Choosing LoL is a vote for choice over refinement

It's generally accepted that LoL is more accessible to beginners. Having said that, get a lot of practice in bot matches or with experienced friends before joining a pick-up group; the MOBA community is not known for its forgiving attitude. If you screw up, you're sure to receive a volley of unflattering leer-speak. In a MOBA, a mistake means boosting the other team, and that's a sure way to lose.

The final type of regular game mode is known as the Dominion mode. Different than the three previous types, this game mode doesn't require capturing the enemy team's base. Instead, there are five neutral capture points around the map. Each one of the two teams accumulates points the longer they have a base captured, so each team fights over control of the 5 capture points. Like other modes, this mode requires a large amount of teamwork in order to ensure that capture points stay in your child's team's control. The team who achieves a certain amount of points the fastest will be the winner, so keeping control of those capture points is vital for success.

Razer sells the LOL Collector's Edition mouse alongside other League of Legends gear, like the Golia thus League of Legends Collector's Edition gaming surface, a screen-printed neoprene mouse pad. In addition to displaying your favorite game with pride, these limited edition gaming peripherals also come with codes redeemable for characters and skins in the game. Razer covers the mouse with the same two-year warranty offered on all Razer mice. With a number of different games now riffing on the Defense of the Ancients template, choosing LoL is a vote for choice over refinement.

The recent Demigod attempted to condense the formula, narrowing choice and restricting the player to a smaller base of select-able characters. LoL goes the other way, throwing a mass of heroes at the player to fight in teams of five. Selecting one is a daunting prospect for newcomers, but even old hats might find it difficult without extensive trial and error to find a character that suits their favored playing style. Each hero has a list of tags - established RPG tropes such as ‘tank’ and ‘mage’ - but vague descriptions or seemingly conflicting areas of focus can make it tough to get a quick read on them.

Beyond nifty graphics and sound, there’s a nigh-infinite number of ways to play League of Legends, thanks to its large library of Champions, each with their own abilities. From warriors, mages, robots, demons, pirates, ninjas, and anything else you can imagine, there’s a Champion for everyone. A self-policing online community punishes offenses such as player harassment, while rewarding positive examples like exceptional teamwork. If there’s anything to nitpick, it’s the fact that the audio experienced occasional dropouts during gameplay. This occurred only twice and both times accompanied instances of network lag, so this may be the underlying factor.

I can't say what effect the infuriating unlock system might have on LoL's competitive longevity -- the cynic in me says it'll stunt the game's long-term growth, creating an unmanageable gulf between the skilled and the wannabes -- but it's still the best game of its kind I've played. If nothing else, it definitely takes careful measures to ease in new players (meaning the non-Defense of the Ancients elite). If the developers can find it in their Grinch hearts to grow a little less miserly with the in-game buckets, League of Legends might just go down in competitive-gaming history right alongside the Street Fighters and the StarCrafts.