Up To Date.

Well hello there. I'm back yet again (whether you like it not!); to talk about a couple games I think have promise. Ever since the days of Ultima Online I've been yearning for a game that allowed me to get into the nitty-gritty right away and had no problems with me getting out as fast I could. Of course this was already done in games like First Person Shooters, Fighters, Real Time Strategy. However I wanted something like an RPG. Well after years and years of moaning about it things are starting to come to life. Especially with the success of WoW-Arena/Battle Ground's. Now if only we could get the Arena's/Battle Ground's without all the "MMO" attached to it. Instead I'm going to show off a couple games as an alternative.

For some time now I've been in a tight lipped closed beta test of a game called Heroes of Newerth. It's a game based off of the Defense of the Ancients map for Warcraft 3. People have been playing this game type for years and for some reason I ignored it, I blame WoW.



To give a quick run down of this game, you choose between a number of "heroes" to control, based off of strength, agility, and intelligence. You're on a team of 5 people (including you) or lower, so picking heroes to be synergistic with your team can be vital. Each hero has a set of skills you will build off of. You will level up quickly killing creeps (npc's) and the opposing team, you also acquire money to buy items in order to boost your heroes effectiveness. The objective is to destroy the enemies base. That is the most simple, short description I can give.

Gameplay video:


Additional thoughts and information, like I mentioned above is just like "DOTA" and I mean that literally. Everything about the game is a complete copy and paste of its Warcraft 3 map predecessor. Though if you've never played DOTA none of that matters. There is a nice match system where you can filter the games from "noobs onlys" to "pros". My only complaint about this style of game is that matches can and usually do take a very long time to complete. Most matches I play in usually take around 45 minutes to 1 hour, there are a lot of creeps to push around, base defenses to break through, and general map control that can slow the game down.



Next up on my hot list follows the same beat. However this one is about fighting only the players and killing them being the objective, think WoW-Arena.

Bloodline Champions
This little game, Bloodline Champions is more suited to my tastes. It's just like WoW-Arena without the MMO attached to it. You have your classes also called Bloodlines, your team, a map, and you let the blood bath ensue.

Speculation and Information

It is reported to have an instant gratification play style (get in get out); There are no levels as far as I know, or gear. Just classes, teams, maps and competition. Other reports say there will be different game modes, Team Death Match, Death Match, Capture the Flag for example. So far the game is in its alpha stage of beta testing. There are rumors of closed beta by this winter. Bloodline Champions is being made by a Swedish developer by the name of Frostfire Games.

Beta Gameplay video (Alpha stage)


www.bloodlinechampions.com

I'm glad the instant gratification style of play is starting to catch on to RPG style games. Thanks to games like Guild Wars, World of Warcraft Battlegrounds and Arenas (not the MMO), Defense of the Ancients, we are beginning to see more and more of them spawn. Millions of people play these games, and I see a cry for games of this nature to be taken seriously everyday on forums.