Let’s address the rumor first: It was reported by the Daily Dot and others earlier this month that ESL, one of the largest eSports organizations, might be partnering with Twitch and fantasy eSports website Vulcun to create a tournament on par with League of Legends League Championship Seri

Another strategy game I played on my list is SteamWorld Heist and it’s a winner for me. Understanding the gameplay is simple and the story jumped right into the action. Exploring randomly generated ships and shooting it out with robots makes every stop along the way a true challenge. The old west aesthetic and steam-powered environment in SteamWorld Heist is pulled off much better than Wild Wild West. It’s almost the complete opposite of SteamWorld Dig but you could say SteamWorld Heist is a more grown-up version in the series. It’s a game to both kill time and robots with.

_ Heroes of the Storm _ , on the other hand, is managed by Blizzard, who take player experience very seriously. Not only is there a swear filter and a ‘report player’ feature that can get a player banned for such infractions as griefing, but in _ HotS, _ each team doesn’t even have the option to speak to their opposite in competitive matches. It’s hard to spew toxic vitriol when you can’t get through to the enemy t

Along with not having experience shared is another bizarre aspect of a team-based game – the carry role. _ League of Legends _ can reward a team that puts all their eggs in one basket, giving a champion with a high damage potential and the right item build the ability to completely dominate the late-game and “carry” their team to victory. The carry will inevitably end the game with much larger experience, and also tends to get a massively inflated ego while doing

Arizona State took home top notch gaming systems for their runner-up finish. Heroes of the Storm may still be in beta until June, but its appearance on national television last night got the eSports scene some of the best mainstream exposure its had

Duking it out with gigantic creatures is great in any video game. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate came out last February and brought its massive monsters to the U.S. One of the game’s biggest strengths is its diverse weaponry and armor you wear to hunt down big trophies. Customizing yourself to fit the action is necessary in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and luckily there’s enough to wear. Even though your goal is to track down and kill the monsters, it is amazing seeing how different they all are. All the sizes, colors and abilities make for a wild adventure.

There’s a reason why the majority of my gaming is done as a single player – I need a pause button. My life rarely goes longer than 15-20 minutes before my dog starts puking or something catches fire and needs my immediate attent

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft continues to have great success in the eSports scene, with tournaments for top players getting held just about every weekend and some streamers on Twitch regularly bringing in tens of thousands of viewers. Blizzard is currently handing out qualifying points for this year’s Hearthstone World Championship at special events and through the monthly seasonal results. While last year did have a Hearthstone World Championship, 2015 is the first time Blizzard has created a year-long path to Blizzcon. It’s created opportunity for a lot new players to try and get in on the action, but it now seems that at least a few gamers got a little too overzeal

But that might change soon thanks to an announcement a few days ago from Valve. The Dota Major Full Write-up Championships are coming, and will now organize the competitive Dota 2 calendar into seasonal action across four major tournaments , including The Internatio

There’s one thing I will always give _ League _ over _ HotS: _ they have a massive roster of champions. At 134 and growing, players have way more selection in _ League _ to pick a champion that best fits their playst

As predicted, Buffalo starts strong with the first kills along with getting the first objective. Cal Poly picks up some momentum when they win a team fight they probably shouldn’t have won; everyone on the Ponies was stunned but no one on Buffalo followed up leading to four kills and a level advantage for Cal Poly. The match was pretty tight throughout the entirety of the game and filled with some great team fights, with the last one leading to Buffalo grabbing the objective and grabbing their second

I saved the best for last on this list. While many folks pointed out Nintendo’s lack of original titles, Splatoon made a splatastic debut and made up for the last few decades. The cute, colorful, simple online shooter is a friendly way to introduce players to the genre. Clever weapon designs and fresh gear to wear makes Splatoon a uniquely designed game. It’s not serious or violent like many others, which appeals to players of all ages. Friends, parents, kids and squids can all enjoy this game together and not have to yell or scream about campers. Inking the entire level and fending off the other team is a big task, but Nintendo made it enjoyable. Plus, you might run into a Squid Party and those are always fun to mess with. Splatoon is my choice for best game of 2015.