Perils of playing Shadow Fight 2
Android has given loads of entertainment over the years. I have enjoyed many games on the platform. Despite knowing that this platform can not be as immersive as desktop or console gaming, it has certain gems which help to take your mind to quick elation. Shadow Fight 2 is one such brilliant game.
I play the game for three reasons. The in-fight graphics, in-game music, and the very important lesson it teaches me, Patience.
The game scores full marks about the concept of people in silhouette fighting with each other. Nuances of the body shapes are captured very well. That reflects in the rich graphics. The backgrounds are beautiful and alive. The silhouettes of the players just offer perfect contrast which is very pleasing to the eyes.
The music is next key element. There is an adrenaline rise every time the battle starts. The music instrumentals raise tempo as the fight progresses. I have at times just paused the game and listened to the tracks. I remember doing that in the past for Streets of Rage, The Revenge of Shinobi and Batman among many others. The music keeps pushing you to attack and survive. The music only can wake me up early morning.
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The third one is a life lesson. Patience. The game is beautiful but it is frustratingly biassed and unfair on many occasions. The close combat techniques are heavily about luck. The keys don’t get registered every time. You can almost predict what is asked of you. Grinding. The weapons, each with its unique combo and attack visuals, become progressively useless as you go along. You can not keep using your favourite weapon because it looses its value. Luck and grinding are many times more valuable than pure skill.
I have played a fair share of games on desktop and Android. Very few games have offered the combination of absolute addiction and deep frustration because the system is rigged against you. That is why it teaches patience. The raids are a joke, the quality assurance is gone for a toss. Who releases a game in production with icon labels as In Development? The load time is crazy. The number of currencies is laughably high. And despite all that, I can’t stop playing it.
The blatant advocacy of grinding was in Infinity Blade. I had loved that series. It was not pretentious. They clearly told you that grinding is the only way forward. And they had a rich story. You wanted to know what will happen ahead. Shadow Fight 2 story is scattered, only bits and pieces makes sense, yet I can not stop playing it.
Isn’t that about life? It is unfair, the odds are many times against you because the system is broken, rigged, or just stupid. But you keep on playing. You don’t know why. It is as if an unknown power keeps pushing you towards your next opponent. No matter if you have to keep grinding for hours to get that costly upgrade.
Or else you can just skip all that and pour money in to get an easy way out. Who wants that?
Originally published at harshalbhave.in on June 27, 2016.
