Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Heroes of the Storm (Starter Pack) – Review
It has been quite some time since we did our preview of Heroes of the Storm but now, with the actual release, we felt it was time for a follow-up. Whilst the game is still free-to-play, Blizzard decided to release a ‘starter pack’ for a low price, which grants you five heroes, an extra skin and a mount. For us this was the ideal time to take a closer look to see if the starter pack was worth the small fee or not.
Note: As the preview already discussed many of the game modes, it is advised to read the preview first, which can be found by clicking here.
Story
Blizzard has brought many known franchises into the homes of children and adults alike. World of Warcraft, Diablo (3) and Starcraft (2), have been the flagships of the company for quite some time now and up until now they had nothing to do with each other. With the coming of Heroes of the Storm, things have changed, as all of the different universes have mysteriously been connected to usher in a new era of war. This will already raise a few eyebrows as legendary creatures such as Diablo will undoubtedly be stronger than the average Starcraft character, but Blizzard came up with a paper thin solution to solve that issue. It seems the force that brought all universes together, also made sure that every combatant’s power has been reduced to match the other (anti-)heroes’.
As Heroes of the Storm finds itself in the MOBA genre, it was pretty obvious the plot would be extremely flimsy. Nonetheless, a little effort was made by putting a few story pieces together, to create a small storyline for your entertainment.
Graphics
Heroes of the Storm makes an effort to combine the different styles of the aforementioned franchises and does so in a great manner. A subtle comical style is what makes the game appealing for both young and old and it makes all the different games, implemented in this one, look like one big whole.
All characters stay true to their original franchise, but they match all of the environments the game throws you in. Everything looks detailed and there’s plenty of variation thanks to the already big diversity in characters and the different world maps.
Sound
The game uses a decent amount of mood setting music, to make the experience more intense. As the game is a game that revolves around constant conflict, it’s only natural the music is a bit louder, compared to many other games.
Voice acting is superb, many of the characters have a fitting voice and the ‘commentators’ of each map sound perfect for the theme each individual world is aiming at.
Gameplay
Heroes of the Storm is a MOBA game, where you’ll have to destroy the enemies’ core in order to win. That being said, the road to victory is a hard one, as you’ll have to eradicate(most of) your opponents’ camp. Of course, the town does not go undefended as you’ll have to take it up against other players or AI (Computer controlled players/bots), who will try to wreck your beloved base. Unlike other MOBA games, Heroes of the Storm throws in many objectives you will have to complete in order to gain the upper hand.
Each match will be played in a five versus five format, against other players or bots, together with other players or bots. You and your team will have to cooperate in order to gain the upper hand. As mentioned above, you’ll have to complete objectives to gain a slight advantage on your opponents. Whilst regular PVP is still of great importance, completing objectives often results in a swifter infiltration of the base of your foes. Each map has its own theme and missions in which you’ll have to capture points to summon monsters, obtain ‘curses’ to curse your opponents’ minions, beat monsters in order to enforce a golem and so on. Thanks to these objectives, you’ll often find yourself in large scale battles, instead of just keeping your ‘lane’ safe, like other MOBA games.
Other differences are the facts that you will not be able to purchase gear for your character and that your team shares their ‘level and experience’ instead of being able to gather experience on your own. Leveling up allows you to choose skill upgrades (or new skills) every few levels and in a way they will act as a replacement for gear. The more you play with a certain champion, the more skills will be available to him, as you will also gather experience after each played match. After a while, you’ll notice that you’ll have more skills to choose from during the actual matches. This does not mean you’ll be able to choose everything during the course of a single match, but you’ll be able to subtly change your build depending on the situation you’re in.
As mentioned at the beginning of this review, Blizzard released a starter pack for players to start with a bit more goodies at the beginning of their Heroes of the Storm careers. The starter pack grants you five champions, a skin and a mount, which will offer you a bit more choice to start practicing some different champions right off the bat. Even though the start pack proves to be great value for its price, it would have been nice if the included champions would not have been set in stone and offered some freedom of choice instead. Nonetheless, the pack provides a great boost.
Sadly, the use of a ‘simplified’ system also causes the game to attract many players who see the game as something ‘easy to start with’. That being said, it has been a while since I started shouting midgame, because the other players seemed to have no clue of evading danger or completing objectives. Standing still in the middle of nowhere and constantly dying whilst running in the enemy base, did not help our team at all. At some point it became clear that the game is an open sewage system filled with twelve year olds, who are not able to communicate or think logically. ‘Look ma, no hands’ – is easily replaced with ‘look ma, no brains!’. At a certain point, when things got too bad, it felt like some of the users that pollute other players’ games should have been taken to the veterinarian at birth, to be put down. Anyway, all the frustration aside, the game lacks proper surrender functions, if a match is clearly lost, or proper report functions, if a player simply did nothing during the match.
Even though the game is ‘free-to-play’, you’ll be able to buy new heroes, skins and mounts, with actual cash. Whilst League of Legend works the same way, it was clear that Heroes of the Storm is actually a tad more expensive, as you’ll gather points (which you can trade in to buy heroes free of charge) a lot slower than in LoL. This will force more players to start spending some extra money, if they don’t want to wait that long. Of course, seeing players will still be able to wait to buy their favorite characters for free, it’s all up to the gamer’s patience.
Conclusion
Heroes of the Storm is a great addition to the MOBA genre, thanks to its unique approach concerning the objectives you’ll have to complete, the different builds per hero thanks to the different unlockable skill sets and the many different maps. Whilst the feedback functions (report/surrender) still require some tuning, it’s clear that this game is well underway to become another big title in its respective genre. If you wish to get a head start on other beginners, the starter pack might be worth checking out.
Heroes of the Storm (Starter Pack) - Review,
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