There is a trend right now of games online that are advertised as “free to play.” Some are high profile projects with some major studio pushes on them, others are upstart gaming companies using flash and animation to sell their products. Some are free, some have a fee, but all of these games, be it strategy, shooter, or MMO, all fall under the same umbrella of free to play. Let’s take a look at one of these games, League of Legends.

I must admit that I am no longer a major PC player. Hell, since 2003 there really has not been much to look forward to on the keyboard rig unless the name “Half-Life” or “Warcraft” is attached to it. But one thing I couldn’t pass up is a “Defense of the Ancients” knock off that let’s the old school nerd in me jump with jovial joy, and after playing some “League of Legends,” I have to say it is worth looking into.

The diversity of the champions both in design and in abilities is probably one of the strengths of the game.

League of Legends is a free to play game developed by Riot Games, an upstart company founded by former Blizzard designers and the creators of the “Defense of the Ancients” game, a mod of a mod of the released PC title “Warcraft III.” DOTA, as it is mostly known, is a team based game where your objective is to destroy the enemy base using teamwork and tactics, the catch is that you get to level up a champion, which can fall under any of the stereotypical sword and sorcery archetype, such as thieves, zombies, liches, elves, and so forth. These champions level up, and have specific skills that allow them to fight other creatures, and some other champions, in battle with pure efficiency. The DOTA mod was so popular on Battle.net, Blizzards online community, that it spawned it’s own, downloadable add on several years ago by die-hard fans. And now these die-hard fans have done it again, creating a fresh, more simplistic version of this difficult teamwork game.

At first glance, you would notice that “League of Legends” is similar in style to it’s “Warcraft” brethren. Crisp colors, outrageous features, and a cartoon twinge that gives everything a vibrancy to it. The interface alone, along with item screens and in game portraits, give this vibe off and it is something that may turn off the negative nancy’s who favor graphics. The concept is also a bit flakey, essentially the world was ravaged by magic, and the surviving nations, to settle all political differences and disputes, have summoners summon a champion for a respected political faction to win gladiatorial battles in pre-created plains of magic. Really simple, really cliché, but the originality is in the other features of “League of Legends.”

For starters the champions feel more personal in :Leauge of Legends” with given names, backstories, and identities to match their designs, unlike the DOTA mods which had  generic names like “Panda Warrior” or “Dark Necromancer.” Some of the prized fighters here are Annie, a pyromaniac child with a magical Teddy Bear named Tibbers, Twisted Fate, a cajun card-shark who can teleport, the maniacal Dr. Mundo, a gargantuan, mutated scientist, and some pretty odd choices like Corki, a dwarf in the gyrocopter out of” Mad Max.” The backstories are more personal, and some of them even connect with each other, offering another personal touch between the champions. The designs are fantastic for the forty plus champions, offering a range of different abilities and purposes for your respected team. Some are big tanks, others are ranged specialists. You also have stealth and spell caster classes, and other abilities laced in the jargon of the game, like carriers, DPSers, and support champions.

Teamwork is usually key in taking down human opponents.

Another important aspect is that the champions are balanced. I know this may sound like a shock to say, but in other DOTA mods, there were favored champions because they were over powerful or really easy to level up. Other champions were ignored for being too weak or too slow to level, leaving most games to be stale in the past. While playing “League of Legends” I have never seen the same team twice. True, some champions are favored over others, but for the most part, I have seen each champion at least once on the battlefield, either being masterfully used or terribly controlled. It does say something to have a game with a lot of balance, and this is perhaps the crux point for newbie’s to DOTA.

Although it shall still be a hard sell. “League of Legends” has a somewhat steep learning curve that may overwhelm fresh-faced players to the world of DOTA. It’s true that Riot has taken some initiative to improve this, offering a tutorial for players to get used to the basic controls, and practice matches against bots and other live players to test out champions or hone their skills in. It also helps that the atmosphere of “League of Legends” is a lot friendlier than most online communities, although there are still occasions where one or two people are taking the game way to seriously than it should be. But, the curve is still there, so it may take some patience for inexperienced players to learn the ropes.

Using tools like Runes can help augment stats and give you an edge in combat.

“League of Legends” also offers a bunch of other features to keep players hooked. Your summoner character, who is separate from your selected champion, levels up during matches played, and all experience leads to unlocking a mastery point each level, or specific extra spells, such as healing, teleporting, and so forth, to manipulate the battlefield in some way. You also can use hard earned influence points, which you win with every battle, win or loss, to purchase runes that also allow you to boost character stats, like movement speed, attack power, and maximum amount of mana or health. These influence points are also the primary way to unlock champions, along with credit card bought riot points, which is the only real reason to use a micro transaction; if your impatient or want one of the many bonus skins that Riot has made for certain champions.

Now there are some problems with the game. Notably, there is only one map available for normal play, although that will change as time goes on, and new maps are introduced and removed from beta testing. Also there is some serious problems with matchmaking at times, which make new players often fight with total strangers against pre-made teams. There are currently no options to restrict who comes into your match, unless if you team up with friends ahead of time and your invited to a match. Otherwise, you might be left in the dust against players who are more experienced. And as of right now, no form of “League of Legends” is compatible with Apple computers, although Riot has also said they are working on a Apple version of the game.

But these problems can be rectified in future updates and downloads, as Riot seems to tirelessly generate improvements and new content for their labor of love. “League of Legends” is a great introduction to DOTA-like games, a fun team game, and most importantly, a game that is free to play online, so if you have the time, and the patience to get through a steep learning curve, check “League of Legends” out for yourself.