SMITE | A God Among Free-To-Play

Smite, for me has been an interesting off and on journey. From the beta on the PS4 to today on the same console I've dipped in, and out of the experience. Sometimes actually playing, and other times just logging in daily (in proper OCD fashion) to reap the daily login rewards. To date I have accrued over 40 gods and goddess as well as over 110 god/goddess skins. None of which I paid real money for. I even cashed in some gems at one point to participate in a season, and capitalize on the exclusive skin that was to be had there. The game is very generous to freeloaders like myself, and for that fact alone I find it highly attractive. Despite being one of the more lucrative free-to-play experiences though the game does have it's fair share of downsides as well. In fact the one key reason I kept turning from gameplay was, because of the cheaters and hackers playing it. That, and the times Hi-Rez both offered player reporting options, and took them away before reissuing said feature at a later date. The cheating, and hacks in the PS4 port of Smite are, and have been fairly serious. I'm not talking about DDOS'ing, or lagswitching, but actual hacks. The kind you'd see from PC gamers. Not a day ago I actually encountered one such hacker who changed the game's features and functions in such a way as to wholly change the game's updated format. Not only that, but they gifted the entire team within the lobby free skins. It was major.

Aside from said player tomfoolery I think Hi-Rez, and their team has given a good service to gamers through Smite. Not only does it boost the relevance of team effort, and encourage said sportsmanship in the competitive sense, but they've also gone all out to educate gamers about the gods, and goddesses of real world religion/mythology (Minus Jesus ... seriously Hi-Rez put Jesus & Satan in there!) while doing so. With each newly introduced god or goddess there comes an "About" section which gives details about the lore surrounding that deity. I lived for this kind of thing back in my school years. I spent hours upon hours of my day in the library reading up on ancient cultures, and the gods/goddesses of said cultures. It's fascinating to me, the lore, and to see the attention to detail the developers at Hi-Rez give each new playable deity is nothing short of commendable. You can see the passion within every aspect of the game, and to top it off it's made in such a way as to appeal to a younger crowd of gamers. Something I think is good in the educational sense.

My issues with the game aside I feel that Smite is well deserving of some prestigious gaming awards, and notoriety. It's an experience that gives in so many ways, and is one experience that if fine tuned to perfection could last until the very end of gaming as we know it. So, kudos to the development team at Hi-Rez! You've done a great job! I hope you continue to improve, and give generously unto the community that has helped you to become a brand name experience across multiple gaming platforms. Best of luck in the future, and may the gods smile down upon you as you continue to innovate, and create! Bless all of you at Hi-Rez!