League of Legends Review Contest for Exclusive Skin

Will old reviews count?

 

how do we redeem it?

 

Resurrect the URF!

So apparently the max on the review area is 10,000 characters, I almost died because it took so long but i realized I could post my review here, LoL xD

I wish I knew what I know now back when League of Legends first came out. I remember playing World of Warcraft and hearing people say in chat that if you wanted real PVP you should play League of Legends. I looked at the site, but it never clicked for me. I saw RTS and was instantly turned off, because besides StarCraft II I can't think of any other RTS that I'm actually good at. DotA was thrown around on the site and I didn't have a clue what that meant. I decided to finally man up, download the game, and see what all the fuss was about. As it turns out, the fuss was well-warranted, as League of Legends is an intense, strategic, and wildly fun game.

League of Legends falls into a MMO subgenre of games that is becoming more popular day-by-day and yet it's almost impossible to properly label it. The best way to describe League of Legends is to imagine an RTS game, remove almost all of the micromanagement, and then give players a unique hero character that they exclusively use within the game much like if they were to play an RTS game and only had to focus on using one unit while the rest was fairly automated.

The story pits you in the role of a Summoner - a magic wielding entity that can summon various heroes to use as their personal avatars of power while they hang back in a tower, away from harm, and watch over the proceedings happening on the battlefield. While your main character will be whoever you choose to play as and bring into each match, League of Legends does make you feel like some omnipotent figure pitting these warriors against each other.

For those who have never played a game like League of Legends before, the game features an easy to understand tutorial, which will teach you the ins and outs of the game, including letting you practice in an actual match and telling you when you're doing things wrong. For example, should you get too close to an enemy turret and there are no minions to draw its fire, the game will call a warning out to you and let you know why it's doing it so that you can learn from your mistakes before you start playing with actual people.

League of Legends features exactly two maps - one for 5vs5 teams and one for 3vs3 teams. Now, maybe this makes me somewhat of a hypocrite, but I actually don't have a problem with this issue (though maybe that will change after a few months). I know I've criticized other games like Brink for not having enough maps when they were released, but two strangely enough works for the game. Sure, I think everyone wouldn't mind having at least one or two new ones, but imagine that League of Legends is like a more action-oriented version of chess. People still love chess, but you only have one board. League of Legends, much like the comparison to chess, is not so much about the board/map you're playing on, but rather the strategy you're using and the players and characters you're going up against.

League of Legends is strictly a cooperative PVP experience where teams of players work together in order to defeat the other team. Teams can either be pre-made or you can choose to join another group of players at random and just play together for a game. Who knows...maybe you'll make a friend or eventually find yourself on an actual team. Once on a team, players can either choose to go against a team of AI controlled bots on one of two different difficulty levels, or go up against another squad of real players. A 5vs5 or 3vs3 match with nothing but real people is the way to go, but if you're looking to experiment with a character before jumping into the fray, playing against the AI is definitely the preferred option.

Players start by choosing their champion, but there can only be one of each hero per team, so either make sure you pick your character first or either be familiar with at least five so that you're never going to be stuck playing someone you don't know. League of Legends routinely switches out its champions so that people have the chance to play as different champions week-to-week and not have to stick with the same free-to-play guy time and time again. If you want to permanently unlock a champion for play no matter when you may want to play, you can do that too, and we'll get to that later.

While we're on the subject of champions, I must say that despite having such a large character roster, each character that I've played has felt unique - not only in terms of how they look - but how they play as well since each character has their own distinct move sets, strategies, and strengths and weaknesses. You've got tanks, assassins, mages, melee DPS, ranged DPS, support, pushers, and so on. A team can generally get by randomly picking people, but when getting a real team together and playing as one unit, it's really more about team makeup than anything else. With the game featuring so many different champions, there certainly is that possibility of some characters being overpowered or unbalanced, and while there were some characters that seemed to kick my butt, overall I think the playing field is pretty balanced and that strategy and skill will ultimately win over someone picking a champion they think is too powerful.

