Game Review - Heroes Of Newerth

Heroes Of Newerth (HoN)

Genre: MOBA/ARTS (Action Real Time Strategy)

Price: Recently made 100% free (all heroes on sign-up)

Gameplay

Heroes of Newerth was the third game to be released by an indie games company called S2. The developer used its established lore from its previous games and the play style of a well known game, Defense of the Ancients, to create an up to date game. DotA was originally a map mod on the Warcraft 3 engine and quickly became incredibly popular, especially in South Eastern Asia. The popularity of DotA is so strong that some still play the original, even with the sequel in closed beta. When HoN was first released, it had a very similar style to DotA and there are still rumours today that legendary devoloper Icefrog (who now works for valve on DotA 2) helped at the games beginnings. However, the game is now distinctly different between its main competition, League of Legends and DotA 2. Unfortunately, between the three games, HoN has the hardest time for beginners. 

The learning curve is steep, with some playing for years and still considered low skill players. This isnt due to a poorly designed game, its just that the game is much more complicated than it seems. There is over 100 heroes in HoN, and each one plays differently. Although these differences can be minor, there is still 4 skills per hero that you have to understand, and then several skill builds to learn as well. Its easy to get the builds wrong as each depends on the situation and there is also items to consider buying. Once you understand the basics of the game and how it works, it truly is addictive. Matches are often long (38 minutes is my average over 400+ games) but maintain a fast pace . Teamwork and communication is key to the game, as well as being a good player yourself. You have to understand what your role in the team is depending on what heroes you are all playing. Your actions could mean victory or defeat. If this goes right, the feeling of success is huge. I advise playing with friends and growing as players together or learning from them if they are better and vice versa.

Gameplay score: 9/10 The game is fun, addictive and recent, consistent updates have brought the game a long way. Be warned, it can easily get frustrating due to the community. OMG NOOB is a common occurrence in the chat. This happens in most MOBA games though.

  

Graphics

Graphics on the game are great. In comparison to its competition, I certainly prefer HoN to LoL, and between DotA 2 and HoN is a hard choice for me. The game engine runs really well on my shitty laptop, and I can't even remember the last time the game crashed or froze or anything. Admittedly, the graphics are not the most complex around. To me, they capture a feel of the original warcraft engine whilst still being unique. There are a couple of faults, such as animation bugs and other UI glitches. The glitches can be common, and often bugs are fixed with updates on every Friday. Graphics is always a very subjective thing, but I enjoy the style of HoN.

Graphics Score: 8/10 They aren't exactly flashy, but they get the job done and look good to me.

Business Model

Before I start reviewing this section properly, I should explain the history of this games marketing. Once the game was released from beta in 2010, players had to pay $30 for an account to play the game. This was a pretty standard fee which you would expect from quite a few games. However, the game ran into serious competition form LoL which was free to play and so forced HoN to change its system to a similar one or sink. Presently, the game operates on a fully free to play system, with cosmetic changes and early access to new heroes and avatars available for purchase. With the new model also came alot of changes so that the in-game currency is alot easier to earn, and there are lots of alt-avatars you can earn quickly. Speaking as someone who has paid to play the game, not only am I impressed by the bold move, I'm happy it happened. I can easily question its originality, since DotA 2 announces it would be fully free and then HoN makes the change soon after, but the change is right. It allows balance to public games and opens up new players to the highly competitive nature of the game. Competitive scenes and E-Sports keep a game alive. For example, Counter Strike 1.6 is still a well played game despite a 2000 release. I even made a suggestion 5 months before the new model to change hero rotations and game mode restrictions so that free accounts could access them. Regardless of originality, the game is fully free, and who can argue with free fun?

Business Model Score: 10/10 Many have mocked S2 for mistakes they have made before, but the change took guts and I tip my internet hat to a fully free game for all to enjoy. 

Overall

Taking away bias from the choice of which MOBA you play, HoN is a great choice and can only grow from its current position. Sure its competition is strong, but that doesn't stop HoN from being strong too.

Overall Score: 9/10 The game isn't perfect, but with friends and updates supporting the game, its moving in a great direction and is fantastic free game!