inGame footage of various games. In the future I hope to add reviews. ^_^

Heroes of Newerth:


(That's an older youtube vid I found. I'm not allowed to publish new material from the beta.)


A beta-leak video review of HoN (German). Shows you much of the lobby interface and other features.

 

League of Legends:


Gametrailers preview of LoL.

 


An official trailer for LoL.


A video review of LoL (english). Not sure if leaked or sanctioned.

 

DotA (Defense of the Ancients)

 


Some DotA video. I honestly couldn't find ANY good gameplay video for Dota. Most vids are simply my-dick-is-BIG demonstrations accompanied by some shitty trash metal soundtrack or something bombastic (like, US-marine corp recruitment orchestrals or Carmina Burana). Sorry. If you can recommend a good DotA video I'll put it up.

 

 

Demigod:


Demigod showcase video featuring Lord Erebus.

Demigod showcase video featuring Queen of Thorns. Probably not office safe.

 

For those that don't know what HoN or LoL are: Both are DotA clones. If you don't know what DotA is then google it.

First HoN impressions:

  • Graphics
    Looks like Warcraft 3 (i.e. old, cheap, candy colored comic look). Seems much smoother, though. Less jerky scrolling. Any comparison to Demigod would be unfair. It's like comparing Superman to Batman - both are great in their environment but if you'd match them up against each other Superman would wipe the floor with Batmans ass from two cities away.
    Has a limited zoom (i.e. you can zoom in a bit and back, but not out) and a functional minimap.
  • Interface
    Just like DotA, i'd say. Bottom quarter of the screen is occupied by artwork, skills, hero stats and the minimap. I'd call it functional but totally ripped of from Warcraft (which isn't necessarily bad). Very small icons and text. Hard to read and the tooltips have much text. Demigod is downright minimalistic in comparison.
  • Heroes
    A large selection of heroes ... too many to grasp the gist of them in the short time I played it. Not all heroes were implemented yet but it looks like they planned for a 60 heroes cast. Each hero seems to have four different skills you can improve as you gain levels, plus the ability to simply improve your attributes. The skills are either passive or active and have a cooldown timer similar to DG. But since some heroes can have several passive skills out of a set of four, that can mean that you are left with a meager single one active skill, like the tosser I picked (Magebane or something). Kinda like Oooze UB without foul grasp.
    However the skills some heroes have do things that are not seen in Demigod. Some manipulate the map (by planting obstacles(walls) and some move the enemy against their will. Some passive skills trigger a damage effect everytime you use an active skill.
  • Maps
    Think Warcraft again. Mazes with trees and rocks marking the boundary. Or think Demigod maps with boring graphics. They ain't really that different from the DG mazes ... just more "realistic" and much larger.
  • Players
    Lot's of open games in the lobby. Some fairly large ones, too (I think 5v5 is max). If you've played DotA before then you'll have no problems finding friends. If you only played Demigod before, then you'll think the HoN community is a bag of arseholes because you'll likely be taking your first stumbling steps with dota veterant that are not exactly renowned for their forgiving attitude towards noobs. Luckily there's a fuck-filter in the chat.
  • Economy
    Killing stuff earns you XP and gold. You can buy equipment in shops. No base building, but your base starts with several buildings that don't offer any interaction, though. Creeps spawn in certain buildings and run on lanes to the enemy base, which should sound familiar.
  • Death & Dying
    You get automatically resurrected after some time. You can, however, shorten the wait time by paying a moderate amount of gold, which is actually an interesting feature. Similar to DG, there's a Healing Crystal equivalent, something that had to be pointed out to me in the Demigod forum (thanks, dude).
  • Gameplay
    Weeeeeeeeell .... I sucked in my first game and got promptly verbaly punished for being a noob. This doesn't help endear you to the game, so my perceptions may be flawed. But my first impression was: I can't zoom out (I swear, after playing Demigod I think it's impossible to enjoy RTS games without a God-Eye-Zoom)!
    In addition to the fixed camera height you have a considerably larger map and a faster movement speed than experienced in Demigod and you can't help feeling confused and disoriented. The creeps are stronger in comparison to DG creeps (but then those puny heroes are no half-gods). There is no health crystal. I think the only way to heal up is to buy potions. At least you can buy more than three per slot.
    The game is fast paced but not so fast that you'll experience instant death right from the start. You'll have plenty of time to decide that a battle is a lost cause and run for the towers.
    And your job? Easy, kill and destroy. No flags, no warscore (although there are other gamemodes that might have something similar). The only thing you can do is find creeps or heroes and kill them. And find enemy buildings and destroy them. That's it.
  • Game Modes
    There are only custom games. No skirmish or pantheon. No single player mode and (currently) no bots to solo against. Many possible options to setup a custom game. And the features the lobby offers are something to be seen. Feels like a database browser (i.e. comfortable and powerful).
  • Replays
    They work. Take that, Demigod!
  • Community
    It's a new game so you'd expect the community to be new also. But it's not. It's mostly DotA veterans that got a bit frustrated with the aged Warcraft 3 engine and wanted something, er, newish. Someone in the HoN forums summed it up pretty much: "I'm actually pretty surprised by this community. So far it's been very hard to find nice people. Most players - particularly those with Dota experience are incredibly rude to all players."
    The Demigod community certainly has it's share of unfriendlies, but as a whole it's quite amiable. Maybe this will change with the rise of competetive play.

