RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

On my last evening at E3, the gang and I got our hands on League of Legends: Clash of Fates, Riot Games’ upcoming online SRPG. Whatever else can be said about the good folks behind this game, they are nothing if not gracious hosts. The game demo was a private party at a nearby bar, with food and drinks on the house. As for the game itself, it’s based on Defense of the Ancients, a popular mod for Warcraft III where players select hero units and square off amidst a larger ongoing battle. We were set up in a LAN group of about ten people, and once we all chose our heroes we were divided into two teams and dropped into the beta map.

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Given the game’s roots, League of Legends controls more or less like a real-time strategy game without base-building aspects. The interface is standard point-and-click for movement and attacking, with hotkeys and on-screen buttons for special abilities. It took some getting used to, but largely because I was out of practice with Warcraft III. Newcomers to RTS’s might have more trouble, though Riot staff were on hand to explain the basics.

Each team has a home base defended by an array of powerful turrets, and that base spawns AI units that seek out and destroy the enemy’s turrets. Naturally, the objective is to destroy your enemy’s base. Along the way your hero gains experience for killing enemies, and upon leveling up you can learn from a set pool of special abilities. Some are passive stat boosts or defensive modifiers, while others are direct attacks or time-limited powers. Heroes do not keep their levels between missions, but players themselves have persistent abilities that can be upgraded and brought into subsequent matches. Money is earned for each kill, and this can be spent at your home base to buy weapons, armor, and supplies.

I chose a ranged unit specializing in card-based attacks. In addition to standard one-off strikes, his powers included teleportation and randomly-drawn effects. While sturdy in comparison to some other ranged units, he still wasn’t built for hard melee combat. Thus, I wound up in a support role, advancing behind friendly mobs to assault enemy towers. The bulk of the action took place on the central path between the bases, such that I only crossed paths with an enemy hero twice on one of the side routes. I managed to disable a couple towers with only the AI mobs for assistance, and also leveled quite a bit on the non-aligned monsters scattered throughout the map.

Although my team won, my machine locked up in the closing minutes of the match. Nonetheless, the game was rather fun, although the competitive atmosphere of the LAN setup contributed much. Something special, indeed inimitable, is added when your friends and foes are within shouting distance. That having said, I enjoyed the game itself a great deal. The large number of characters offered considerable variety in how to approach the match, and they’re all cleverly designed with detailed backstories, personalities, and diverse abilities. Of course, only their abilities matter once the fight begins, and that’s fine. One of the game’s creators likened it to Counter-Strike or Team Fortress 2 in terms of online skirmishes, and despite the difference in genre the comparison is apt.

It’s likely that very formula will prove the big draw for League of Legends. With a wealth of characters and carryover summoner powers, the game may have what it takes to spice up the moment-to-moment battles within each match. However, the matches have to be entertaining in their own right; the raw gameplay, broken up into half-hour or so chunks, has to be good enough to do over and over. The success of Defense of the Ancients proves that this can work as well for RPG-style strategy games as it does for first person shooters. The real question is whether League of Legends will be strong enough to stand on its own. Time, as always, will tell, but color me ready for another round. You can visit https://www.unrankedsmurfs.com/ for the best smurf accounts that are ready for ranked play.

One thing is indisputable: Riot Games can throw one heck of a shindig.