Heroes of the Storm is the latest game in the MOBA genre. It features characters from all of Blizzard’s games such as Diablo from the Diablo series, and the cigar smoking Tychus from Starcraft. It’s a neat game, but it has a bit of a learning curve.

I personally never got into the whole MOBA craze. Matter of fact, I never had a computer capable to play League of Legends until it eventually came out for Mac OS. I did give it a try but was turned off by the learning curve. Clicking to move was something I was never a fan of since I grew up primarily a console gamer so I eventually stopped playing. Enter Heroes of the Storm and now with a sudden urge to give MOBAs another chance.

Armed with a recently upgraded PC, I download the game and was pretty impressed by the opening cinematic. It’s really cool to see all of these characters come together from their respective franchises to do battle. It feels like the first time I played Smash Brothers on the N64.

I get into the tutorial to learn all the basics and jump into training mode. Uther does a pretty good job of teaching the mechanics. The battlegrounds I have played on so far are neat and have features that can help turn the tides of battle. My favorite battleground at moment would be the two level map, The Haunted Mines. As the battle rages on, the announcer will periodically tell you that the mines are about to open. When they do open, you and your team have to try and get down into the mines as fast as you can to kill enemy minions. When you kill the minions they count towards a sacrifice and those sacrifices are used to power up a golem to send your opponents way. If your team gets more sacrifices than the enemy team before times up, then your golem will be more powerful than theirs.

Another feature on each map are mercenary camps. Theses camps have neutral characters on site and to get them to fight for you, all you have to do is defeat them. I’ve quickly learned that you should not try and conquer one alone. It’s best to try and take a camp with at least two people.

The game can be a rewarding experience too. During a match, everybody on the same team gets experience and levels up at the same time. I feel like this kind of evens the playing field so nobody is THAT much better than the next guy or gal. Losing also doesn’t seem that bad. When I lost my first A.I. match, I was still rewarded with quite a bit of experience and some in game currency. The game does a good job of helping you keep you head up when you lose.

All in all, I am enjoying the game. One thing that I’m working on is to play smarter and try not to be such a lone wolf. I’ve learned quickly that this is definitely a team based game like any other MOBA. Right now I’m am just playing with A.I. opponents/team mates. There is no telling when I will finally get the courage to jump online to face real people. I have nothing against League of Legends, but unlike L.o.L. this game has me hooked for the moment and my competitive spirit won’t let me give up just yet.

Now back to practice mode.

Heroes of the Storm officially launched June 2nd on PC and is free to download and play at heroesofthestorm.com.

Are you also playing Heroes of the Storm? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.