Scott Tortorice
Senior Member
Seeing how much I have fell in love with Valve's Team Fortress 2, I decided to give their next uber-title DOTA 2 a try. I was always interested in discovering the secret of the MOBA craze, so I figured this would be a good chance to find out.
I will say that I could see that Valve's usual high quality was apparent right off the bat. There are still some bugs - I've gotten three CTDs to date - but the game is extremely well thought out in design. I particularly love how you can watch other on-going games from within the client, something that goes a long way in promoting this title's e-sport aspects.
As for the game itself, so far I would give it a 'B'. Before I tried DOTA 2, I watched some gameplay vids from it and other MOBA titles like LoL, and my impression was that a MOBA is basically a multiplayer version of a traditional tower defense type of game. After trying DOTA 2, I can say that was a pretty accurate summation. Gameplay involves two bases, guarded by lane towers, that are at war with each other. The player's job is to shepherd AI-controlled "creeps" along the lanes and assist them in destroying every enemy controlled structure, particularly those towers, that they come across, as well as protecting them from enemy creeps/heroes. To accomplish this, the players choose one from over 200(!) pre-made hero units, each with special abilities, and duke it out with other human-controlled hero units from the other team.
That's pretty much it.
There is some other chrome, too - for example, the player's hero unit levels up as he kills creeps/other heroes, and those points can be used to improve your abilities as in a typical RPG. You also earn gold which can be spent in one regular shop at base, or at one secret shop that is hidden on the map. Both shops together sell about 60(?) pieces of equipment that buff your various stats, such as mana gen, DPS, etc. There is also one or two hidden monster lairs that contain some boss creatures that reward special gear if you can kill them (usually requires a team effort).
But that is generally it. Truth be told, I find it gets repetitive after about two games - games, btw, seem to last between 20-40 minutes apiece, which surprised me with their length! In addition to being repetitive, I don't like something that I knew was central to the experience from the get-go: the team aspects. MOBAs are very similar to CO-OP games in that a team effort is required for almost everything. What I hate about this is that unlike, say, shooters where team-play emerges organically from the experience, MOBA games, like CO-OP games, usually have one (self-appointed) captain that takes to the mic/chat screen and starts ordering all the other players around. I HATE that because I want to PLAY the game, and not be a pawn in another person's game. Again, this is just me and not a flaw, but I suspect this, more than anything, is going to lead to me playing much less than I otherwise would.
Another thing that I don't like is the infrequent loot. What I love about TF2 is that every game offers an opportunity to receive some random loot with which to customize your characters. From what I understand about DOTA 2, you only get loot when you level up your battle score. Seeing how it takes about 1000 points to go from level 1 to level 2, and how I seem to be earning 35 or so points per game, this is going to take a looooong time to get a lot of loot. Sort of kills the thing I so love about TF2 and expected to see here.
Overall, DOTA 2 is proving to be pretty much what I expected it to be. It has fun gameplay, but I don't see it having much lasting value with me. But, then again, I initially said the same thing about TF2. I'm gonna play some more games, but I think I am getting a bit tired of it already.
I will say that I could see that Valve's usual high quality was apparent right off the bat. There are still some bugs - I've gotten three CTDs to date - but the game is extremely well thought out in design. I particularly love how you can watch other on-going games from within the client, something that goes a long way in promoting this title's e-sport aspects.
As for the game itself, so far I would give it a 'B'. Before I tried DOTA 2, I watched some gameplay vids from it and other MOBA titles like LoL, and my impression was that a MOBA is basically a multiplayer version of a traditional tower defense type of game. After trying DOTA 2, I can say that was a pretty accurate summation. Gameplay involves two bases, guarded by lane towers, that are at war with each other. The player's job is to shepherd AI-controlled "creeps" along the lanes and assist them in destroying every enemy controlled structure, particularly those towers, that they come across, as well as protecting them from enemy creeps/heroes. To accomplish this, the players choose one from over 200(!) pre-made hero units, each with special abilities, and duke it out with other human-controlled hero units from the other team.
That's pretty much it.
There is some other chrome, too - for example, the player's hero unit levels up as he kills creeps/other heroes, and those points can be used to improve your abilities as in a typical RPG. You also earn gold which can be spent in one regular shop at base, or at one secret shop that is hidden on the map. Both shops together sell about 60(?) pieces of equipment that buff your various stats, such as mana gen, DPS, etc. There is also one or two hidden monster lairs that contain some boss creatures that reward special gear if you can kill them (usually requires a team effort).
But that is generally it. Truth be told, I find it gets repetitive after about two games - games, btw, seem to last between 20-40 minutes apiece, which surprised me with their length! In addition to being repetitive, I don't like something that I knew was central to the experience from the get-go: the team aspects. MOBAs are very similar to CO-OP games in that a team effort is required for almost everything. What I hate about this is that unlike, say, shooters where team-play emerges organically from the experience, MOBA games, like CO-OP games, usually have one (self-appointed) captain that takes to the mic/chat screen and starts ordering all the other players around. I HATE that because I want to PLAY the game, and not be a pawn in another person's game. Again, this is just me and not a flaw, but I suspect this, more than anything, is going to lead to me playing much less than I otherwise would.
Another thing that I don't like is the infrequent loot. What I love about TF2 is that every game offers an opportunity to receive some random loot with which to customize your characters. From what I understand about DOTA 2, you only get loot when you level up your battle score. Seeing how it takes about 1000 points to go from level 1 to level 2, and how I seem to be earning 35 or so points per game, this is going to take a looooong time to get a lot of loot. Sort of kills the thing I so love about TF2 and expected to see here.
Overall, DOTA 2 is proving to be pretty much what I expected it to be. It has fun gameplay, but I don't see it having much lasting value with me. But, then again, I initially said the same thing about TF2. I'm gonna play some more games, but I think I am getting a bit tired of it already.