Quick Review: Demigod (Calling all DotA players)
I’m calling this a quick review because I haven’t put very much time into the game, but I feel it warrants some discussion and there isn’t a WHOLE lot to it. In fact, there might not be enough to it.. I’ll get into that later.
Demigod is the new PC game released by Gas Powered Games (demigodthegame.com)which has a playstyle that anyone who played custom games in Warcraft 3 should be familiar with. Demigod is basically a full game based around the classic Defense of the Ancients. Two teams of up to five players push through lanes and attempt to take over the other teams base by capturing strategic points including defensive towers, spawn points and walls while playing as one of eight Demigods (heroes) and being assisted by an autonomous army of smaller scale units.
I had the game installed last night and immediately jumped in to a game with computer teammates / opponents. A common complaint or point of concern among the community trying Demigod is the lack of instruction. The game comes with no manual in the box and is completely void of any in-game tutorials, they are either making the assumption that everyone who picks this up is familiar with how to play a DotA style game or that everyone despises manuals and would rather just figure it out.
Luckily, I fall into the first group, having spent many hours over the years playing the various types of DotAs that have made their way across b.net (<3 rumble), but, even still, I was a bit disoriented when stepping into Demigod.
Before I get into the game play, I would like to mention what I feel to be a major short coming for a $50 game when compared to the free versions that have been out for years and that is character selection. Both sides (light and dark) have access to the same group of Demigods, but there are only 8 total (not sure if you can have multiples of the same demigod on the same team). While I can understand that they might be trying to keep the game simple, only having eight choices for playable characters seems really lacking. On the flip side, there are also eight maps you can play on, but I would prefer more Demigod choices even if they were all on the same map.
I was caught off guard by the controls (and the inability to change some which were particularly bothersome) because I made the false assumption that a DotA game should play like a WC3 game; this was something I was fighting with the whole time I was playing. Camera navigation is done with WASD for pan and Q and E for rotate; holding down the space bar puts the camera into free mode which makes it follow your mouse. And, of course, the scroll wheel works as zoom which (nicely) allows you to zoom far enough out to see the entire map. The inability to freely use the mouse to manipulate the camera as in WC3 really bothered me, but, with time, I can see this not being an issue as I adapt to the strange configuration.
The gameplay itself is what you’d expect – simple, fun and exciting.
As your Demigod levels, he is able to learn and improve special abilities to increase his abilities on the field – see the screenshot below. There are 4 active abilities for each Demigod and a varying number of passive abilities along with a generic stat upgrade, this was a nice boost over the original DotA’s 3 abilities (and one special) and allows for at least some degree of character customization. There are also item shops that you can use to buy select pieces of gear (with some pretty interesting bonuses) and usable items and potions.
The games seem to last at least 20-30 minutes on average but can easily be dragged out to over an hour with 2 skilled teams who keep all their lanes strong. Along with buying gear and potions, you can put money you earn toward upgrading both your buildings and units attack/defense, even going so far as causing new types of units to be produced. It seems that this is in place to still give a reason for individuals to creep for gold (though I didn’t come across and creep spawns in the short time I played) instead of focusing on laning.
As it stands, I think this is a great game and have very high hopes for it. Had a ton of fun in the short time I was playing it last night, and once I become a bit more comfortable and have put a few solid hours into it I’ll post a more in-depth review. For now, anyone who was ever a big fan of DotA on WC3 should be picking this up and checking it out.
