace/Continuum
I debated putting Subspace above my last three picks. It is a little known, free title that is truly the most massively multiplayer fighting game of all time. This game's beauty lies in its simplicity. It is online Asteroids. One of eight ships can be used. There are a few items and some bomb and bullet upgrades that you can get by picking up power-ups. Subspace took one of the most popular arcade concepts ever, removed the computer opponents, slightly spiced up the graphics and created the most lag-free game ever. Playing on a modem worked. Playing on a cable connection is amazing. There has been a league going on for over ten years now and the 4 v 4 strategy has developed over the years. I used to participate and the amount of depth such a simple game can have is remarkable.



Virgin Interactive dropped the game and a player movement completely reinvented it with servers, a new ship, new maps, new game types and a lot more customization. It has truly been a grassroots phenomenon. If you download the game, go into the Chaos/League Zone and give it a chance for a while, you may become hooked. (For information about the league and downloading the game, go here, there’s a “Download Subspace” link at the top).

3. Halo 2
As Trunkers said, Halo is in our blood. Halo 2 put Halo on the internet for me to play without horrific, terrible, dreaded, Xbox Connect, Halo 1 lag. Matchmaking in Halo 2, for all of my griping, is the single greatest multiplayer gaming achievement in history. The ability to use voice, and most people do, means that I can play with my buddies back home. It plays remarkably well online; the lag is better than any other first-person shooter. I can’t get enough of it. I have never even finished the campaign mode because, frankly, the story was a monstrosity. I find the game play lacking in several areas. The BR could be more accurate from range, the shotgun should be more powerful, the sword sucks and too many of the maps are big. I complain and complain and, yet, 10,000 games later, I still logon every week.

While the lack of range on the BR has ruined many of the maps, Lockout, Beaver Creek and Midship were all really, really well done. Part of the reason Midship and Lockout were so successful was also because they fall in line with that darker, “covenant” aesthetic from Halo: CE. The release of Warlock and Sanctuary gave new life to the MLG Pro Circuit and even two years after the game's release, teams are still finding innovative strategies. As the 2007 seasons continues and eventually comes to a close, I think many people will find a tiny pang of loss in their heart as the circuit moves on to newer games…
2. Halo 3
I know you’re going to think I’m crazy but, after playing the multiplayer Beta I see Halo 3 as an improvement over Halo 2. I know the game has yet to be released. I know the maps were too big in the Beta. But there are so many positive improvements to game's mechanics that we can already tell it's better: auto-aim magnetism has been reduced, which will put more skill back into head-to-head encounters (whereas in Halo 2, if you’re a shot down, it’s over). The carbine is a single-shot killer-weapon that reminds me more of a pistol than any Battle Rifle, despite it being an alien weapon. It appears the sword will be limited to 10 strikes and that is a good thing. I welcome the Spartan laser as an excellent situational power weapon. Many features such as damage, radar range, invisibility effectiveness, gravity and player speed are customizable. The new assault rifle will serve as an adequate secondary weapon, something we didn’t have in Halo 2.

Like a worrisome mother, I do have concern for the future of this precious title. I pray that Bungie gives us at least four (hopefully six) small, playable maps. I think they will; I have faith in them (look what they’ve delivered in the past). My other concern is spawning. I hope they give added control over where and how often weapons spawn and the same for player spawns, or at least make it so people stop spawning directly behind me (Snowbound frustration, anyone?). If all of the customization options remain in the final game and we get some “MLG” maps, Halo 3 will be made into an ass-kicking competitive title.

1. Halo: CE
Although I don’t view my list of Top 10 games as a response to my fellow staff members, I do think they should be ashamed of themselves for putting anything other than Halo: CE as numero uno. This game is the mother of all that is good. The campaign rocked. The multiplayer was godly. Its popularity spearheaded MLG’s growth into what it is today. The game's cool, neutral colors and towering architecture melded with the epic, often Gregorian-chant-like music to deliver the most enthralling co-operative experience ever. From the co-op mode players naturally moved to multiplayer in order to test their skills against one another.

Once you started playing multiplayer, it was not possible to stop. It essentially made console first-person shooters more preferable than PC titles. Players of all skill ranges loved this game. Halo is probably the most well-known video game title of the next-generation console systems (PS2/XBOX/Gamecube and on). It introduced the concept of a two-weapon carrying limit in a fast-paced shooter. Rechargeable shields were also revolutionary (I can’t play health-only anymore). The pistol made even fairly large maps sucg as Rat Race, Hang ‘Em High and Damnation completely playable, but what so many people fail to appreciate is the other weapons all had their use. The shotgun destroyed at close range and was effective at medium, too. The assault rifle had situational use at short-to-medium and close range. The plasma rifle’s ability to slow people to a stop was innovative and practical (why has this been taken out of H2 and 3?). The rockets were a power weapon to match all of these other strong non-power weapons. And last, but certainly not least, the sniper rifle was perfect: not too hard to hit the body, but hard to be an effective head-shot artist (Halo 2 sniping is a LOT easier).