Bottom line: Graphically it's definetly a step down when compared to Demigod. But noticably better than DotA. It's really really running smooooooothly. If you consider the small DG roster Demigod's biggest drawback, then HoN might seem attractive. The complexity and detail of each hero is lower than that of any one Demigod. It's also extremely beginner unfriendly. And even though Demigod didn't have any kind of tutorial either, you grasp the gist of DG way faster than that of HoN. HoN is clearly aimed at DotA players. It looks so similar to DotA that fanboys might as well stay there.

It's still in beta so many things will change. The strongest point of HoN is it's large hero rooster. Apart from that I don't think the Demigod has much to fear.

But since it's an early test phase, I'll certainly give it another try. I can endure the "F*CKING _NOOB" for a time, hehehehe.

 


Comments (Page 3)
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on Jul 20, 2009

I tried again. It gets better (if you can endure the abuse by other players).

I'd say it's a step up from DotA, same as Demigod, but it goes into another direction than DG.

One more thing about the graphics: They run absolutely smooth even on my MacBook. I have to dial details down in Demigod to get a smooth gameplay. And lategame creep hordes attacking a citadel slow DG down no matter what I do.

Yeah, Linux and Mac clients in addition to Windows. You'll never see that with DG.

ZedVasquez
Does advertising other games belong to this forum? There is at least an off-topic-area. But this wouldn't be shameless enough, i guess. Right?

you're right. But it's not like HoN or LoL (great acronym) or DotA isn't talked about here. I think it even benefits DG if people look over the side of the pool and demand to improve DG with good features found elsewhere. In addition to original ideas, of course.

Synapsis-dos

 

Edit: Also Aroddo to play the beta you had to sign an NDA which means you shouldn't of really made this post.

Quotiong S2 Games:

You are free to communicate and discuss Heroes of Newerth publich, including forum discussions and talking to friends and family. However, the sharing of media relating to HoN (videos, screenshots) is prohibited and we'd kindly ask our testers not to disclose any game related media to those not actively in the Heroes of Newerth Beta.

 

 

on Jul 20, 2009

Hmm I saw videos of HoN before though. Maybe they were official videos.

 

I don't play much online, I play to have fun, not to be called names by 12-40 year old that want to compensate for a small penis. Seems to me DOTA and HoN are more for competition, whereas DG is a bit more 'noob'/fun-friendly. And after 7 years of WC3/DOTA/WOW I'm kind of liking the new graphics of DG.

on Jul 20, 2009

twifightDG
Hmm I saw videos of HoN before though. Maybe they were official videos.

 

I don't play much online, I play to have fun, not to be called names by 12-40 year old that want to compensate for a small penis. Seems to me DOTA and HoN are more for competition, whereas DG is a bit more 'noob'/fun-friendly. And after 8 years of WC3/DOTA/WOW I'm kind of liking the new graphics of DG.

You can do a youtube search for HoN videos. I asssume they are them are even official.

I like the graphical design of some of the heroes. And I just remembered the other contender for the DotA throne: League of Legends.

LoL looks like the original DotA ... and HoN like the Updated one. Kinda like I'd imagine Warcraft IV to look like if it came out before Starcraft 2.

 

HoN:

LoL:

DotA

DG:

on Jul 20, 2009

Haha, totally awesome how you make verbal harrasment seem like "a part" of the game.

well, how isnt it a part of dota?

You know beating your children is outlawed in most countries yeah?

totally irrelevant.

You definetly should have shouted at them calling them idiots and retards, I bet that would have made them sooo much better at Demigod.

this is not how i play. even playing dota i dont do this.

A list of DotA-like games I know:

nice vids aroddo

 

 

on Jul 20, 2009

I'm surprised that the devs tolerate advertising another game in the Demigod section of the forums. 

 

I'm as interested in hearing about a good game as the next guy, but this should be put in the Off-Topic section.

on Jul 20, 2009

Yeah didn't notice that Aroddo I take it back.

 

Dota/HoN isn't hard to learn and the abuse is annoying but its the internet you will always find it, there is just a higher concentration there.

on Jul 20, 2009

How is HoN compared to LoL?

Right now I like Demigod more than LoL, but LoL is free and has some quality aspects to it.

I also got the impression that HoN will have a map editor of some sort... is that true?

on Jul 20, 2009

Healer



Quoting StAcK3D_ActR,
reply 24


of course they can. but if you want to be GOOD, you should know how to play all heros, not just one.

 



When you'll be a good player tell me i will send you a medal and if you are
i can send it to you right now.

