Got a teenager who is endlessly locked away in a darkened room, with only the briefest of sightings when dinner time rolls around? According to our own resident teen, Jack Tristram, chances are they are playing one of these video games...
Apart from being pretty obnoxious, anti-social and, dare we say it, lazy a lot of the time, what else do teenagers get up to, especially during long school holidays? Gaming, is what! We persuaded our own teenage reporter, Jack, out of his bedroom for long enough to tell us what video games teenagers are playing right now in Singapore…
Teenagers, listen up! While we like to pretend we are busy studying, we all know that we’d much rather be online chatting to friends and playing a cool video game. Whether you’re a new player keen to jump into the world of gaming, or an expert looking to try something new, these are the games you need on your radar, and, as a 16-year-old gamer myself, there are four games that are currently top of the pile…
Fortnite
Perhaps one of the biggest games of the moment is Fortnite with over 125 million active players. You might be wondering why it is so popular? I guess it is kind of like the Hunger Games: it’s a first person shooter where you play against 100 other players from around the world at a time. The ultimate aim of the game is to be the last player alive on the island the game takes place on, so a good strategy is to team up with a friend to be the last team standing. Games only last around 10-15 minutes so this is perfect if you’re feeling a bit time crunched (or your mum is shouting at you to get in the shower).
League of Legends
Another great game and a personal favourite of mine, League of Legends is popular with around 100 million players. Enter the arena with nine players, four of who will be on your team, and five will be battling against you. The aim of the game is to destroy your opponent’s crystal (while they try to destroy yours). Take no prisoners: eliminating opposition characters makes you stronger and also leaves them out of the game for 60 seconds, giving your team a big advantage. The better you become at this highly skilled game, the better ranking you will get for yourself. There are six ranks in total: bronze, silver, gold, platinum, diamond and master, and you have to be REALLY good to raise your rank. True fact: 81% of League players are a bronze ranking, with 0.007% of players attaining master ranking! Each League of Legends game lasts around 30-40 minutes, but improving your rank can take a lonnnnng time!
Realm of the Mad God
Realm of the Mad God may not be huge in terms of numbers (there are only 60,000 players in the world) but this is a great game to get into. I like that instead of just battling against other players, this particular game involves working with other people and forming alliances. You will play as one of 15 characters and then enter the Realm full of monsters, all of which you need to eliminate. There are over 2500 monsters lurking in dungeons, and the more you exterminate, the more essential equipment you collect. The more equipment you pick up, the more chance you have of winning. Oh, I forgot to say: the monsters can totally wipe you out, and if they do, you don’t just lose your character, you also lose all the cool stuff you collected on the way. My mum says this one looks pretty ‘retro’, but although the graphics are quite basic, it’s great fun to play.
Overwatch
If you’re a fan of sci-fi games, then Overwatch is the game for you. Like Fortnite, it is a first person shooter game with cool futuristic weapons that fire lasers, light and energy balls. The action starts from the off with no need to collect your weapons and ammo, so it’s fast paced from start to finish. There are a number of different game modes all designed around squad-based combat between two opposing teams of six players. You can choose from casual play or competitive ranked play, and there are even eSport competitions if you really fancy putting your skills to the test. This is the only game on the list that you need to pay for, but although it costs from USD$40 on a computer, it’s well worth the spend for a fun, competitive game where you can really work hard to achieve high ranks.
So now you have it. THE video games teenagers are playing right now. I might even see you in an arena battle one of these days…
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