Exploring the Literary World
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League of Legends for PC is incredibly dense and competitive, known for inspiring players to climb the ranks or even watching the best players compete in esports tournaments.
Players choose from a roster of champions who play different roles.
Then the two teams fight in a 5v5 showdown, with the ultimate goal of destroying the enemy base, called a nexus.
Much like football, different roles take different positions on the pitch.
A jungler floats around, trying to kill wherever he can on unsuspecting enemies, while mage characters usually try to control the middle lane, and so on.
Wild Rift is the same basic game, but redesigned for mobile devices.
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That's the simple selling point, but adapting such a complex game to play well on phones isn't easy.
The first thing Wild Rift does right is bypassing one of the most intimidating parts of League on PC.
Letting you know what your champion does, where he's going, and most importantly, why you're going there via on-screen instructions and guided arrows.
While League of Legends: Wild Rift is technically a new game, you'll get more enjoyment out of it if you have some familiarity with the franchise.
After all, League of Legends is the poster child for one of the most ubiquitous yet inscrutable video game genres: the massively multiplayer online battle arena, or MOBA.
League of Legends started out as a Warcraft 3 mod that soon became its own offshoot of the real-time strategy genre, quickly overshadowing the likes of StarCraft II.
There are many MOBAs, but the main ones are League of Legends and Dota 2. International sports teams earn millions of dollars competing in tournaments with these games.
With Wild Rift, Riot Games wants to expose the beloved PC game to an even wider audience on mobile.
You can currently download Wild Rift for free on Android and iOS devices, and a console port will follow at a later date.
After downloading the game, you sign in with your Riot Games account, Facebook account, or Apple/Google account.
League of Legends has a reputation for being the hardcore, slightly more accessible MOBA, which is perhaps why it translates so smoothly to mobile devices.
The genre is still rife with wacky concepts and mechanics that need explaining, however.
Get ready to learn what it means to “gank” as well as the finer points of a proper “gang.”
Fortunately, Wild Rift's excellent tutorials walk you through the basics.
Two teams of five compete to destroy the opposing team's base on the other side of the map.
To pass, they battle through multiple lanes filled with hostile turrets, respawning minions, neutral monsters, and other players.
To succeed, you must synergize with your teammates, buy the right upgrades, use your champion's unique powers at the right time, and take advantage of any opening.
Launch a large missile or launch a spinning sword slash. Grab an enemy with its extendable arm and follow up with a big punch.
The most tense moments come from luring overzealous enemies into a trap, making the most of your last slice of life before you die, or getting rewarded for landing that last hit.
Wild Rift still contains all that fun strategic depth, which is impressive.
However, some changes had to be made to account for the change in platform.
Again, this is a different game, mobile players and PC players are not in competition with each other.
Wild Rift features a smaller map tweaked for faster matches you can finish during a bus ride.
The average Wild Rift match lasts 15 minutes, as opposed to 45 on PC.
Although a big obstacle can be the heroes themselves. Unfortunately, my collection of League of Legends PC champions and skins does not carry over.
I can rely on the game's free rotation, which cycles through a selection of champions that I don't have to pay to use, and the game unlocks some of the best early champions for me early on, so I always have a choice available.
This separation between platforms is the biggest hurdle preventing me from giving Riot more real money, though.
It's hard to justify a purchase that is limited to just one platform, even in a free game where costumes and heroes are the most important purchase.
Wild Rift is cozy, safe and tasty, a great alternative for those who are intimidated by the PC version of League.
More than that, it's genuinely good, and it's always nice to have a new mobile version of an old favorite available for sleeping, showering, and other places besides the PC.
Want to know more? Download the app and play with your friends.