Glitches such as double-smacking and backpack reloading added a hardcore competitive edge to the game as did intimate knowledge of spawn points that enable experienced players to truly control a map. The game kept on giving and that is why I still have more fun with it than any other title so many years and so many new titles later. Thank you, Halo.


Insidi0us’s Maptacular 1.1 celebrates Halo: CE

by Jason

While a lot of my time at events is spent following pro players and covering their matches, I do like to hit the floor during the Open Bracket and observe the amateur players. Of course, I learn the most about gaming at its highest level from watching the pros compete, but getting some time in watching the masses struggle for survival has taught me a few things as well. Succeed or fail, these players provide insights into what really separates professional players from the rest of the rabid gaming fans hoping to make a name on the Pro Circuit.

At a recent event, I wondered out onto the floor on Friday night to watch the Open FFA. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, just hoping to find inspiration for a story or a player who seemed interesting. I found both when I stumbled onto a player who appeared to have mastered every glitch in the Halo 2 arsenal. The tournament was still being played in split screen, although I couldn’t tell you exactly what round it was, and this player was doing absolutely nothing but double-shots, BxRs, Grenade reloads and all those other tricks players have for speeding up their ability to do damage. This kid was running all over the map, shooting constantly, executing the glitches flawlessly and…failing miserably.

No matter how many times this player pulled off a RRxYYRRx combination, he was still outflanked and out-shot over and over again. I watched as he battled an opponent at Carbine 3, landing a double shot on his opponent, but before he could finish the kill, a burst of BR fire came from across the map and finished him. I was close enough to hear him swear under his breath and before he could acquire a new target, someone tossed a grenade in his direction and he was forced to wait five seconds in the death screen while the battle raged on. This scenario played out similarly over and over again on other parts of the map, with this glitch-master picking up assists for the rest of the field and dying in the midst of several opponents repeatedly. When the match was over, he had fewer than 20 kills and nearly twice as many assists.

I imagine a player in that situation would go home feeling cheated. Perhaps he would later explain to his buddies on Xbox Live that the host was stealing his kills from across map or that “random” grenades killed him too often for him to get into a rhythm. He might even argue that Halo 2 is just too flawed and suggest that his melee lunge failed repeatedly or that he was killed through the geometry on numerous occasions. Whatever excuses he made about it, I can assure you that the look on his face and the way in which he removed his controller from the Xbox in anger says that he never once considered that he just was not as talented as the players that advanced.

I’m sure Glitch-Master has played countless hours of Halo 2, just like a huge portion of the gamers that attend our events. I even have to say I am impressed with his dexterity and mastery of the complex button combinations required to pull off all the weapon tricks he used during the match. However, despite the hours of experience he had obviously put into the game and his talents for manipulating the Battle Rifle, this player was lacking a key component to success on the Pro Circuit. Smash kids call this elusive talent “Mind Games” and it is a tricky concept to nail down.

In Halo, players often talk about tactical awareness, which is the idea that a player has a general knowledge of the positions every teammate and every opponent possible at all times. In the Halo: CE era, this involved watching not just your own quadrant of the screen, but watching all of your teammates' screens as well. In Halo 2, while the ability to screen watch is still important, communication and other methods of obtaining that tactical awareness have become more important. For a practical example of this kind of awareness, watch the way good objective players such as Walshy or Shockwave rotate the Oddball or how more support-oriented players such as Karma rapidly acquire targets and help their teammates across the map. In contrast, our glitching FFA player exposed himself recklessly while attempting to finish kills and alerted all seven other players in his match to his position at all times by shooting constantly and needlessly.

I think this concept of the mental game goes even further than just plain, old tactical awareness. Patience is another key factor that players with a strong mental game can boast. Just about every player on the circuit, amateur or professional, knows to pause and allow shields to recharge after a battle, but patience can also be about when a player decides to act and how they use all the information they have for an advantage. For instance, a player sitting on Pink 3 that begins firing the instant an opponent appears in one of the doorways leading out of the Red or Blue base may not be likely to finish that foe quickly. With cover handy and retreat a feasible option, the exposed opponent will not allow him or herself to die quickly. By firing right away, the player at Pink 3 has not just missed a chance to pick up a kill, but has also alerted the opponent to his or her position. Patient players, players that have a strong mental game and tactical awareness, will allow an opponent to take a few extra steps down the ramp and expose themselves to a full four or five shots before they begin to fire. Of course, this is just an example and the positions of teammates and other opponents could change the situation drastically, but the concept is still the same. Being able to think and act tactically is just as important has having an awareness of the players on the map.