The basic premise is that each team starts on opposite ends of a map that are essentially mirror images of each other. Since the majority of the players seem to play on the 5vs5 map we're going to talk exclusively about that one. On the 5vs5 map there are three lanes: a top, middle, and bottom. Along these lanes you'll find both friendly (on your side) and non-friendly (on the opposing side) turrets that will attack you and your opponents. If you can destroy the turrets and make your way into the camp of the other team, you'll then find inhibitors, which when destroyed, allow you to spawn super minions. The idea is to keep pushing and attacking the team until you reach their Nexus, which you must destroy in order to win the game.

Your team is accompanied by minions, which spawn out of your base in groups, and travel down each of the three paths. Minions serve several purposes, as they're needed to form a wall so that you can take down turrets, help fight the attacking minions, give opposing champions something to deal with, and they're one of the primary ways in which players gain levels and earn money. You see, whenever you start a game, each player is set to level one, and players can only get stronger and unlock and upgrade abilities by killing enemy minions (you have to make sure you're the one that gets the killing blow). As you gain levels, you can then take your one attribute point and apply it to one of your four abilities so that it either becomes unlocked or upgrade it so that it does something like deal more damage.

Killing minions can also net you gold, which is perhaps the main way in which players shape the growth of their character during the course of the game. Players can access the game shop whenever they're at their spawn base or whenever they're dead and use it to purchase various items that can be equipped or consumed. The shop system can be thought of like equipping new armor or weapons in a MMO. The shopping system is very streamlined and easy to use, as similar items are grouped together and easy to find, so that you can quickly buy what you need and then get back out on the field to do some more fighting. You can buy equipment to improve your movement speed, how much damage you can take, how fast you attack, how much mana you have, how quickly you regenerate mana, and many, many more. While the first thing you'll need is the right amount of gold, the game features a unique mechanic in that some powerful items can only be bought once other items have been purchased before it (though you can also save up money and buy them all at once in order to go straight to the item you really want). The game also features a recommended item selection list based on what champion you're playing, and while a lot of people will argue these aren't necessarily the best items for each character, they're a good start and the system does a pretty good job at helping new players learn the ropes. Of course, it also depends on how you personally want to shape your character's growth and what you want to focus on.


Another important factor is the act of jungling, as there are branching wooden areas scattered between the three lanes, where NPC monsters can be found; a jungling character can often level and earn gold quicker, and while it can be difficult leaving one player to defend a lane by themselves, the jungler can move freely between the three lanes to gank players and help as needed since junglers do not usually appear on the map. Jungling is also important because there are some elite NPC characters that can award player buffs if defeated, which can greatly change the tide of a battle.

Though your champion always starts back at level one, your Summoner actually gains levels as you play and earn experience. As your Summoner levels up, you can earn new powers that you can take into a match to help your character out, such as being able to heal them in a pinch or teleport them to a nearby location. Furthermore, there are two additional advancement systems to help make your champions more powerful whenever you play. The first system is the Mastery system, which acts like an ability tree in an MMO. The Mastery system is broken into three different areas - offense, defense, and support - and you can freely distribute points however you see fit (though more powerful passives require you to place so many points into a tree before they can be unlocked). A very nice feature is the idea of having multiple Mastery saves that you can easily pick from whenever starting a match. For example, the first Mastery you start might be centered on a character you like at the time, such as a ranged mage. If you find yourself no longer being able to play as that character or finding someone else you like instead, suddenly that Mastery page would no longer be good since it would be focused on a champion that could be the polar opposite from the one you're currently using. Thanks to the multiple Mastery pages, however, you can choose from the pre-created Mastery pages you have saved depending on the character you choose and before you lock them into battle. The second system is the Rune system, as players can buy runes from the game's store in order to boost attributes much like how the Mastery system works. It all boils down to giving the player options and being able to shape their favorite characters however they wish.

