In Praise of DotA 2

I first came to play DotA at the back end of 2012, when a gaming friend of mine gave me a spare key for the beta. While I was no stranger to competitive PC gaming (I had played Counter-Strike:Source for a team sponsored by Ebuyer, and travelled to various tournaments – with varied results), I had never played a multi-player online battle arena (commonly known as a MOBA) game before. The concept of a MOBA is quite insane to the uninitiated, and incredibly difficult to explain to newcomers, when the friend who provided me with the key first starting blathering on about last-hits, jungling, hard carry, support players and Roshans I must admit I began to lapse into a jargon-induced coma. I will refrain from going to deep into the rules, roles and strategies of DotA 2, I am not qualified to do so, and that is not the intention of this piece. My aim is to spread the word of DotA 2 to the masses, to testify to the beauty of this expertly honed masterpiece of multiplayer game design and balance. At its very highest level players show a deftness of touch, timing and audacious skill that is a wonder to behold. But even at its lowest levels, this game can be great fun and provide endless entertainment. Yes, DotA 2 has a learning curve so steep that a few poor souls will risk falling away before they reach true enlightenment, I can only offer one piece of advice to you – persist!

A Song of Ice and Fire RPG Review

A Song of Ice and Fire has spawned a couple of tabletop role-playing games, both released before the television adaptation shot George R.R. Martin’s creation to global fame. The first attempt was produced by a little-known company named Guardians of Order and published by well-known rpg publisher White Wolf Games. By all accounts this was a fairly straightforward d20 system game (although a version compatible with the Tri-Stat dX rules was also released), and won a silver Ennie in 2006. Critical acclaim was, however, unable to save Guardians of Order, and the company soon folded.