Defensive Gaming

Today, I played Brawl with my friend and my sisters. I used to be way better at the game than any of them, because I had more access to the game. Now I'm about even with Ethan, and my sisters get better every time I play against them.

My best character is Link. In my family we always do five-man stock matches, and the reason I do so well is I'm able to keep from being K.O.'d until it's just me and one other person, and I can use the many tools at Link's disposal and my experience with the game to win a one-on-one.

I'm a very cautious person, so my gaming strategies reflect this. I'm quite poor at games that require me to aggress for success—for example Starcraft 2. I also like to be able to handle myself in many situations. Thus Link, who fights with a sword but also sports several long-range options to rely on when the fire gets too hot.

From my extensive reading into Guild Wars 2, it's a very aggression-oriented game. Because every character has primary responsibility for his/her own well-being, the game mechanics are designed so that no one can rely on turtling to stay afloat. Even the guardian, a profession based on the idea of protecting one's self and others, can't just bring all the best defensive skills and armor sets and then stand there exchanging blows with a cave troll. You do have some particular tools, like the dodge mechanic and movement-while-casting, but that must also be coupled with making sure you're doing damage.

I am a mite-bit concerned that I might not be as good at Guild Wars 2 as I'd like to be, considering I've never been so hyped up about a game in my life. Maybe I'll need to relearn some things, but I can't know how things will go for sure until I put fingers to keyboard and try the game myself.