Heroes of the Storm is Blizzard’s entry into the MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) genre. With other popular titles like League of Legends and DOTA 2 in the market, Blizzard has developed a game starring the heroes from the Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo series that will be free to play sometime this year. The opening trailer featured a battle between heroes like Raynor, Diablo, Nova, Tyrael, Kerrigan and Arthas that created alot of hype in the gaming community.

Similar to many MOBA games, you are free to purchase characters, mounts and other items either through acquired gold or by paying real money. Matches are divided up into custom matches, private matches, cooperative as well as Heroes League and Team League for higher level and experienced players. As you unlock more items, you are able to customize your characters with different outfits. The tutorial mode is provided at the start to give new and casual players a feel for the game in terms of the mouse and keyboard controls.

Gold is acquired by reaching milestones as well as different quests that varies from using a specific class or hero to playing a select number of games. The highlight of the game lies in its ability to offer balanced gameplay and foster teamwork. As a person who prefers cooperative games over competitive ones, the game keeps things simple with basic and advanced abilities as well as strategic tactics to work alongside your team members. Every level has a unique aspect whether it is taking control of a Dragon Knight to lay waste to your enemies or paying “doubloons” to a greedy pirate to fire canons and destroy your enemies’ forts. Though the option remains for you to go off on your own, the game is more rewarding when you work cooperatively as a team as heroes tend to be more balanced and less overpowered in comparison to others.

Blizzard is hard at work collecting player feedback as the game has received several patches and updates. To be fair, the game is still in its closed beta and has not been finalized but it looks to be very promising. I’m not a fan of MOBA games but Blizzard has crafted Heroes of the Storm with polish and great design that is sure to attract the Blizzard fans and the casual gaming community.