You take it to seriously it's only a game.

I myself am a good player and I play all the heroes. But not because i needed to learn them all to become better (it helped but not extrodinarily) it was more just to have more fun with the game. Instead of playing normal games and whomping on people I picked sedna (by far my worst character) and joined a noob game and it was actually one of the most fun games I've played.

Play all the demigods for fun and to learn the ropes as a noob. Play one demigod to be competative after you've figured out your best demigod.

Daikaze
How is HoN compared to LoL?

Right now I like Demigod more than LoL, but LoL is free and has some quality aspects to it.

I also got the impression that HoN will have a map editor of some sort... is that true?

Because map editor's always turn out so well. Normally people create some secret thing that only they know on the map and completely massacre everyone with it. Age of Empires 3 did it, Starcraft did it, and a lot of others.

It isn't necissarrily a good thing. It just means the developers didn't want to take the time to create simply amazing maps so they release a few decent ones and let the community do the rest. I'm pretty satisfied with demigod maps. The most satisfying is looking at exile (if it wasn't for one exploit i'd be utterly happy). It has the smoothest and most unique gameplay out of any of the maps. Cataract is awesome too. Double cooldown flags add some strategic depth that some of the larger maps don't have.

on Jul 20, 2009

XaviorsFist

Because map editor's always turn out so well. Normally people create some secret thing that only they know on the map and completely massacre everyone with it. Age of Empires 3 did it, Starcraft did it, and a lot of others.

It isn't necissarrily a good thing. It just means the developers didn't want to take the time to create simply amazing maps so they release a few decent ones and let the community do the rest. I'm pretty satisfied with demigod maps. The most satisfying is looking at exile (if it wasn't for one exploit i'd be utterly happy). It has the smoothest and most unique gameplay out of any of the maps. Cataract is awesome too. Double cooldown flags add some strategic depth that some of the larger maps don't have.

You are insane if you think adding a map editor is to the detriment of the community.

Let me guess...modding is pointless as well?

Mods and their associated map editors have provided us with Team Fortress, Counter-Strike and Defence of the Ancients. I would trade half the Demigod maps for a functional map editor.

on Jul 20, 2009

Agree with those who said this should be in Off-Topic.

on Jul 20, 2009

I think what alot of you folks are forgeting is that this particular type of game doesn't need to be graphically impressive. Alot of the wowwee details are lost in demigod because you're zooming you camera around. That being said, I do prefer the camera and speed in demigod. The item shop and hero selection is better in HoN. HoN has a steeper learning curve becuase of XP/Gold denies imho. I don't care about the communities here or there cuz I usually only play with friends.

I love both games, will probably own all three (preordered LoL) so why act like a bunch of fanbois rooting for Sega or Nintendo? Just own both and get the best of both worlds.

on Jul 20, 2009

Dunno about you but this topic has been in Offtopic since I clicked it for the first time..

on Jul 20, 2009

StAcK3D_ActR
what you misunderstand is that the abuse is a wake up call, it tells you "hey we are competitive, learn the game"

the abuse also makes you learn alot faster. ive played with several people who havent improved after the first week of playing demigod, which is disappointing

 

No, for those of us who are adults, the abuse just drives us to go spend our time on something that isn't full of asshats. Honestly, I was good at DotA back in the day, and even a mention of a community like that one has pretty well ensured that I will never give this game a look.

 

XaviorsFist

Because map editor's always turn out so well. Normally people create some secret thing that only they know on the map and completely massacre everyone with it. Age of Empires 3 did it, Starcraft did it, and a lot of others.

It isn't necissarrily a good thing. It just means the developers didn't want to take the time to create simply amazing maps so they release a few decent ones and let the community do the rest. I'm pretty satisfied with demigod maps. The most satisfying is looking at exile (if it wasn't for one exploit i'd be utterly happy). It has the smoothest and most unique gameplay out of any of the maps. Cataract is awesome too. Double cooldown flags add some strategic depth that some of the larger maps don't have.

 

You can't be serious. The map editor was the reason why Warcraft 3 did so well. It's the reason why DotA came into existence in the first place (and a lot of other goodies like Tower Defense). No matter how much effort developers put into maps, in a successful game there are a ton more players who want to make maps. Out of those, some real gems will appear.

Look at it this way. Blizzard has near infinite resources. If they put EVERYTHING they have into creating maps for Warcraft 3 when it was back in it's prime, they still wouldn't have been able to come close to the hours of effort the community was putting in.

on Jul 20, 2009

Thanks for the nice write-up, Aroddo.  I've been looking at all three games (never played DOTA).  It's a real shame that none of these games really takes single player or AI seriously.  I would love to see one of these games do a rich single-player campaign or invest some efforts in coming up with a competitive skirmish AI. I really don't have the time or patience to deal with abusive strangers online, especially when I play games to relax.

on Jul 20, 2009

Dunno about you but this topic has been in Offtopic since I clicked it for the first time..

It wasn't. I just moved it here this morning.

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