Heroes of the Storm

Blizzard's intense MOBA allows players to play as their favorite character.

It's somewhat ironic that it was a Blizzard Warcraft 3 Mod that spawned the first Multi-player Online Battle Arena genre, Defense Of The Ancients. Now, years later, Blizzard has taken the concept and Made Heroes of the Storm. Featuring iconic heroes from their block buster games including Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo. each game is a third person battle between teams of five people each played out across different battlegrounds with unique features. Each character has a unique set of skills to aid them in defeating the enemy and usually fit into one of four roles: warrior, support, assassin and specialist. Contrary to most games in this genre, Heroes of the Storm is more accessible to new players although there is a definitely a hard core element that plays Heroes of the Storm competitively and even professionally as an esport.

Game Play

Game play is fast and furious, focusing on pushing towards the opposing team's fort for victory. To do that, the maps themselves can offer aid in hiring / subduing mercenaries to help or hiring a ghost ship to bombard anyone you wish. The characters themselves have a set pool of skills that you'll be able to pick from. Rather than introducing item buying for characters or other more complex leveling systems, Heroes of the Storm introduces a slightly more accessible mechanic. At level milestones, the player is given a choice between two different skills that they will be able to access in game. In this way they can build a unique character that works with their team without having a ton of choices to confuse them. While there is still deep strategic value to this, the intent is to keep the game fast paced without a lot of time needed to make leveling decisions. Experience, as well, has been made into a team affair. It's all for one in Heroes of the Storm and your team levels at the same time, each character contributing to experience earned.

Presentation

Blizzard is known for their slick presentation and great capacity for storytelling. While the presentation is present, there isn't anything in the way of story telling. Each character is taken from an existing game where they have a story; Heroes of the Storm is about fighting and tactics. Graphics and gameplay, as with any Blizzard game, are top notch.

Pros

• Intense competitive community
• Ability to play as your favourite Blizzard character
• Accessible MOBA for new players, deep strategy for veterns
• Free to Play!

Cons

• Smaller character roster to choose from than some other games in the Genre
• Still a MOBA, the battles are five on five with little variation except for characters and battlefield. Not for everyone