MOBA Gamers

League of Legends, Ryze the Rogue-Mage squares off with Kassadin
Copyright Riot Games

Well it's finally here – League of Legends, the brainchild of the creators of the insanely popular Warcraft 3 map “DOTA Allstars”. Does it live up to the hype?

First of all, lets start with the pricing. League of Legends features a free-to-play model featured in many popular MMORPG's such as Dungeon Fighter Online or Atlantica Online – you can play to unlock content over time, or just straight up shell out some coin to get the features faster. You can also use the paid service to unlock special character skins which will make you the envy of the other players in the game – a visual bonus, but no real in game power. Since the base game is free, it's earning a gold star here.

Then we come to the “pre-game” interface, PVP.net – Honestly, this system could have been designed a whole lot better and probably wasn't ready for release. It's clunky, looks bad, and is plagued with crashing and bugs, including not being able to see your friends on the instant-messenger style popup panel. The matchmaking system, while definitely not 100 percent accurate at landing you in an even match, does flow smoothly and can get you in a game with your so called peers in a minute or less, without the frustration of having to balance teams by yourself.

The cell-shaded graphics have been panned by the gaming community since the first screenshots were released and this is an area where it comes down to personal preference. They take some getting used to, but in the end they actually aren't that bad. They're not for everyone but in complete fairness, give them a chance – they may grow on you after a few games.

The characters – Riot scores massive points in this department. The creative minds behind these guys have come up with some original and epic personalities. From the fireball-flinging, demon-bear doll wielding Annie to the orange-eating cannonball blasting Gangplank, the heroes have a host of unique abilities that are a true joy to use. There's werewolves, barbarian kings, psychotic jesters, and a freaking pint-sized “Yordle” with a blowgun and mushroom traps. The entire fantasy spectrum is represented and redefined with the cast of characters and Riot deserves ten thumbs up for their efforts here.

Hero abilities in LoL take a much bigger role than they have in previous MOBA games such as DOTA – and it's a pleasant experience. You'll be using your skills much more actively during the course of a game rather than saving them for use when it's “time to strike”. The addition of a stat called “ability power” also allows caster-style heroes to be useful in the late game, while in most games of the genre casters die off with fixed values for their skills.

Items, items items – the gear that makes the game. The items are well thought out and interesting, with many of them featuring a team oriented slant, promoting players to stick with their allies to provide them with various auras and buffs. There's a lot of choices, and it's all organized by item type to help you find exactly what you're looking for. Completely new and don't know what's going on? The “recommended” item tab will take care of you until you're skilled enough to make your own decisions. There are no items with active abilities, which is a rather questionable choice, but since LoL seems to focus more on character abilities it is not a glaring issue.

Your average game takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, and plays a lot like DOTA with plenty of additions and twists to the inspirational work. LoL's gameplay is highly customizable with summoner spells, runes, and WoW-talent tree styled choices. One does wonder, however, that if LoL is meant to be competitive what sort of advantage a level 30 player with a fully optimized rune book would have over someone without any, but since runes are currently not enabled in it's hard to say.

Overall this is a great addition to the ranks of an emerging genre, and has some great potential. With the store still not in the game it's anyone's guess how things will be once it releases, but this one is going to come down to Riot's dedication to the game and where they want to take it. It was probably launched too early, with many features not working, buggy, or not even around yet but with a F2P title you can get away with that. To a point.

With LoL being F2P, there's every reason to give it a shot and see if you like it, it's a winning mix that will appeal to a wide variety of gaming backgrounds and playstyles.  Want to play? Head right on over to the official website.