It was mentioned at the top of this column that Heroes of the Storm got some major attention on national television on Sunday. Blizzard's Heroes of the Dorm competition had its grand finals, with the winners getting tuition money for the duration of their college care

Similarly, players are also able to level up each of the game's factions. By cashing in gold and Sun Gems earned through battle, players can make each faction they control more powerful and emphasize their respective special abilities. By acquiring Sun Gems for factions that they don't have, players can unlock different types of creatures all with their own distinct abilities. Launching with thirty different creatures, Legend of Solgard gives players a massive amount of opportunities to min-max their characters and choose the creatures they see fit for each fi

The one company that could make a significant impact on all of this is of course, Valve, the game's developer. But unlike Dota 2 , Valve has chosen to let other groups organize most of the marquee CS:GO tournaments, at least so far. If Valve were to weigh in on the matter, it would likely go a long way towards sorting out the current m

Valve posted on the Dota 2 website that it hopes the new series will address some of the specific issues that the game has faced within the competitive scene. Namely, teams that want to participate in the Major Championships will have to have a set roster all year long. This seems to be an attempt to get teams to stop reorganizing or recruiting team members shortly before The International each y

I looked back at the screen. 1-1. What is this?! How did they score? Why? What on Earth is going on?! Half-time came, and I was invited to rearrange my team. I didn’t know what to do — as already mentioned, the game’s stats are incredibly confusing, and I was still reeling from having conceded a goal. I changed the team’s play style to ‘aggressive’, and started the second h

As someone who plays Dota 2, I thought "'worth'? What do you mean 'worth'?" It hit me pretty quickly that they meant worth money. The concept of paying real money for a hero eludes me, as a Dota 2 player, with a game that has more than 100 heroes available to everyone, free of charge. While League of Legends is technically free to play, players can get a better experience by buying access to better champions - champions that have "worth." Dota 2, not so. There's not a single item in the game that can be purchased in any way to give players an advantage. This got me thinking how Dota 2 really is the only game that does Free to Play right, that is, in a way that benefits the player as much or more than the company.

Which is why I was unsure about reviewing Championship Manager 70s Legends for the iPhone. Its connection to soccer made it an unhappy prospect, and I went in with low expectations, praying I would complete it quickly, and move on with my l

Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto V isn't lagging too far behind, with a respectable nine nominations in categories including Best Game, Best British Game, Best Performer (for Steven Ogg, who voiced Trevor) and Game Innovation. Released to both critical acclaim and the usual controversy, Grand Theft Auto V was the first game in the franchise to feature three protagonists, with the player able to move between each of them at almost any t

I admit that Dota 2 has the benefit of an established fan base unmatched by almost any free-to-play game (League of Legends excluded). Not many games have fans who are willing to pay for something that doesn't benefit them in any way. Taking that into account, though, there still is no good excuse for free-to-play micro-transactions that benefit the company more than the player. Honestly, the solution is just to make your game cost money. Remember that? When games cost a flat fee for the entire thing? This was a largely successful model, and the only reason I can see for the shift is pure greed, especially by a company like EA that already has boatloads of money to roll in.

I’ve never really liked soccer. Unfortunately, here in the UK, it’s a mainstay of our society — when two men meet for the first time, a usual topic of small talk would be something along the lines of ‘So, which team do you support?’ Usually I grit my teeth and mutter something popular: ‘Oh, Chelsea for sure. That Abramovich did some great things. Anyway, how about that swimming competition the other day

And if an addicting game is your thing, well, you're in luck as Legend of Solgard has a staggering amount of content. The Moba Game Skins's campaign launches with four different worlds each containing forty levels, one boss, and one mini-boss. That's just the game's campaign mode; the game also includes modes called Treasure Caves , Bounties , Guild Bosses , and Hero Arena . While the Treasure Caves and Bounties just serve as places where you can farm Sun Gems (gems that you use with coins to level up each of your factions), chests, and coins, the Hero Arena introduces PvP to the game. The more players you square-off against and come out victorious, the higher your ranking on the Hero Arena 's leaderboards will go and the more in-game goodies will be gifted to you. Similarly, the game's Guild Bosses mode allows you to team up with other players to cooperatively face some of the game's most challenging bosses in exchange for, you guessed, more in-game good