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Point Blank Garena is unarguably one of the most popular first person shooter games in Indonesia and has secured its place in every Internet café in the country. It’s dominance in other SEA countries is also unquestionable, but that’s where it ends. Point Blank in the United States under the name Piercing Blow is almost unheard of. The same goes for Europe. In these parts of the world Counter Strike: Global Offensive the latest of the CS series is the leading game in the FPS category followed by the latest releases of Call of Duty, Battlefield and Halo.
I have played many FPS games; CF, CSS, PB, BF2, CoD, Xshot, WarRock, BlackOps, BC2, so hopefully my insights will be of value. I will not discuss cheating and hacking as that is another topic entirely.
Comparing a new game like CS:GO to Point Blank might seem a bit unfair though gameplay wise not much has changed for old Counter Strike. Graphics and physics were greatly updated, lighting and textures, as were the maps revamped and polished to give a more modern look. To add to that few weapons were added to the arsenal. Valve through steam implemented a new multiplayer system to one similar to Dota, where players of the same caliber were grouped together to make each side balanced (a fair 50/50). Players compete for rank in the leaderboards.
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One huge influential factor I’d like to discuss about that differs PB from CS:GO is that the former is literally a pay to win game. Let’s look at CS:GO as an example of a favorable game. It’s balanced and simple with a straightforward objective. Somewhat like Dota, the essence and mechanics that made it the game everyone loved a decade ago are still there. This is a reason to why CS is one of the most competitive eSports games to date. There are a set of unchangeable rules but to be the best skill, reflex and game knowledge are essential.
Point Blank’s competitive scene looks to be very volatile. New weapons are added every big update and it changes the pace of the game. More than half of the weapons available are only acquired through buying them with real money. Also, they are not permanently bought but instead borrowed for some time, usually a week or a month. When their duration expires you must rebuy the weapon. Normal rifles can be bought using in game money accumulated over time. Using real life money you can buy such rifles but their gold or silver variations which give extra rounds per magazine and are basically a paid upgrade. The fact that you can buy weapons from the start makes it unfair for the newcomers of the game.
It gets worse than this. When in game, players are equipped with the default male soldier. Characters can be changed through the inventory and bought in the shop like other items and weapons. If weapons seemed a bit unfair, paid for characters have extra movement speed and extra health. This is an insane advantage when going head to head. There are also customizable headwear offering more protection from bullets but also extra damage, extra accuracy and the user receives more experience and points at the end of a match. So basically in competitive, Point Blank players fill up their accounts with steroids and upgradables before playing against one another.
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Point Blank has another feature called missions where you are given a set of simple in game tasks. Completing these tasks offers the player traits like accuracy, recoil, axe/knife throw distance, damage and the like. To be a professional in Counter Strike, you can jump in right away and with the right skill you can compete with the best and proceed to become the best. Weapon skins in CS:GO are simply vanity items and does not change gameplay in any way. For Point Blank you have to invest real life money and time as well (for missions), otherwise it would be unfair competition nullifying your chances of competing with pros.
I think the only reason people still play this game is because of subculture and its already well known reputation. To me this is unhealthy consumerism. The FPS options in Indonesia are limited and the expensive CS:GO initial cost scares away most. I dislike when pay to win games like PB become popular competitively. People watching eSports aspire to become the pros. This practice of buying your way to winning isn’t something that should be promoted, instead skill and hard work. These are my thoughts.