Forge Hub vs OMG
Last sunday, we took the opportunity to throw down the gauntlet with OMG (Online Multiplayer Gaming for those of you who are wondering). A dedicated community of European and UK gamers, OMG span a number of online games, but of course they have a soft spot for a little bit of Halo 3 from time to time. We managed to match their UK ranks man for man (save Shanon, of course, who was sworn in as an honourary Brit for the night's proceedings) and this series turned out to be a little longer than we had anticipated, with more than a couple of close calls to keep both teams on their toes.
Team Forge Hub
Pegasi Delta - Roche, stop sending messages and play!
Shock Theta - Shock Theta wants Roche178 to join Party x99
Roche178 - MTAF: Pegasi sucks :D
Xanon - Dubbed as the Honary Brit by King James IV
Team OMG
B0B 2097 - Captain Margaret: the Fantastic Dealer of Wounds
King Picollo - Useless and Confused...
R10Tz0r - Taking it round the back is better
Thoenix -
Game 1: Team BRs on Standoff
Things typically didn't start off as smoothly as they could, Roche arrived sans mic and we were in need of a 4th. Enter our ringer: Shanon. Game 1 played almost sedately for Standoff, with this default classic ringing true to it's name, the game-changing plays such as Hog rushes that normally characterise this map never seeming to materialise on either side. My own start was not good, multiple minutes going by with me still stuck on the 0 mark, but then a Laser flew my way and I was a little happier. The story of this game was Shanon, who promptly tucked us all in his backpack and dashed to the finish line. With 1 win under our belts, and on the opponents' choice of map as well, we felt pleased with ourselves.
Final Score:
Team Forge Hub: 50
Team OMG: 32
Thwarted at every turn
Game 2: Trisault S on Amphibious Threat
Coming off a convincing win, and now on our home turf with a true Forge Hub golden oldie, Amphibious Threat by Predicide, we went in to the first round convinced that we could end this here and now. But OMG had done their research, and their somewhat unorthodox strategy of taking the bomb to the final plant point right off the mark paid off. Despite stopping them short time and again, a war of attrition ensued with us eventually being left with 4 down and the bomb planted. OMG rode this score and made quick work of the two remaining plant points, taking their attack round to a full score of 3. Faced with the prospect of a draw at best, we turned our minds to planning, with a perfectly executed Amphibious Threat strategy nailing points 1, 2 and 3 in a smooth sequence. Despite our efforts, we were left with a 3-3 draw to end game two.
Final Score:
Team Forge Hub: 3
Team OMG: 3
Evacuate the area!
Game 3: Team King on Tartarus
Whilst we had been denied victory on our home turf, we were still one up in the series going in to game three. There was, however, one small problem, game three taking place on Tartarus, an OMG staple lovingly forged by their very own Sikamikanico. Our home ground advantage had been turned around, and we knew we were in for a tough ride if we wanted to secure victory. Things started off badly, we were out slayed and out played, OMG promptly showing their knowledge of this map to extend their lead more and more on every hill, only allowing us to grab mere seconds at a time. But our slaying began to pick up, and as we got more of a feel for this crypt arena we began to eek back in to their lead. Shanon's trusty BR yielded him a tidy overkill (which you can check out below), and we began to pick up serious time in the final 3 hills. But it just wasn't enough, and OMG continued to work the map perfectly and squeeze every last second they could from each hill, eventually grabbing victory by a mere 10 seconds, tying up the series at one game a piece.
Final Score:
Team Forge Hub: 141
Team OMG: 150
Instead of the usual pic, here's a little ditty from our very own Shanon
YouTube - SNF: FH vs. OMG - Shanon Overkill
Game 4: Team BRs on The Pit
With the series all square at 1-1, we continued the rough theme of Pre-DLC classics with a quick excursion to The Pit, my personal stomping ground. We knew that we had to play it cool on this map, not over extending ourselves on to the enemy side without good reason. And this, save a micless Roche of course, is exactly what we did, playing a calm, collected game and punishing OMG when they ventured too far on to our Training or Green. I managed to make good on my previous poor showings and lead our team in kills for the majority of the game. But Shanon dropped right back in to his sneaky ways and grabbed MVP from me in the closing kills, securing victory for Forge Hub and winning both the battle and the war.
Final Score:
Team Forge Hub: 50
Team OMG: 34
Be very, very quiet
We'd like to thank OMG once again for a thoroughly enjoyable night of what they are really all about; good, clean, online gaming. They stayed true to their name and really gave us a run for our money, whilst still keeping things fun for all throughout. Keep an eye out for the next SNF, hopefully we can continue this high and make up for our previous embarrassments at the hands of communities from the four corners of the Halo universe.