
In a world where the biggest E-sport is basically a refinement of a mod of a Blizzard game, it was only a matter of time before they initiated a turf war with their own gang of pixels. League of Legends has done a tremendous amount of heavy lifting as far as elevating this genre and fanbase to the next level, but we must not forget its true roots. Once upon a time, before the behemoth known as WoW ruled the landscape, when 3D graphics were still blowing our minds with a bunch of sharp edged rectangles stuck together, there was the RTS series known as Warcraft. With each installment its reputation grew and it soon became a living legend.


LoL has been instrumental in blowing up the E-Sport world and proving that a game of this format (free to play with optional in-game transactions) could be wildly successful. Success breeds jealousy though, and I'm sure that Blizzard was watching this whole scenario very closely from the start. Since 2010, they have been on the path to create a more refined DotA and began to shape what would eventually become HotS (Heroes of the Storm).


Speaking of leveling, your entire team levels up at the same time, with all of your xp going into a cumulative pot. There really isn't a downside to this as even if you aren't having a great game, your teammates can help you progress to the end. On the social side of things, this will also help a little bit in prevent players from being singled out and berated if they are lagging behind everyone else. Yes, we all want to play with people that know how to play, but we all started somewhere and unless its ranked play, most often people just need to chill.


This is the razor's edge that my judgement balances on. While I did have a great deal of fun when I abandoned my strict lane play, I'm not sure if that's something that I want my entire experience based upon. I like the added element of being able to "recruit" super minions instead of just buffs (as in LoL) in the jungle as that isn't game breaking, but the main map mechanic can feel over-powered at times. Its not a one time means victory scenario but a dynamic game of capture the flag enough times in a row to wield a huge advantage. These can range from summoning a giant plant monster, having pirate cannons destroy enemy structures to casting a debuff on your opponents (with other variants as well).

For now I will continue to play and see what happens as the actual release date nears, whenever that may be. Even with the criticism above, wrecking face never gets old. See you in the Nexus!