There is a final wrinkle to the mental game that I believe truly separates professional players and talented amateurs from our poor FFA player eliminated early in the event. It is a little harder to put a name to this quality, but I believe it could reasonably be called “Prediction.” This quality is probably the most internal and least teachable part of professional gaming. The idea behind prediction is that players can, with limited or no external information, predict the movements of their opponents and counter them. For instance, in a game of TS Lockout where the opposing team has been trapped at Bottom Blue, a player may suddenly abandon their post and check a different portion of the map, only to find the opposing team spawning away from the trap at Blue. By predicting this sudden shift in spawns, a player has the opportunity to generate more kills and more control for his or her squad.

No, I don’t believe in ESP and I don’t think that players who regularly predict the movements, spawns and attacks of their opponents can see into the future. So what am I talking about? The human brain is not a computer. It doesn’t process information using numbers and files like a computer does. Instead, science shows us that our brains are more like incredibly powerful pattern machines, recognizing the habits and cycles and learning to respond to those things with actions that are beneficial. So when a player gets a gut feeling that someone is sneaking up behind them at sniper tower or properly predicts a spawn from the opposing side, it is not because they are psychic, but instead because subconsciously, I believe their brain recognized subtle clues experienced the last time the player was in the same situation. The combination of experience, game knowledge, talent and that subconscious ability to process information quickly allows a player to appear to be looking into the future.

I believe the key element that player in the FFA was missing was a strong mental game. Despite his talent and experience playing Halo, he wasn’t thinking enough about his approach to the game. Being able to do all of the weapon glitches in the world and even having a spectacular Battle Rifle won’t make anyone a pro player. Everyone copies the same setups and tactics used by professional teams, but not everyone is equally successful using those strategies. This is because parts of that mental game are missing or not quite as well developed in the amateur field of gamers that make up the Open Bracket in any event.

So the next time you pick up a controller and start playing, don’t just play by instinct and repeat the same patterns over and over. Whenever you are not in the midst of battle or responding to the calls of a teammate, make it a mental exercise to think about what might be coming next and how the opponents might surprise you with a trick or lucky spawn. Holding your position in a setup is important, but thinking ahead is far better. Don’t just try to emulate the tactics used by professional players. Instead, try to emulate their approach to the game and I am sure that you will find even greater success in your efforts to become a professional gamer here at MLG.

by Brick

Over the course of the first three events of 2007, we’ve seen a lot of team changing. Besides Final Boss and Carbon almost every other Top 8 team will have altered their lineup by the time we reach Chicago. Obviously everyone makes changes in an attempt break into the top spots. In light of this quest for a magical team formula, I asked myself, “if I could pick any four players and put them on a team, whom would they be?” History shows these are difficult decisions.

As we have seen time and time again, the four most individually talented 1v1 or FFA players joining together will not necessarily equal the best team. Over the last six events, Carbon and Final Boss altered their lineups to great success. In 2006 Carbon dropped StrongSide, then the number-two-ranked 1v1 player, behind teammate Karma, for Ghostayame. Carbon won the next three events. Then Final Boss picked up StrongSide and beat Carbon during the first two events of 2007. What made Ghostayame and StrongSide better fits for their respective teams? What elements were lacking when they played on their old squads?

Other teams have been less successful. Take Legendz, for example. After dropping Mack and Joe, Vash and Defy reformed with FFA beasts Fonzi and Cpt. Anarchy. They have yet to break into the top 8. Strong team chemistry is an elusive formula.

With the mysterious nature of a winning team formula in mind, I present my MLG Dream Team, which would be the most dominant force in the league’s hallowed history! OGRE 1 & OGRE 2 - Perhaps the most obvious and popular choice. While they have fallen to Carbon four of the last six times they have played in the Halo 2 4v4 bracket, I believe these two are the most dangerous players ever. Time and time again they have set the bar with new strategies. They elevated the Halo: CE game to a different level. When MLG picked up Halo 2 on the Pro Circuit, they came out and completely dominated the circuit for an entire year and a half. As long as they stick with it, these two will set the bar. Their skills transcend any one game.

Legit & Naded – These two picks were difficult. Legit and Naded have come out this season and shown that two players can truly elevate a four-man team to top-tier status. Perfect Storm’s unprecedented run from the Open 4v4 all the way to a third-place finish at the Meadowlands rests on their unbelievable performances. Their individual slaying skills are unmatched right now. Naded seems to have a knack for allotting huge amounts of objective time while maintaining a high kill count.

While I think picking the OGREs stands as obvious, my other two choices may be less popular. I took into account the fact that playing with the two most successful players in history would probably bestow a certain amount of maturity upon the younger Legit and Naded. Picking two players who have less experience as teammates may rupture that magical team chemistry needed to make four individuals join to create a greater whole. I decided that after picking the OGREs that I would stick with another “duo.” There are many angles from which to tackle this question, so make your dream team picks in the comments section.