Games: Smite: Fenrir, the Unbound (2012/13)

Hello and welcome yet again!

First of all, I'd like to thank all the visitors who have stumbled upon this blog so far - thanks to all of you the new website, although still young compared to the old one and lacking content in comparison, has managed to break 10,000 views. This is also important because of the fact that this year, namely in about two weeks, Werewolf Theory will be 10 years old. It's unbelievable how fast time flies, but that's life, I guess. Thank you all once again!

Cutting to the chase, however... I know I've been quite silent for a while now, but a lot of things have been happening in my personal life and in addition to that other responsibilities needed more of my attention. But, of course, that doesn't mean that there hasn't been anything werewolf-related happening in the world. As summer vacation draws near, I will try to come back to a more regular posting routine to get all the stuff from the old website onto this one - and, naturally, add more. Before, however, we move on to the revelations of this year's E3 convention, let's look at something that is still in development, but which many people can already play a little thanks to the existing beta. And yes, the next few posts will be about games, but after that we'll hopefully move to other fields as well :)

* * *

What is Smite?

Many gamers have probably already heard about Smite. In short, it is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena game (MOBA for short) with an Action Real-Time Strategy (ARTS) which is currently in development by Hi-Rez Studios. In it, two teams consisting of 5 players each battle against each other on a special arena-like map. Each player can choose from a variety of deities from different mythologies and religions as their playable character and battle with them. The team which defeats the opposing team's boss minotaur wins the sessions. Needless to say, every deity has a unique set of skills that they can use and each of them has their own playstyle and role in the assault on the enemy team's base.

Fenrir, the Unbound

As the development process progresses, Hi-Rez Studios is adding more and more playable deities for the players to choose from. At the end of April 2013 as part of their God Reveal series of videos, it was announced that Fenrir, the mythical wolf from Norse mythology, would become a playable character. While theoretically both the original mythological Fenrir and his Smite counterpart are described as 'monstrous wolves' and not werewolves, I thought that it would still be good to write about them in light of the in-game Fenrir's appearance which at first glance brings werewolves to mind rather than normal wolves. At any rate, Fenrir is no ordinary wolf, being a bipedal creature with chains still binding some of his limbs, not to mention that he can speak during combat, so he fits our needs nicely. The lore behind Fenrir in Smite is based on the original mythology, which we'll look at a little later. In the meantime, the official reveal video of Fenrir, explaining in short his backstory and presenting his respective abilities, can be viewed on Smite's official YouTube channel (Here's a link to the video in question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqsf3ThdGRE).

For those who don't feel like watching the video right now, here is a short summary of the lore behind this new character. In Smite, Fenrir - one of the children of the Norse god of mischief, Loki - has somehow freed himself from his bindings. Similarly to the original Fenrir, this big bad wolf was bound by the Norse gods three times. Every time, the gods presented the bindings to Fenrir as a test of strength, promising him fame should he break free from them. First and second bindings were forged by the gods, but proved no match for the wolf's strength. The third one, made by the dwarves and resembling a silk ribbon, was the strongest of them all. By the time the gods approached Fenrir with the third binding, however, the wolf had already become suspicious of their true intentions and said he would allow the ribbon to be placed on him only if one of the gods put their hand between his great jaws as a sign of good faith. Týr was the only god brave enough to put his hand into the wolf's mouth. The dwarf ribbon, magical in nature, proved too strong for Fenrir to tear apart and, seeing the gods' deceit, he flew into a rage and bit off Týr's right hand. Now, Fenrir has broken free (although no-one knows exactly how) and is joining the fray of battle in the Smite arenas, seeking revenge against the gods that had previously bound him.

Fenrir currently has two skins in the game, one normal and one special:

Fenrir's default skin.

"Frostfang" skin for Fenrir.

That said, I've decided to make a separate post concerning the original Fenrir, since it will be a lot easier to link to it when needed without having to scroll through this post whose concern is mainly the playable character of a game. I will also be able to go into more detail in such a post, presenting information that would be redundant otherwise.

Smite, though still officially in beta, can already be played and is free of charge. The game client can be downloaded from the official website at: http://www.smitegame.com/gods/fenrir/ where you can also find some more details concerning Fenrir's (and all the other gods') abilities and roles. Hope you enjoyed reading about Fenrir and Smite and I promise to post some more werewolf news in the nearest future. For the time being, I'm signing off and I wish you a pleasant Sunday. Let the light of the moon guide you, as always. Till next time!

Update 26/08/2015

I've updated the link in the post above so it now directs to the new Smite website and directly to Fenrir's page. There have been new skins added for Fenrir, which can also be viewed on the above-mentioned website :) 

* * *