While the DOTA (Defense of the Ancients) game style is no longer unique, it is still extremely fun. Are you unaware of what a DOTA style game is? DOTA all started on Warcraft 3 which is an online multiplayer game from Blizzard which allows individuals to make their own mods of the game. DOTA is set up with two opposing bases and each individual in that game will start at one of the bases. There are 3 separate “lanes” where units spawn and attempt to walk to the enemies base. There are also 3 defensive towers in each lane which help defend your base from these units. Between each lane there is a “jungle” where neutral, killable units will spawn.
DOTA-style games also involve a many RPG elements which is essential to the gameplay. Each person in the game gets to choose a champion and they will level up that champion by killing enemy units, neutral-killable units, or enemy champions. The game comes to a conclusion when your team or the opposing team destroys all of the turrets in one or more of your lanes and kills your main building (this is usually referred to as your Nexus). That is the gist of a DOTA-style game! Killing enemy units or champions results in a reward of gold! Enemy champions give more gold than enemy units. Gold is used to purchase items which increases the power of your champion.
So what makes League Of Legends(LOL) stand out above the rest of the DOTA-style games, such as Heroes of Newerth and DOTA? Well for one, it is completely free. There is a huge variety of champions to play and it is becoming an increasingly competitive game. (Champions are periodically released every 2 weeks) In my opinion, it is one of the most balanced DOTA style games out right now and I hope my review convinces you as well.
I am going to keep this review and all reviews as unbiased as possible. I’m going to review on a set of topics which I find essential to the game after the initial introduction of the game. I have invested a lot of time into the game.
The follow parts of this game will be rated on a scale out of 10.
Gameplay:
You are in charge of leveling up your champion over the time frame of the game. You are limited to one champion per game and cannot choose a new one until the start of a new game. The max level is 18 and every level you will get additional skill points to invest in one of your 4 skills. Your attributes will also be increased per level. This occurs for EVERY champion in the game. After each game, you start with a champion at level 1. It is a formula that absolutely works and it has been repeated by every DOTA style game.
Fortunately, the leveling process and lane “pushing” process in League Of Legends is quick and user friendly. It is easy to pick up and play, and it is easy to learn. Of course, it is hard to master. The team must then destroy the enemy nexus. The player that keeps their Nexus is the winner!
Additionally there are 2 “summoner” spells which each person has access to! You can customize these spells and use them with any champion you select. There are spells like “flash” and “ignite”, flash teleports your champion to a target location while ignite lights your enemy on fire for a damage over time spell. This is just 2 of the many summoner spells found in the League Of Legends.
NOTE:
DOTA currently has 2 modes, 3v3s and 5v5s. The 5v5s are the preferred and the most commonly played method. In the 5v5s mode, the middle lane generally has one champion from each team while the top and bottom lanes each have 2 champions on each team. The champions will then try to “last hit” the enemy units because killing them results in that player obtaining gold. Gold also periodically given to players. You use this gold to improve your champion by purchasing items that adds stats, special activated abilities, and special passive abilities.
RATING: 8.0/10.0
If you’ve never played a DOTA game before you will totally fall in love with this genre. It is very repetitive.
Sound:
Sound is essential to any game. It sets a mood and a pace within individuals. I find the music to be very “Harry Potterish” and not very attractive. Eventually you just learn to accept it, although the music is one of the downfalls to the game. The sound effects are slightly better than the actual music, and they are tolerable.
The champions each have their own set of individual voices, sound effects, and funny features. They have a /taunt feature, a /laugh, and a /joke feature, and they all champions of their own set of funny phrases. There is also a /dance feature which makes your champion dance in game.
Sound is definitely one of the low keys of this game. However, the /laugh, /taunt, and /joke feature when typed in game are the most redeemable parts of the audio.
Rating: 5.0/10.0
This is only redeemed by the features I mentioned. Otherwise the music and sound are pretty subpar. Might I suggest opening up your itunes and turning of their music.
Graphics:
While the units that spawn at your base are always similar looking, the variety lies within the champion models. They are all unique which is totally awesome! The graphics from an artistic style are beautiful. However, from a power perspective, they have lower polygon models and very few shader effects. The graphics are definitely well below the standards of today. I can very much appreciate the uniqueness found within League Of Legends however, and the intricate work they put into their champions.
Graphics: 8.5 / 10.0
Subpar shaders and graphics, however it is redeemed by its art style. I love it. It has a cartoony look and it can be ran on many older computers.
Control:
The controls are perfect for the genre. They just work. You right click to move your champion around. You click buy or double click items when purchasing them from the store. You have hot keys on your keyboard for your 4 spells “q w e r” are your four keys for your spells. You also have hot keys for your summoner spells.
Controls: 9.5 / 10.0
The controls work exactly how they were intended with minimal lag between actions.
Conclusion:
If you are new to the genre, this is the perfect place to start! Its an easy to pick up game that is easy to learn and hard to master. The game is completely free and you unlock champions by playing games are spending points called “Influence points.” You can spend money if you’d like on the game. Money can be used to unlock special outfits and skins for your champion. You can also use money to purchase the champions as well. However, spending money does not influence the outcome of the game, it is purely for vanity purposes. I do suggest you check out the game. The replay value is there if it is your first type of DOTA style games and the sheer plethora of champions in this game is astounding. Over fifty different individual champions exist!!!!
Conclusion: I RATE THIS GAME AN 8.0 OUT OF 10.0.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed my first review and continue reading. Please subscribe. I’m going to be posting a Dead Island review as soon as possible and also a review of the Diablo 3 Beta if I’m selected.
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