Each year, gaming fans gather around and vote for their favorite games/people/communities of the year to win Guild Launch’s Dragon Slayer Awards. Nominated for Best New Game on the Horizon, Heroes of the Storm faces of against 3 other games for the title.
Heroes of the Storm is Blizzard’s new DOTA-style game, which tries to make itself unique with different features. This “hero brawler” has been in technical Alpha-testing phase since March, and you can sign up for the upcoming beta via your battlenet account.
The game focuses on 5v5 team gameplay on different maps. The unique battlegrounds are one thing that shines in Heroes of the Storm. Each battleground has different objectives, delivering diverse and strategic forms of playing.
The battleground also features “towns”, not towers. Towns are equipped with a gate, healing fountains for mana/health regeneration, and an attacking guard tower. The gates prevent enemy movement. Minions also have different roles, from attacking to healing.
Another factor Heroes of the Storm brings to the table is match length. Traditional multiplayer online battle arena games, like League of Legends or DOTA range from 30-40 minutes in average match length. Heroes of the Storm aims for a 15-20 minute match length, allowing for matches to be fast-paced, fun, and easy to repeat. Players can concentrate on the fun elements of the gameplay, and always play that “one last game” for the day.
The world, Nexus, features a clash of Blizzard universes. The heroes come from Diablo, World of Warcraft, and Starcraft. Each hero is divided into special roles: Assassin, Warrior, Support, and “Specialist” (which includes a Siege role or Commander role). Each position is important in its own way, and customizable. The “heroic ability”, or ultimate attack, is chosen by the player, giving a whole new strategy to how you play the hero.
Oh, and you no longer have to be angry about that kill-steal, because rewards are shared within the team. This allows for players to take on passive roles, like healing or hiding until the right moment.
You can vote for Heroes of the Storm here and check out the other nominees on GameSkinny.com.
