Riot Games’ League of Legends, the title spawned from a mod for Blizzard’s Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos titled Defense of the Ancients, is perhaps the best-known and most popular multiplayer online battle arena games on the market today. There are also others like Dota 2 or SMITE but League of Legends, also called LoL is the by many considered the number one in the genre.
How to Download League of Legends
To start playing League of Legends, click on the Download button at the end of this review. You will also have to sign up on the website and create an account. The game is free. You can choose between Windows and Mac versions. If you like the game you should also check out its formidable competitor, free-to-download Dota 2.Â
The Game Review
In League of Legends, players take on the role of a summoner who calls forth various champions into the arena to do battle with an opponent. Typically these heroes have special abilities and unique skills that help them during combat, making the choice of a champion a strategic one as well as one of personal preference.
Typically these heroes start out quite weak and have to build up their abilities as they progress through the game. To defeat your opponent, you need to destroy his nexus. Doing this is easier said than done as both sides are able to deploy mobs to slow down the progress of opponents.
These lower-level mobs also have special abilities, stats, and talents, meaning they, too, form a strategic consideration in the game. Though the nexus destruction main game is the most popular format, there are other game modes available as well with many emerging organically during online play.
The Graphics
Graphical themes combine high fantasy, steampunk, and HP Lovecraft-inspired horror shows. As you can probably already surmise, the core element of gameplay with League of Legends orbits around online multiplayer.
Immense Popularity
In fact, League of Legends is one of the most popular online games currently available. First released in 2009, by 2012 this was by far the most popular PC game online. Stats released from January 2014 truly show the scope of this MOBA’ huge following: 67 million players per month, 27 million per day, and 7.5 million players during peak play times.
Because of its massive online following, this fantasy hit maintains a huge presence across multiple forms of social media and is a big player in eSports and on streaming platforms such as Twitch. The game’s popularity has given it the ability to expand into other merchandising opportunities such as apparel, accessories, and books.
With such an audience, League of Legends also makes a big impact in the world of eSports, being the focus of the League Championship Series consisting of 10 professional teams with every continent except Antarctica being represented. All of the game’s regional competitions end in a final, world championship that brings the best together in a huge spectator match that is often one of the highlights of the eSports annual calendar.
But even with such an intimidatingly large community, the acclaimed fantasy MOBA maintains it is accessible for newcomers. In addition, the game often adds content and tweaks to gameplay continuously, keeping even veteran players on their toes.
From that perspective, gamers should not be wary about jumping in feet first and giving League of Legends’ foundational take on the multiplayer online battle arena experience. Not only will players be joining one of the largest, most well-rounded communities in competitive gaming, but also they will be introduced to a level of competition rarely seen in video games outside of the real time strategy and first-person shooter space.
