ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT “Valorant” is hell on earth by Nick Anthony I t’s difficult to form a strong opinion on Riot Games’ new first person 5v5 tactical shooter, “Valorant.” On one hand, it’s a fun, more whimsical version of “Counter Strike: Global Offensive” with fun twists added by the different agents and their abilities. On the other hand, it’s a hotbed of toxicity, bug exploitation, and imbalances. I spent a good amount of time playing this game, peaking at Diamond 1 rank during the closed beta. The main goal of “Valorant” is to either plant a bomb on a bomb site and defend it until it explodes, or defend the bomb sites and prevent a detonation. The five players have a variety of “agents” to choose from, each with their own signature abilities that impact gameplay. “Valorant” borrows elements heavily from other titles, so much so that the game feels recycled and old even after a few weeks of playing. The art style is similar to “Team Fortress 2,” movement and gunplay similar to “Counter Strike: Global Offensive,” and game variation similar to “Overwatch.” Thus, “Valorant” lacks the sense of wonder or freshness that it so desperately tries to evoke. “Valorant” also suffers from a disconnect and character maps, Haven, don’t seem to prevent Bind, be glitching and optimized Split, to through walls or exploits that, frankly, ruin the game. There are too many places in these maps where players can be that shouldn’t be possible and are patently unfair. Encountering a player who abuses these glitches to win matches heavily subtracts from the competitive nature of the game. Playing a game of “Valorant” can sometimes feel like you’ve jumped back in time to 2011 in a “Modern Warfare 2” post-game lobby. When players in “Valorant” are pissed, they’re pissed. like nothing. Sometimes “agent” in “Valorant” can be a hellscape, so consider yourself warned. While the function the game doesn’t create too much chaos and disrupt the purpose of “Valorant,” too often are between map design design. The three certain agents “required” in different situations. For example, on the map “Split,” one of the agents named Cypher can hold an entire site by himself, allowing the defenders to bolster defenses on other key points of the map. Having a Cypher on your team allows you to boost your chance of winning, which is absolutely not the case for games like “Overwatch” or “Counter Strike: Global Offensive.” In “Overwatch,” there are a great number of team compositions that will help pave the road to victory, while conversely in “Counter Strike,” the only thing that matters is skill. While trying out a new competitive game during quarantine may seem like an engaging and motivating way to spend your newfound free time, don’t pick up “Valorant” unless you’re a masochist. 29 Sportsmanship are lobbed is nonexistent, and insults of the highest degree they’re
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