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An action strategy game that is played by millions of people, features a strong competitive scene

An action strategy game that is played by millions of people, features a strong competitive scene

Vote: (5,716 votes)

Program license: Free

Developer: Valve

Version: 7.32c

Works under: Windows

Also available for Mac

Vote:

Program license

(5,716 votes)

Free

Developer

Version

Valve

7.32c

Works under:

Also available for

Windows

Mac

Pros

  • Expansive
  • Always changing
  • Grows with the player
  • Continues from a famous game series

Cons

  • Takes up plenty of hard drive space
  • Emphasis is on online play

Dota 2 is an online multiplayer battle arena game that features teams of five duking it out. This makes for wild and frantic action as all of the players involved try to desperately take control of the map and make sure that their competition never gets a leg up on them.

This doesn't mean it plays anything like a modern FPS or MMORPG title, however. It has much more of the feel of an older title that would have been popular in the golden era of PC gaming. That should certainly appeal to those who appreciate this sort of gameplay but want the benefits of modern graphics and hardware. Dota 2 is accelerated for new computers, though it doesn't exactly seem like it because you won't have to put up with the problems that accelerated games sometimes give players. You'll get all of the advantages of running Dota 2 without having to deal with many of the issues that have plagued modern gaming.

That being said, it isn't technical considerations that have made this as popular a title as it is. Rather, it's the gameplay and storyline. Both of these have attracted a large fan base that has gone so far as to create their own works of fiction regarding the plot that powers the on screen action.

Each team in the game is attempting to destroy the ancient fortresses that belong to their opposition. Almost every other aspect of the title revolves around this single concept. In fact, Dota 2's name is a reference to the old Defense of the Ancients mode in Warcraft 3. The game makes a number of other references to Warcraft 3 as well, which would allow it to be deemed at least somewhat of a continuation of that game in terms of plot. While it's not exactly linked through core gameplay, Dota 2 certainly does share many aspects with its older siblings.

In many ways, this makes the title essentially a sequel of a sequel with many little throwbacks to the previous. platform sprinkled in for good measure. On that note, it's relatively light on resources and should run on machines that aren't exactly up to every single spec. A number of Dota 2 professionals have actually remained fairly competitive with older hardware.

That being said, there's no reason you can't take full advantage of genuine HD graphics if you're using a massive monitor and a dedicated GPU. The game will absolutely rock on dedicated gaming PCs.

On top of this, you shouldn't feel like you've ever needed to touch Warcraft 3 to develop all the skills you'll need to play Dota 2. The game ironically dispenses with much of the mythos of the older title, thus making it more than suitable for hardcore gamer types that prefer to spend more time playing and less time reading RPG materials. Dota 2 doesn't really integrate RPG elements into anything anyway, which makes everything else amount to little more than flavor text.

That being said, the flavor text does make for interesting window dressing. All of the various players assigned to individual teams are trying to acquire the Treasure of Unbound Majesty so that they can rule the land. You have to steal the artifacts that make it up in much the same way as you might have captured a flag and returned it to your base in a classic FPS title.

When you first start the game, you'll think you're playing a pastiche of classic titles for another reason too. Namely, there are 117 different heroes to select from. Hardcore gamers will want to find one that they're best with and master the character in question while more casual fans might prefer to float from one character to another as their whims dictate. You might have explored big mash-up sprite-based fighting games in the past that use this mechanic, though Dota 2 takes it to another level.

Unlike what you might think, Dota 2 actually does ascribe different stats and powers to each of these characters. You're not going to end up with a simple palette swap of a character when switching. The developers took the time to flesh out various in-game heroes that are every bit as unique as the people who select them.

As soon as you've picked out a favorite, you'll be asked to enter into a drafting stage to select players for your team. The game uses a variety of mechanisms to assign people to different teams in a fair manner, though you might also want to start a league with a friend that always puts you on the same team. That gives you the freedom to organize tournaments against all of your buddies online.

Over time, you'll be able to level up your characters with purchased from an item shop that will give you additional buffs and debuffs for your allies. While these changes usually aren't major, they might be just enough to put your team over the edge and win some close matches. More than likely, this isn't going to make a difference in most events but you'll eventually come across something where you'll need it.

A series of bans, picks, counters and other ways to win are often kept at item shops. You'll also be able to acquire a speed boost that can make you move much faster than you might otherwise be able to. Those who want to max out a favorite character will have to keep an eye on their competition, however.

While you're spending time leveling one up, you can be sure that all of your competitors are doing much the same. That means you're going to have quite an uphill battle to achieve dominance time and time again out in the arena.

These additional challenges should please those who want to get absorbed into a game and continue to play it for some time. You might find that Dota 2 is essentially more than one game in a single package, which can help to increase its replay value. While you might put some games away after you finish a campaign, there's a good chance that you won't ever feel the same way about Dota 2.

Pros

  • Expansive
  • Always changing
  • Grows with the player
  • Continues from a famous game series

Cons

  • Takes up plenty of hard drive space
  • Emphasis is on online play

Pros

  • Based on the popular game from Warcraft III.
  • Over 100 characters to choose from.
  • Older game with a lot of history, and it served as the precursor to the popular League of Legends game.

Cons

  • Lack of map diversity means you better find other things to appreciate about the game.

An action fantasy strategy game from Valve, Dota 2 comes from the ever-popular game from Warcraft III Defense of the Ancients. First announced in October of 2010, but they didn't release the game until autumn of 2011. This game operates off multiplayer-based action, and you have to fight against an opposing team with a fortified stronghold known as the, "Ancient Fortress." The battle especially goes in your favor when you team up with other players. The team combat happens as you defend your towers from the enemy and try to destroy the enemy's towers. This happens on the road to your enemy's towers.

Many Elements Borrowed

In many ways, we could call this game a direct lift of Defense of the Ancients from Warcraft III. You control your character and do your best to progress through the 25 levels of gameplay. You play in teams of five versus five. As you continue to play, you accumulate gold and earn experience points from taking down enemy targets. If you die, however, this can have a real impact on how fast you level. The faster you level, the more deadly of a force you will be to reckon with on the battlefield.

Hours Spent to Reach Mastery

Some gamers have reported clocking in as many as 4,700 hours while playing Dota 2. That's the equivalent of 198 days and more than 28 weeks. To put that into perspective, that's edging up to a full year, which is 52 weeks, just for playing Dota 2. Dota 2 can be one of the most confusing and disorienting and unforgiving games around. As a beginner, it can be difficult to learn for this reason.

Loosely Based RPG

You could loosely tie Dota 2 to a loosely based RPG. One example of a similar action-RPG is Diablo. You right click on the ground and move to the chosen location to attack enemies with your character's special abilities. Every character will have a need for different gear to make him better. Dota 2 primarily consists of five-on-five battles where you want to destroy the enemy team's ancient tree. Do this and you win the war. You can select a character from over 100 different choices to fulfill roles familiar to MMO players. Some of the roles in the game include: DPS, tanks and plenty of roles that fall somewhere in between. As a team, you want to choose a lineup to complement each other because you will have a higher likelihood of success. The game does, however, suffer from a lack of diversity, and you will play the same map over and over without much change to the dynamics or rules of the game.

Pros

  • Based on the popular game from Warcraft III.
  • Over 100 characters to choose from.
  • Older game with a lot of history, and it served as the precursor to the popular League of Legends game.

Cons

  • Lack of map diversity means you better find other things to appreciate about the game.