Another really nice feature is the database system for the champions, as you can choose to view them based on certain categories such as only having the game show you the support characters, and then you can delve into each individual champion to not only see what they look like, but learn what their abilities are, see what skins are available to them, read the lore regarding the character, and most important of all, read strategies regarding how you should both approach playing as this character and playing against them. You can also easily view this system when you're in the game's store, so when you're trying to decide which champion you want to buy, you can look at their stats and how they handle before spending the money and potentially wasting it on someone you won't like.

I'm usually not a fan of cash malls in games because they often try to drain your wallet dry by making you purchase items you can't get anywhere else. While you can't buy your way into being a great player, you can forgo the time and work commitment in order to get immediate satisfaction. By using real world money you can basically buy anything in the game, but that doesn't mean that's the only way in which you can obtain that item...it just means everyone else is going to have to work for what they want. So do you work your butt off at a job and then use that money to account for the time you couldn't spend playing the game, or do you spend the time gaining the in-game Influence Points (earned by playing the game) because you don't have the money to pay for the items? It's ultimately the way that every cash mall should work - give both sets of players an equal opportunity in terms of obtaining what they want. First and foremost you can buy champions, but beyond that you can buy new skins for your champions, runes to go into your slots, etc. League of Legends is one of the few games that actually handles the free-to-play market just right.
Technically League of Legends is a solid offering, as the world and characters are bright and colorful, and features a slightly cel-shaded/cartoony look somewhat like that of Warcraft III, but one that's more polished and refined (no surprise given the history and how this genre came to be). The game's sound work is also really well done too, as the sound of fighting, structures exploding, and abilities being unleashed all sound great. The only thing I'm not overly fond of is the voice work - it sounds fine and it's nice to hear every champion has an actor behind them, but each champion only has a few lines of dialogue which are repeated constantly throughout the course of a match. Its a minor problem and one that can be tweaked depending on your personal preference and whether you want to hear the quips or not.

League of Legends will forever be my gateway drug into this wondrous subgenre of MMOs. Ever since I started playing the game, I've found myself researching the history of the genre, looking out for upcoming games that feature similar mechanics, and even spending hours watching streaming videos of some recent championship qualifiers. League of Legends has got me hooked and all I want is more. If you've never tried the game or thought it wasn't for you or it was perhaps too hard to play, I implore you to push that negative thinking aside and take the leap and download this game. Play the tutorial, learn the ropes, and then play a few matches - chances are you'll find yourself hooked and always looking for the time to play just one more game.

GG - AbsoluteBeing (leaderwolf3)

 

The long-awaited day is finally here.

 

League of Legends is an Moba game made from original Dota developers who decided to start their own company - Riot Games, and make a fresh new game which unique gameplay and features.
The game is set in war between 2 factions, Noxus and Demacia who decided to stop destroying the island they live on in a bloody war and have battles inside arenas [maps] between best heroes and fighters of both factions which are controlled by powerful sorcerers called Summoners.

League of Legends has 3 maps, Summoners Rift- 5v5 mode, Twisted Treeline - 3v3 and The Crystal Scar 5v5 map with unique Dominion gameplay.

Summoners Rift- is an 5v5 map which you can play in 2 modes, PVP and PVE versus bots. The map has 3 main lanes, each side has a nexus and the side with destroyed nexus losses the game like in every other Moba game. Map also has a jungle filled with monsters and 2 bosses which give players additional gold and buffs. Average game time on this map is 40 minutes. Cooperating with fellow summoners is an absolute requirement for success, as it is easy for a champion to find themselves ambushed by enemies in the lanes of the Rift.

​

Twisted Treeline has 2 lanes and can be played versus bots and players. One lane is curvy, and the other is straight. The map also features several neutral monster camps, and plenty of opportunities for team fights due to the two large forests located on the map. Games on this map usually last 25 minutes. And it's best for beginners.

