Originally posted by Theonenoni

This article is true. The characteristics of LoL is similar to WoW:

Easy noobish style play.

Cartoon Graphics.

Not a harsh penalty for death.

Butchering the original Dota game by not having denyable creeps.

 Take a HoN or original Dota player and they will rape in LoL because its way too easy.  

Yes LoL is the WoW of MOBAs. It is a community of casual non competitive gamers.

 

LoL is very competitive and the most popular of the e-sports. WoW is also extremely competitive both in PvE and PvP that's why you see arena tournaments with money prizes, not many MMO companies can claim that.

I really do like LoL.  I play at minimum 3 games a day, usually more since I get hooked.  It's a fair review, except the comments about community.  There isn't really a way to talk with alot of people at the same time, however, I have alot of friends that I met just while playing LoL, and friending after a fun game.  I also have alot of friends that I've invited from previous games (I got Vandal Twitch skin from it hehe)

I've tried this game a handful of times and each time I play I remember "Ok, now I remember why I quit playing this before."  Matches take way too much time for my taste, plus a number of players I've ran into were VERY rude.  Trying to learn the game and get used to stuff and cause you're not as good as them yet "Geez, you f"ing suck!  Why don't you just quit this game?" and other crap like that.

But I do know of people that love this game... just not for me I guess.  Might give it another chance sometime tho.

I currently play LoL but think HoN was the better game. It is definitely the more popular game as of now but I think that is largely  due to the inaccessibility of playing HoN. HoN is unquestionably the better game but is not nearly as popular for a couple of reasons.

1. As somebody already mentioned the community in HoN is not nearly as forgiving as the community in LoL. HoN is a hell of a lot more competitive than LoL is and the skill level requirement is a lot higher. Any well put together HoN team will destroy an LoL team in either game. This has led to a very snobbish attitude in the HoN community who will tear apart any new player simply because they haven’t learned how to play. So basicly HoN = Really steep learning curve and snobby community v.s. LoL = newbfest easy mode food goes here, community can't issolate you from playing games because your new.

2. The matchmaking system in LoL is excellent it (until you hit the cap) so it takes about 2 minutes at most to get into a game. HoN on the other hand you can wait anywhere from 2 minutes to 25 minutes to get into a game via their matchmaking system. The HoN community seems more inclined to go to custom games, if you are good enough and fall in a decent category (at least until they broke everything) you can get into a game pretty quickly. But when you are starting out and more than likely destroy your account rating people will just boot you from every game (good thing the game is free now so you can just create a new account once you understand the game so you can have a decent account rating). So second point summary, LoL = less time waiting for a game v.s. HoN =  broken matchmaking system, almost a graveyard for games. GJ TROLLS!.

Enter DOTA 2.

With the hype surrounding DOTA 2 my hope is that they combine the match making system of LoL and  the diversity of the HoN system (more dimensions to the game).  So basically Rebrand heroes of newerth with a better and more stable engine and slap the LoL matchmaking system on top of it. From the videos it looks like they have improved on many ares of the HoN map but ultimately the same layout as HoN (originally dota 1), this is good. What I haven’t seen is if they have a better matchmaking system. As we saw with LoL vs HoN, HoN is clearly the better game but the cost to play a game was to much for HoN (lag, poor matchmaking system, poor newbie community, steep learning curve) and that is why LoL is coming out on top at the moment.

If you really don’t think these games are anything special than I strongly suggest you look up some of the tournaments and see the hype around them.  Starcraft eat your heart out. Furthermore if you haven’t played one yet I would strongly recommend playing LoL (simply because it’s a better game to play right now) 

Originally posted by Telondariel

Curse you!  It does, however, follow the trend for gratuitous F2P coverage here.

 

It's also make news.  They have to have one new article everyday to bring people to the site.

"Cons:Questionable eSports presence" joke? lol

Originally posted by velimirius

"Cons:Questionable eSports presence" joke? lol

 

With the way LoL esport events have been going it isn't exactly the most promising presence.  Constant disconnects in multiple matches which sometimes determine the match outcomes for starters.

Plus, last I heard, MLG wasn't going to cover LoL again until Riot got their stuff together and had a spectator/tourny mode that could be used reliably.  I remember watching that MLG coverage and it going out part-way though on the first or second day, then no more coverage at all for the rest of the day.  It was a joke.

Riot puts a lot of time and prize money into their esports division, for sure, and it is promising, but at this point in time you're as likely to see disconnects as a flawlessly broadcasted match.  I haven't had time to watch the tourny over in China recently, but the forums were abuzz with the shenanigans going on over there, par for the course.

Did MLG decide to pick LoL up again for their next event?  I'm not sure, I haven't been keeping up with that honestly.

I have been reading MMORPG.com articles for years and I have to say that this is one of the few reviews I've read that were completely fair and balanced and written from someone who's spent alot of time in the game. 

Originally posted by HardWalker

I have been reading MMORPG.com articles for years and I have to say that this is one of the few reviews I've read that were completely fair and balanced and written from someone who's spent alot of time in the game. 

Thanks! :)

To Joe (author):

League of Legends is not just the PvP you know. You forgot that LoL also have flavor thru the Journal of Justice giving each champion their unique personality and also introduces the world of Runeterra and her denizens.

Often times, my friends and I are talking about lore rather than PvP strategies. ;)

Story - 9.5

Originally posted by jvxmtg

To Joe (author):

League of Legends is not just the PvP you know. You forgot that LoL also have flavor thru the Journal of Justice giving each champion their unique personality and also introduces the world of Runeterra and her denizens.

