I’m a guest writer over at Pixel Volt. Their editor, Billy Givens. has been kind enough to allow me to write over there. I do a guest spot once a month. This month, I talk about how much I love Rising Storm, and how the time between lives led to a startling realization:
Seeing a teammate get blown to bits or shot in the face as he peeks about can be shocking. Sometimes it’s so sudden and unexpected, it simultaneously strikes fear and kindles the embers of rage in your heart. So even though I don’t feel real fear in a mortal sense, the game elicits very real feelings within me. Nothing is harder than getting the courage to storm a heavily fortified enemy position. Knowing that you’ll have to sit out, but that you have to push forward to win, and that doing so requires sacrifice, is something missing in many shooters today. While dead, the time between lives gives you a moment to reflect. And so many times, the thought comes to my mind is that this was real. People actually did what I’m doing in a game. The tragedy though, is that for them, there was no re-spawn. No second chance. No time between rounds.