Heroes of the Storm (HotS) is Blizzard’s latest game. It is in a closed beta, but a friend of mine gave me a beta key, so I was able to try it out. I have to say that it is not bad; although it isn’t the best game, there isn’t really much I can complain about. \
When I was first introduced to HotS, I thought that it was just another Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game, and it is. It borrows a lot of elements from League of Legends (LoL), but there are differences that make HotS enjoyable.
I am not a person who invests my time and money into LoL, so I don’t have 60 champion skins in my inventory, but I play enough to know that you have to be pretty technical. There are many different types of setups, item selects, and inventory builds that can either bring you to the top or cause you to give free kills to the other team.
HotS, however, gets rid of the entire gold and inventory system. The game is more dependent on leveling up via one’s experience points, along with upgrading the standard QWER skills; the game refers to these skills as “talents.” You are provided with a choice between talents, so this aspect is sort of technical.
Some items, which may seem as if they would cost coins, are actually provided for free. Health potions are presented as healing fountains throughout the map, but they are not easily accessible. They can be used for regenerating health and mana after a cooldown. Wards that provide vision in LoL show up as drones in HotS, and you can select drones as part of a talent.
Another unique feature about HotS is the in-game mission. This adds another facet to the MOBA-type game because it asks players to accomplish a task that will help them win while also simultaneously fighting the enemy team. I don’t know if I like this yet, but it’s comparable to killing the dragons and Baron in LoL.
One feature that LoL has over HotS is the graphics. While I believe that the graphics in HotS will improve over time, I do not find them aesthetically pleasing in their current state. The game runs fine, but I think it would be more fun if I were to able to truly enjoy the graphics.
Overall, HotS is another fun MOBA game that has its differences from LoL. I understand the excitement about HotS since it requires less technicalities, allowing you to focus on battling and having fun, but I still prefer LoL.
