Stumbling Favorites
We have our first winner in the first round of the Rambling Redshirt’s Gaming Madness tournament as we see Guild Wars start to fight back. All this as The Witcher stumbles out of the gate and gives Champions Online a head start in their battle.
Around the Tournamemt
- The Division Hold On
In the first battle of seeded contestants, The Division held on in the 4th-quarter with a score of RNG score of 53 to 2. Adding the 25 points of the 4th quarter to The Divisions’ totals, they score a 95. Europa Universalis IV put up a good fight but never led in the game. They ended up with a total of 89 and lost to The Division 95 to 89.
- Guild Wars 2 is Making a Comeback but will it Be Enough?
Guild Wars 2 has been deep underwater against Legends of Aria. The widely popular MMO has struggled in the first half, managing only 1 point over the baseline 40 available. The third quarter may be the turning point, though, as GW2 rolls an 81 out of a possible 95 and picks up a strong 28 points giving it a total of 69 with one quarter left. Legends of Aria rolled a respectable 34 to add to their tally, and they end up with a 71 to 69 point lead heading into the final quarter tomorrow.
- ArcheAge leads at the Half
ArcheAge scored a 27 in the first quarter and added a respectable 25 in the 2nd to lead Terraria 52 to 44 at the half. I’m a bit surprised that Terraria is not performing better, but there are still 2 quarters to go, and as we’ve seen, anything can happen.
The Pre-Game Warmup
Champions Online was a game that I was really looking forward to when it came out in 2009. I loved City of Heroes and thought Champions could be the successor to the superhero MMO, but it kinda fell flat. Difficult combat mechanics, poor story, and typical release issues led to a lackluster start, and while I still enjoyed the game, my time in it was limited. These days, the convoluted payment schemes that you have to jump through to get powersets are a bit overwhelming considering the low player base, but it’s still a workable game.
The Witcher 3, on the other hand, has been a smashing success story. This game is considered by many to be one of the best RPG games on PC, and it even has spawned a TV series because of its popularity. The 2015 release was widely anticipated, particularly after a number of delays. The universal acclaim for the game was backed up by numerous awards, and it is expected to be re-released on the latest PS5 and Xbox X/S consoles sometime in the second half of 2022. Too bad I don’t have either of those yet. Anyway, this is the clear favorite even though it is seeded 9th in the Shadows bracket.
The First Quarter
The first quarter, as usual, focuses on Metacritic scores. The Witcher rolls in at a 93, which is one of the highest scores we’ve seen. Champions Online was not so highly regarded and came in with a target of 72.
The Rolls
Of course, the RNG gods have to make themselves the story as they laugh at the matchup and give The Witcher a 19. Champions Online, on the other hand, is favored by the gods in this quarter, as seen by a 58 roll.
The Score
The 19 by The Witcher equates to 22 points for the 1st-quarter, and Champions Online takes a 26 to 22 lead after one.
Wrapping it Up
The RNG gods sure like this game and have gone out of their way to make things exciting. The Witcher is struggling out of the gate, and who knows if Guild Wars 2 will be able to come back from the hole they dug in the first couple of quarters.
The one thing we can say is that The Division no longer has to worry about the first round. Their 95–89 victory over Europa Universalis IV moves them to the round of 32, and they are one step closer to winning the mad tournament.
Next up, I slow things down a step as we finish off the other three 8 seed versus 9 seed games before moving on.
RRGM 10 | Elephant 21 | 2022.106 | Stumbling Favorites