14 DAY TRIAL // Our Incoming 2015 series focuses on the most important game launches of the next 12 months, and next up we talk about one of the most anticipated multiplayer online battle arena titles of the year – Heroes of the Storm – made and published by Blizzard Entertainment.
What we know
Heroes of the Storm is the final iteration of Blizzard's long-awaited multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) experience. Seeing as how the whole genre kicked off originally through the Dota mod for the studio's own Warcraft 3 strategy game and spawned some really successful experiences like Dota 2 from Valve or League of Legends from Riot Games, Blizzard is eager to jump into the segment.
After plenty of time spent under a shroud of secrecy, last year, the title got a closed technical alpha and players were able to enjoy some of the early heroes that include famous and infamous characters from across Blizzard's universes, from Warcraft, to Starcraft, Diablo, and more.
The online experience also brings quite a few innovations to the whole MOBA recipe, as the experience is shared with the whole team, in order to promote cooperation and ensure that inexperienced players don't lag behind and have a bad time.
As opposed to Dota 2 or LoL, Heroes of the Storm (HotS) also features multiple maps called battlegrounds, that include different neutral activities that can give one team or the other an advantage for a certain amount of time. These are quite varied and certainly keep things fresh.
The hero pool isn't all that large as of right now, but you can bet that Blizzard is going to expand upon it in the future, once it nails down the core mechanics based on feedback from existing players.
The microtransactions are also decent, as different skins for characters are provided for a price, but it seems that Blizzard is also offering heroes for a price, which goes against the strategy established by Dota 2 and more in the direction of LoL.
A closed beta for Heroes of the Storm begins on January 13, 2015, so make sure that you sign up for it as soon as possible on the official website.
Why it matters
The MOBA genre is a very popular one, and while there are plenty of high-quality experiences, Blizzard's entry promises to bring a bit more innovation over the old recipe, not to mention the high production values that the studio has gotten fans accustomed to.
The different battlegrounds, the great heroes, and the inevitable post-launch support from the studio make Heroes of the Storm a game to look out for this year.
Look forward to a possible full release of the multiplayer game later in 2015 on PC and Mac.
