Competition, it drives us humans something fierce. The desire to reign supreme over one another. To flex physical or neurological muscle in an effort to show one’s prowess. Tapping into this human emotion is a major driving force behind the success of the multiplayer online battle arena genre as a whole. It tends to work pretty well.

Heroes of Newerth is one of the games that takes full advantage of this inspirable notion. It certainly hooked Sam Braithwaite, better known by his profession eSports name ‘MilkFat.’ Now the Commissioner of eSports for S2 Games, Braithwaite was happy to discuss the game that brought him so much notoriety during PAX East 2013.

With the season finals going on in the background, Braithwaite details the latest patch for HoN. Focused on quality-of-life changes, including an all-new new player initiative, S2 Games believes HoN 3.0 will be more accessible and enjoyable for all. As MilkFat details, it’s only going to get better from here.

Absorb the full interview after the jump. Continue Reading

Nasus -- My current Champion of choice.

Cataclysm‘s less than a day away, and this is the time I decide to start playing League of Legends?! Why, you ask? Well, I do have some personal reasons, but let’s say I was tired of having my chilled face pressed to the glass of the DotA community. I wanted in! With several highly popular variations on the basic formula out there already, and even more to come, now is the time to make my mark! Plus, there was some goading by iTZKooPA.

Now, this isn’t my first time at the rodeo. I did meddle around with the WarCraft 3 mod in its prime, but shied away due to the high barrier of entry. Like many online games, the competitive collective had already achieved such an impeccable level of skill that I figured it wasn’t worth my time to match them. Coincidentally, I had also played League of Legends… when it was in beta. Despite having already popped my DotA cherry, I still feel shamefully virginal. Needless to say, plenty has changed since then, and my memories are fuzzy, but I did maintain some understanding of the fundamentals.

Each map is made up of several “lanes” and a few intermediary areas with pre-fab monster squads to farm. It’s along these lanes where most of the combat takes place, as you attempt to slowly chip away at your opponent’s defenses and destroy their core. Both sides spawn the same waves of “creeps” — groups of automated minions — at regular intervals, which can generally be used either as a defensive buffer or part of your siege force. If the game were left to its own devices, it would probably exist in a perpetual state of stalemate, neither side ever gaining ground. The whole affair of reminiscent of that old sci-fi/fantasy trope where two equally-matched opponents are firing balls of energy at each other that do nothing more than cancel each other out.

That’s what League of Legends is like; well, until you throw the Champions in. And that — the strategy — is what I still needed to learn. By my estimates, LoL currently has about 65 characters, each with varying stats, abilities, backstories (yes, there’s lore, and lots of it), skins, and difficulties to master.  Though the game attempts to pigeonhole each Champion into a set of “roles,” no two play exactly the same, which is what gives the formula its incredible depth. Think of it as more of a sport, and you’re halfway there. The field will always be the same, but the skill and ingenuity of the players is what makes it so much fun to play (and watch). Continue Reading