by Craig Snow for gamrReview

More than just a DotA clone?

Defense of the Ancients (DotA) has come a long way from its humble beginnings as a custom map for the originalStarCraft. It only really took off in popularity with its release and refinement in WarCraft III, from which point it went on to feature in the World Cyber Games and has become the sole inspiration for several full retail releases that have been built solely around the concept. Heroes of Newerth (HoN) is one such retail release; a DotAclone, to put it crudely. If you’re looking for something inspired and original in its own right, then HoN is not for you. HoN is an appeal to the core DotA fan – someone who’s looking for more of almost everything the source material offers, from heroes, items, and recipes; to a dedicated community, stat tracking, ladder rankings and tournaments.

Beyond some brief character descriptions there’s no story to speak of and beyond an extremely basic and brief tutorial there’s no single player mode either. That’s not what DotA is about; even 2009’s Demigod, which featured computer bots in single player skirmishes, was – at its core – an online multiplayer affair. If you’ve already played a variation of DotA before then you’ll feel right at home. If you haven’t, then I would probably recommend the aforementioned Demigod over HoN, because it’s a much more newbie-friendly introduction to the world of DotA.

The basic DotA action-RPG/RTS hybrid gameplay is present and accounted for.  Each participant selects a hero to go into battle with, typically in a 5v5 set-up. The map is split into two, with only your half being clearly visible to yourself and your teammates. The goal is to destroy the enemy team’s main base, taking out the towers which are placed along 3 ‘lanes’ leading up to it. It’s like an inverted game tug of war, with the goal being to push the lanes forward. Before you’re strong enough to take down the enemy base however, you first need to level up your hero and acquire gold for stronger items. You acquire experience and gold by killing both the enemy’s AI minions, which spawn at regular intervals, and later on the enemy heroes.

Experience results in leveling, which in turn allows you to strengthen one of your 4 skills or your stats. Each hero has 4 character-specific skills, one of which is their ‘ultimate’ skill, which will be particularly useful when facing off against enemy heroes. Each hero also has 6 inventory slots which can be filled with items, and any additional items you purchase or pick up are placed in your stash where they can only be accessed at the store. There’s a wide selection of items to choose from. Not only that but there’s also a recipe system which allows you to combine items in order to produce more powerful variants. Selecting the right items for your hero is a key component of increasing your proficiency with the game.

This may all sound quite straightforward, but there is an awful lot to learn; the learning curve for beginners is certainly steep thanks to DotA’s hidden depth and various nuances. Each hero is unique and brings something different to the battle; when you consider that there are over 60 heroes and typically 10 players in each match, well… needless to say there’s the potential for a lot of variety. There are the different tactics you employ at different stages of the battle, the lane you pick, the skills you use (and, more importantly, how you use them), the role you play on the team, the items you purchase, and how you counter the skills, items and tactics of your opponents. It all goes to show that there’s a reason a lot of public games advertise for ‘noobs only’, and it’s not just because the game only recently launched.

Heroes of Newerth is a fairly attractive game. The graphics aren’t particularly impressive, but HoN is colourful and vibrant. The spell effects are very eye catching, which always makes for more enjoyable casting. In large skirmishes this can sometimes obscure the action. Each hero is unique and given its own distinct design and personality. Much like with the original source material, WarCraft (or even StarCraft before it), the units have a few key phrases which they’ll shout out, and this further adds to their characters and the game’s overall personality. The ‘mmm yummy!’ of the Devourer is my personal favourite. The sound design overall is solid – I particularly like the announcer’s booming voice over, especially when the heroes are being selected.

Hero selection itself is actually like a high stakes minigame all of its own. In ranked matches the team leaders are made to eliminate some heroes from the character selection screen before the teams then slowly take turns to select their heroes. Meanwhile, in most public matches there’s a single countdown timer which ticks down as players discuss their intended picks and choose from any of the 60+ heroes. Most, however, leave it until the final few seconds to make their decision so as not to give the opposing team time to form a group well placed to counter certain key threats. This typically means a mad scramble towards the end of the countdown to secure your favourite.