Smite enters open beta on the Xbox One

As of July 8th, 2015, Smite’s open beta is live on the Xbox One, letting console players try out the game that has proven to be very popular in the PC crowd lately. While there is the small caveat that Xbox Live Gold is required, the game itself can be played for free.

What is Smite?

For the unfamiliar, Smite is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena not unlike League of Legends, where you take control of a character that has certain abilities and strengths and weaknesses that compliment each other. Unlike other MOBAs, Smite lets you play as various gods from cultures all around the world, from the Greeks and Romans to the Chinese and Mayan (although you can change the appearance of your character to suit your more fanciful desires). Furthermore, rather than having a top down point of view, the camera is behind your character.

In essence, think of playing Skyrim or a fighting game in third person, except you are a god and you are playing with other people. Those other people are also very important to your team succeeding though, so it is wise to stay together and coordinate your moves. Of course, the same applies to the other team.

It’s also free, so even if you don’t like it, you can always uninstall it. The downside is that you get a limited selection of gods to choose from, so while you can always play as Thor for example, you can’t always play as Zeus. You have to wait until Zeus or your choice of god enters the rotation of gods available to free players, or you can buy the Founder’s Pack which unlocks all current and future gods.

As of late, Smite has been very popular with PC gamer’s, with various eSports tournaments and the like spawning around it.