​

The Magma Chamber is a Field of Justice that has been in development at least since it was announced. The map will be optimized for 5v5 play, similar to the original Summoner's Rift map, but is intended to have a different feel and strategic approach. Unlike Summoner’s Rift, which focuses on larger team fights in the mid and late game, Magma Chamber emphasizes smaller, more tactical fights, map awareness and victory in specific lanes. This map is still in development.

​

Dominion: Dominion is a new game mode that introduces the Crystal Scar, a new map featuring capture-and-hold style gameplay to the League of Legends experience. Dominion games are fast-paced battles around 20 minutes in length that emphasize immediate action and frantic, non-stop combat.Crystal Scar features five distinct capture points that players must control to achieve victory.
Point 1: The Windmill
Point 2: The Drill
Point 3: The Quarry
Point 4: The Boneyard
Point 5: The Refinery
And the center Point: The Seal which gives a shield for a short amount of time.
Dominion brings a new, dynamic quest system to League of Legends multiplayer. Quests are given to teams over the course of a match based on the current state of the map, and revolve around the ownership of specific capture points. These quests offer new map objectives that encourage players to adapt and alter their strategies on the fly. Completion of these quests offers substantial rewards to the successful team in addition to dealing immediate damage to the opposing team’s nexus.
Dominion also features new point system called Personal Score. Dominion introduces a new way for players to track their individual contribution through their personal score. A player’s personal score increases based on heroic actions that they take throughout the game, such as defending a capture point against an overwhelming force or securing a secondary objective on the map. A player’s score and other Dominion specific stats are accessible in-game through the new scoreboard and end of game screen.

​

A Champion is a warrior reigning from the vast regions of the universe that has come to wage war in the Fields of Justice. Riot Games develops new champions for League of Legends, and each champion is individually designed to have unique abilities and traits that a player must use wisely. Some Champion uses brute strength and power, others use deadly and cunning precision, while others still use supernatural vision and magic. There were 40 champions released at launch, and there is one added approximately every two weeks. About 8-10 champions are in development at any moment. Each week there is a rotation of ten champions that are available to play for free.
This is the list of all champions.

Alistar
Amumu
Anivia
Akali
Annie
Ashe
Blitzcrank
Brand
Caitlyn
Cassiopeia
Cho'Gath
Corki
Dr. Mundo
Evelynn
Ezreal
Fiddlesticks
Galio
Gangplank
Garen
Gragas
Graves
Heimerdinger
Irelia
Janna
Jarvan IV
Jax
Karma
Karthus
Kassadin
Katarina
Kayle
Kennen
Kog'Maw
LeBlanc
Lee Sin
Leona
Lux
Malphite
Malzahar
Maokai
Master Yi
Miss Fortune
Mordekaiser
Morgana
Nasus
Nidalee
Nocturne
Nunu
Olaf
Orianna
Pantheon
Poppy
Rammus
Renekton
Riven
Rumble
Ryze
Shaco
Shen
Shyvana
Singed
Sion
Sivir
Skarner
Sona
Soraka
Swain
Talon
Taric
Teemo
Tristana
Trundle
Tryndamere
Twisted Fate
Twitch
Udyr
Urgot
Vayne
Veigar
Vladimir
Warwick
Wukong
Xerath
Xin Zhao
Yorick
Zilean

LoL also has an item store like in most moba games where you buy items for gold to enchance your hero's abilities. There is also and talent tree and with every level gained you get 1 point to spend in 3 ways, Attack Deffence or Utility. Next to masteries there are also Rune pages with greatly improve character abilities and basic stats.

You can also take a look at live gameplay footage from regular games and dominion in my 2 albums.
GameOgre.com Free MMORPG Forums - Supernatural's Album: League of Legends - Dominion
GameOgre.com Free MMORPG Forums - Supernatural's Album: League of Legends

League of Legends is a huge game with many features and it's pretty hard to describe in 1 review so any1 think it might enjoy this kind of game should play it, he won't regret it. Best free game on the market for sure!

I rate it with 10 plus!