World of Hellreject

DotA-based games seem to be the new thing everyone is throwing themselves at these days. I can’t blame them, DotA is widely popular, and also a fantastic modification. Last week, I wrote about Demigod, one of the new games based on the DotA concept. This week, I’m actually writing about a similar game, which is also based on the DotA concept. This game however, is actually as close to DotA as you can possibly come.

Heroes of Newerth (or HoN, for short) is more of a re-imagining of the DotA modification, and it seems S2 Games really put their hearts into making the most genuine DotA experience you’ve had in a while.

Before I go anymore into detail, I need to tell you that this game is still in a very early closed beta, so I can’t give you screen shots, videos, or give up big game secrets. With that being said, I’ll have to give S2 a round of applause for their work. After spending weeks playing DotA, i was quite excited about HoN, and was very curious as of how similar it was. And let me tell you, if you’re a big fan of DotA, you’re not going to be dissappointed.

First off, the game looks very good. Since S2 is not limited by the Warcraft 3 enginge (which is quite good in itself, don’t get me wrong), they’ve been able to give DotA a proper graphical makeover. And it’s been done properly aswell. You can still see that the game is very inspired by the models used in Warcraft 3, just better. The heroes look better, the landscape is smoother, and the spells and abilities are just awesome.

Speaking of heroes, this game is already packed with them. I think I managed to count at least 40 heroes already included, and since this game is still in beta, you can expect more heroes being added as the game draws closer to a final release.  Also, the heroes are very similar to the original heroes included in DotA. You’ll find heroes like the Omni-Knight, Faceless Void, Axe, Moon Priestess and more, only under new names. And of course, there are quite a few original ones, but I’ll stop there.

One of the maps I’ve been able to play is also the very same map included in DotA, only with a little make-over aswell. New names for creeps, redesigned bases, and a completely new way of shopping are just some of the things they’ve done with it.

Finding and playing games is also quite easy here. You entere the lobby, and can immediately customize your search to fit your playstyle. You have “Noobs only”, “Noobs allowed” and “Pros only”, in addition to more game mechanic specific stuff like “random heroes”, “easy mode” and so on. After that, refresh the game list, and you should be up and running in no-time.

I have a lot more to say about this game, but there’s unfortunately not much more I can say at the moment. But know this; if you can get a spot in the beta, make sure to get that spot. Play the game, see for yourself. This is a brilliant game, and I can’t wait for it to be released.

Stay tuned for a proper article on the game when it’s out.