A Tale of Two Mods

The first official DotA 2 trailer was released yesterday. Watch it here, then let's break it down.

Now, I never was a big fan of DOTA and the genre it created, best embodied by games such as Heroes of Newerth, League of Legends and Demigod, so my details will be a bit scetchy. Started as a Warcraft 3 mod, DOTA (Defense of the Ancients) is a map/mod that pits human-controlled hero units against each other, with two bases at the sides of the map, outpost checkpoints between them, constant streams of NPC weaker units just to keep it interesting and a boatload of items that can be bought or crafted through combining several items.

It rapidly became a raging success, and much like that other hugely successful mod (yes, I mean Counter-Strike), it got so elitist that a new player had very little incentive or hope to get into it. You'd join a game only to find yourself getting endlessly pwned to the point you'd just

give up. I was lucky enough to try it your friends over LAN the first time, so my first experience wasn't quite as traumatic. Although there were copious amounts of pwnage.

Not being a fan, there's not much I can honestly say about the upcoming sequel without being presumptuous or even biased. I do realize it's sent shockwaves down the spines of fans, but all I can say is I hope it's not just a polished version of the exact same gameplay. Much as I hope for every sequel, really.

Another game I'm not a huge fan of is the aforementioned Counter-Strike, for much the same reasons: a seemingly elitist playerbase that makes it very hard to get into the game without feeling massively inferior or even downtrodden. CS: Source tried to change that, and to a point it did: it was the first time I had fun playing CS, back on the PCGF server on the glory days of PCGF. Less clunky, more fluid, changed just enough to be fresh and welcoming to the new players but not to the point it wasn't still familiar and alluring to the veterans, CS: S was a thing of beauty, for a while. And, I have to admit, I was quite intrigued when I first heard the rumours about Counter-Strike: Global Offensive a couple of weeks ago. Then, just last weekend, Valve went and officially announced it.

"Counter-Strike Global Offensive (CS:GO) will expand upon the team-based action gameplay that it pioneered when it was launched 12 years ago.

CS: GO features new maps, characters, and weapons and delivers updated versions of the classic CS content (de_dust, etc.). In addition, CS: GO will introduce new gameplay modes, matchmaking, leader boards, and more.

"Counter-Strike took the gaming industry by surprise when the unlikely MOD became the most played online PC action game in the world almost immediately after its release in August 1999," said Doug Lombardi at Valve. "For the past 12 years, it has continued to be one of the most-played games in the world, headline competitive gaming tournaments and selling over 25 million units worldwide across the franchise. CS: GO promises to expand on CS' award-winning gameplay and deliver it to gamers on the PC as well as the next gen consoles and the Mac."

CS: GO is being developed by Valve in cooperation with Seattle-based Hidden Path Entertainment. The title is targeted for release in early 2012 and will be playable at this year's PAX Prime and Eurogamer Expo." -Valve

Like I said about DotA, I only hope it's not a polished/refurbished version of the same old game, but early reports from CS veterans flown in by Valve to give it a shot are encouraging. Then again, only time will tell.