Soulkilla and Bajju Interviewed - Reacting to Battalion 1944

Third time's the charm as they say; hence, we're back with the third batch of interviews of local professional players sharing their opinions on the upcoming Battalion 1944 title and thoughts about the past year of Call of Duty 2 competition. This time we'll be interpreting the views of Karl " soulkilla" Vella and Mario "Bajju" Aquilina, both local players who've contributed immensely to the most enticing competition. We'll start with "soulkilla", with his insightful replies below.

 1.) To begin, we'll start with an introductory question to familiarise yourself with our readers. Please describe your history as an eSports player in Malta, having especial detail on your relationship with the title of Call of Duty 2. 

My name is Karl Vella nickname "soulkilla". I've been part of the gaming community since Counterstrike 1.5 which I used to play at the first lan cafe I used to frequent against mostly foreigners. I first started playing online on Return to castle wolfenstein: Enemy Terrory, known as ET to most gamers. I had joined my first team which was called mepa (malte elite patriotic army) which had climbed to the top 5 teams in the clanbase EU ladders during the ET era. During that period Call of duty 1 had just been released and a mepa team was formed to compete locally. I had then moved from the Mepa team to join Xtc which is when we started playing competitively on Clanbase. When Call of duty 2 was released we witnessed a huge change in the Maltese gaming community which till that day was still a small community and everyone knew each other. The community started growing and an increase of young generation gamers (8years+) started showing on the local Maltese servers. Unfortunately, they were not the best days as the community seemed to become more aggressive between players than competitive. I had then formed 2 teams under mepa to participate in Call of duty two with names which are familiar to these days forming part of the team (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1457893759797&set=t.644019713&type=3&theater). The team was not as successful as our Enemy territory was but we had fun playing together as a team and giving other teams a good run for their money.

2.) Call of Duty 2 was resurrected in the community last year; as Gamers.com.mt re-introduced the game in the Malta Cyber Series #3 and the largest event of the year - the MESF 2017. What was your initial reaction to this inclusion? Looking back now, reveal your thoughts on Call of Duty 2 in 2017.

I was disappointed as in my opinion Call of Duty 2 was where the series went downhill and the inclusion of that game meant that new games which had potential were replaced by a game which the only reason it was successful in the lan is that most of the gamers grew playing call of duty 2. If for example, a lan in malta would include ET which was my main game, I would be against the game being part of the MAIN games at the lan but it should only be a side game for some extra fun.

I had given the crew at gamers my opinion when I heard about it and personally, I don't see why it was included by them for any other reason other than ticket sales.

3.) Gamers.com.mt is clearly eyeing Battalion 1944; the apparent successor to Call of Duty 2 in terms of gameplay and community feedback. Bringing it to our shores would definitely be interesting and relevant. What are your impressions of the new title, especially after the beta recently? Have you had the chance to play the game yet?

Yes, I've had quite some time to play it and personally, I've enjoyed it and look forward to playing it competitively in Malta and against foreign teams. The first time I got to give it a try was in gamescom last year which was before the beta and I can say that there have been quite a lot of changes/improvements to the mobility and gun characteristics.

4.) Our last question. Bringing back Call of Duty 2 last year wasn't too attractive for youngsters starting out as individual competitors due to reason of aged mechanics and a fast-moving modern selection of games which would rather be played - but Battalion 1944 looks to change that with contemporary graphics alongside refurbished content. What potential do you see in the title for Malta?

Personally I really wish to see the game being played as a Main game at the upcoming lans and wish to see it persist on for more than 2-3 lans. It is now up to the Organisers to create local competitions for the maltese community to get together and start forming teams. This will help our fellow gamers start to improve their skill in both teamwork and aim, which would eventually have a good chance of making our flag be seen in competitions online and foreign lan events.  I myself will be forming a team for this game with the goal of reaching the highest level possible along with my teammates but at the same time enjoying some good battles here at our lans.

 I would like to thank you and the whole team at Gamers.com.mt for this opportunity.

Wish you all happy fragging.

Karl "soulkilla" Vella