Often times, my friends and I are talking about lore rather than PvP strategies. ;)

Story - 9.5

This is an entirely valid point jvxmtg!  In fact I follow the lore very closely myself and have a vast appreciate for Riot encorporating legitimate reasons story-wise for nearly every change to the game!  Of the genre (hell of most MMOs) LoL has a very rich background and story!

Unfortunately story simply wasn't a category for the review!  On this note maybe you want to bring it up in general discussion or whereever a post about the review system would be appropriate.  Indeed I would have given the game a high score on story if it was supplied as criteria for the review, but I go with what I'm given! :)

Perhaps it is just a byproduct of the times, but story elements simply aren't a concern for (and I'm guessing here) a large portion of the population.  That is unfortunate, and I appreciate you bringing that up.

Maybe I can convince the powers at be to let me do a lore article on LoL some time in the future, who knows!?

Originally posted by thedarkess

Originally posted by Ozmodan

I find it a very boring, highly repetitive game.  If I was generous I would give it a 4 maybe.  Personally I can't believe people waste their time on a game like this.

you obviously don't understand the meaning of an e-sport...

 

Yeah because LoL shouldn't be called e-sport, it's way to casual and easy.

Originally posted by SunYam

I've tried this game a handful of times and each time I play I remember "Ok, now I remember why I quit palying this before."  Matches take way too much time for my taste, plus a number of players I've ran into were VERY rude.  Trying to learn the game and get used to stuff and cause you're not as good as them yet "Geez, you f"ing suck!  Why don't you just quit this game?" and other crap like that.

But I do know of people that love this game... just not for me I guess.  Might give it another chance sometime tho.

The community is a deal breaker for me.

Originally posted by SunYam

I've tried this game a handful of times and each time I play I remember "Ok, now I remember why I quit palying this before."  Matches take way too much time for my taste, plus a number of players I've ran into were VERY rude.  Trying to learn the game and get used to stuff and cause you're not as good as them yet "Geez, you f"ing suck!  Why don't you just quit this game?" and other crap like that.

 

I would recommend you try the new Dominion mode.  It's much faster, at fifteen to twenty minutes, which for me is the perfect length.

With respect to the community, the community in Dominion and Vs Bots games tends to be much better; particularly the Vs Bots mode, where players are very easy-going.  Classic mode definitely has more problems with bad behavior, but it's Ranked mode that is the worst, by far.  Stick with Vs Bots if you want a better community.  Ideal is Custom Games where you can pick who you're playing with, but you'll need to line up some friends to make that happen.

I have played quite a bit of this game - more than I would care to admit! - and I agree with most of the review, but disagree on a few items.

Innovation:  As much as I like Riot as a company and LoL as a game, it's just not innovative.  They adopted Blizzard's customer-friendly approach and adopted DotA nearly intact.  There's nothing wrong with any of that, but it's not ground-breaking.  I do agree, however, that their business model is quite innovative and very successful, mainly because they have made an effort to adhere to their "no money for power" standard.

Polish:  Riot has been dinged for missing features, but at this point, it's really just replays (which are very likely soon to come) and some social networking features.  The game itself is quite polished and relatively bug-free.  They develop very solid, very finished software; they are just incredibly slow at introducing new features.  I wouldn't consider it to be unpolished in the way a buggy, unstable game with a lousy UI would be unpolished.

Value:  I must have a different definition of value, because a game you can jump into and play several Champions and nearly all modes from the start without spending a dime is a pretty good value.  No, you don't get game power for money, that's intended.  Money spent helps speed the process of unlocking features and buys cosmetic skins, but the value of that is up to the user, which is a great model.

I don't play this game. Just wanted to read a review on it. You gave the aesthetics a 9.5? Really?

6, and that's being generous.

Originally posted by Theonenoni

This article is true. The characteristics of LoL is similar to WoW:

Easy noobish style play.

Cartoon Graphics.

Not a harsh penalty for death.

Butchering the original Dota game by not having denyable creeps.

 Take a HoN or original Dota player and they will rape in LoL because its way too easy.  

Yes LoL is the WoW of MOBAs. It is a community of casual non competitive gamers.

 

The first statement is just plain wrong. Creep denying is basically in game trolling.  Harsh penalties for death is irrelevant. And as far as HoN or DOTA players raping because its too easy? Well then That's just silly and unprovable. fact is, it's a superior game then HoN. HoN has to beg and plead with sales on coins to generate revenue, where LoL is going strong. It may be the WoW of MOBA, but thats a good thing.

But enjoy your niche and delusions of self superiority. I'll actually be enjoying the game. :D

Valve's dota2 will steamroll over this.

[Mod Edit]

Originally posted by babac

Valve's dota2 will steamroll over this.

[Mod Edit]

actually, no. LoL has so many champions that cater to every imaginable playstyle (for MOBA anyways). secondly, LoL has Dominion which is actually more fun than DoTA to a lot people.

i wish LoL had DoTA 2's graphics though.

Originally posted by Theonenoni

This article is true. The characteristics of LoL is similar to WoW:

Easy noobish style play.

Cartoon Graphics.

Not a harsh penalty for death.

Butchering the original Dota game by not having denyable creeps.

 Take a HoN or original Dota player and they will rape in LoL because its way too easy.  

Yes LoL is the WoW of MOBAs. It is a community of casual non competitive gamers.

 

Haha riiiight, go back to Runescape or whatever it is you think is such an amazing game.