As someone who plays Dota 2, I thought “‘worth’? What do you mean ‘worth’?” It hit me pretty quickly that they meant worth money. The concept of paying real money for a hero eludes me, as a Dota 2 player, with a moba game Items that has more than 100 heroes available to everyone, free of charge. While League of Legends is technically free to play, players can get a better experience by buying access to better champions – champions that have “worth.” Dota 2, not so. There’s not a single item in the game that can be purchased in any way to give players an advantage. This got me thinking how Dota 2 really is the only game that does Free to Play right, that is, in a way that benefits the player as much or more than the company.

For a moment I would like to return back to the image of my bedroom. There’s still my Nintendo Switch, my gaming PC, my Xbox One, and my iPhone. And yes, all of these devices still provide all of their own distinct, unique experiences. Each of these devices still has games that are best suited for it. And yet, after playing Legend of Solgard , I’m forced to re-contextualize my iPhone not as a phone that can play games, but rather, a type of gaming platform in its own ri

There are quite a few defaults online that can apply to several champions at once, so it is a good idea to read up on these. Like a champion, your runes and masteries can also with countering an enemy, as if your opponent is more attack focused, you might want some more gear focused to defence or if the enemy has a lower health pool, you might want higher damage to harass eas

February is a bit of a dry month when it comes to video game releases, which makes it a great time to look back on the biggest hits of 2013. It was an exciting year in gaming, not only due to the launch of two major new consoles, but also because of the high quality of storytelling and gameplay in the titles that were relea

The same applies to a situation where you’re the one getting yelled at in the game. Instead of shouting back or ignoring them, let them know if you’re trying something new or made a mistake. A lot of the time you can diffuse a situation before it gets too heated, while other times the player is just an idiot who wants to vent about their own failures. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and yelling won’t get anything d

This made for an extremely competitive awards season, as each gaming site elected its own Game of the Year , and last week saw The Last of Us dominating the D.I.C.E. Awards . Now the games of 2013 are set to go head-to-head once more in the British Academy Games Awards, which will take place in mid-Ma

Valve posted on the Dota 2 website that it hopes the new series will address some of the specific issues that the game has faced within the competitive scene. Namely, teams that want to participate in the Major Championships will have to have a set roster all year long. This seems to be an attempt to get teams to stop reorganizing or recruiting team members shortly before The International each y

I don’t have many vivid memories of things I saw on my Facebook news feed, but this is one of them. I’m scrolling past updates from my friends who play League of Legends, and one post was about how a new champion added was so good. One of their friends commented “Is he worth?” to which my friend responded “So worth.”

Legend of Solgard broadened my definition of what a mobile game could be; it took my expectations of free-to-play games and provided something much grander. While imperfect and likely inaccessible to the most casual of players, Legend of Solgard is an exciting step forward for not only mid-core titles but mobile titles as a wh

And yeah, I know these $60, AAA titles still have some greed to work through (like $10 DLC for Titanfall that’s just three maps), but it’s all manageable, and Dota 2 is still the only game to do free to play right. Beyond Dota 2, The Last of Us just had a completely free multiplayer map pack released for it. It can be done. All gamers want is a model that fosters mutually and equally beneficial purchasing. Give it to them.

Despite having the hallmarks and aesthetic flourishes of a mobile game, Legend of Solgard feels strikingly more comprehensive than other titles that can fit into your pocket. After fighting the game’s first mini-boss, an ice creature that changes locations making him harder to hit, I was kind of amazed at the level of nuance present in the game’s design. At times Legend of Solgard feels more Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle than Bejeweled; it feels like a mobile game that was designed with the dedication of a full-fledged console game. Regardless of the wide net the game casts, it’s clear that anyone who genuinely enjoys playing turn-based strategy games will enjoy something about Legend of Solga

I admit that Dota 2 has the benefit of an established fan base unmatched by almost any free-to-play game (League of Legends excluded). Not many games have fans who are willing to pay for something that doesn’t benefit them in any way. Taking that into account, though, there still is no good excuse for free-to-play micro-transactions that benefit the company more than the player. Honestly, the solution is just to make your game cost money. Remember that? When games cost a flat fee for the entire thing? This was a largely successful model, and the only reason I can see for the shift is pure greed, especially by a company like EA that already has boatloads of money to roll in.