In One Sentence™ - Heroes Of The Storm - Hero Overviews [Very Short Reviews Of Each, Currently Text-Only]

[In light of the recent 'Heroes Of The Storm 2.0' release - even though this was a 'work in progress' since I started playing 'Heroes' again a bit ago and it is not fully compiled yet - I wanted to get this hopefully-slightly-helpful information up right away for everyone... So here it is - being added to as I complete it but without any Screenshots yet - I am collecting some together and plan to place them in-line within ...Soon™]

Update: Last Added - Arthas on 2017.05.04

In One Sentence™

A Heroes Of The Storm

Hero Thingy Overview  

By: The Game Tips And More Blog

Presented in Alphabetical Order, in a Document-sorta-but-not-really format

[Initially, was invited to the Heroes Of The Storm Beta; but was not able to play much at the time and so I didn't write about it much back then. I did work on a few articles, such as this one, adding to it the bit that I did play. Only recently (before I knew about "Heroes Of The Storm 2.0") I got back into this fun game, tallying up my own opinions and favourites, of each and every hero in the game. Seeing "Version 2.0" come along, I felt that, even though I have not fully compiled every singly hero yet, I wanted to share what I did have done, so that everyone - and especially newcomers to the game - could get a quick idea of each Hero and how they played in the game, helping them make a choice as to which one to try. I will be returning to this post and adding more Heroes as I play them... I hope you enjoy these little snippets of info for each one - and See You In The Game!]

Rating Key (if applicable to Hero, when used):

* = Heroes I ‘Liked’ (fit my personal playstyle(s), or is unique in some way)

** = Heroes that are A Personal Favourite (I myself would play often or ‘mainly’ would use (may not match your individual preferences dear reader, this is just a Personal Rating of mine))

Auriel = Finding myself playing more offensively than defensively with this Hero, I enjoyed her AOE and healing capabilities.

Alarak = With skills focusing on mainly attacking Heroes, in the right hands this high-damage-potential Assassin could be quite deadly.


Artanis * = Another Hero with skills focused on killing other Heroes, Artanis comes with high damage output potential - and although I was left feeling oddly ‘limited’ playing him, Artanis was fun to play overall.


Arthas = A mobile tank - big, tough, but a little slow [in my opinion] - with some light healing (and the possibility to heal yourself) and some nice offensive moves as well, Arthas can become quite competent in The Nexus.


Azmodan ** = This large and lumbering behemoth is capable of dealing out huge damage as a "Ranged Specialist" - just be careful as you have fun creating your own armies on the way to dish it out on the enemies’ base, as you are also a ‘heavy target’, so to speak. A Personal Favourite.

Gone Home - First Impressions/Mini-Review (Text-Only Version)

When beginning to play Gone Home, one of the first games that came to mind was "The Uninvited", a point-and-click adventure game from the 90's, where you did not have to have fast 'twitch skills' to kill oncoming enemies or opposing players, but you had to be able to learn; searching, exploring a house and collecting and organizing information, all the time exposing more and more of the storyline (that you did not know fully at the outset) and that's what this game is [including being scary!].

Gone Home is an interactive story game, based mainly on exploration, played in the first-person [you 'look out through your character's eyes' as you move around] so, while it is not a 'point-and-click' adventure game, like Myst/Riven, any of the Quest series' (King's Quest, Police Quest, Space Quest, etc),  Day of the Tentacle and similar games, it definitely evokes ideas of exploring and analysis of the environment, as part of developing the story, as these types of games did.

Without giving away exactly what the storyline is, I will say the game craftily led me to believe many things that it wasn't (or did not not turn out to be). I thought, with the dark and scary, empty house (complete with rainstorm happening outside and the scary noises that go with it), it was certain to be a story lined with death or gore, but this game is not rated Mature and it is not "18+" rated either [although the main plot line is more for Teens than it is for Children, but then who is letting their child play 'explore the dark and scary house' games anyway?]. There were many elements, items and scripted moments, that lead you towards inferring things that the game is not - and while that is arguably a lower-brow tactic - it still does not take away from the overall feel of the game. Indeed, the overall enjoyment of the game itself is not affected by these little 'tricks', even if it does turn out to be somewhat self-defeating and make the ending seem somewhat anti-climactic as a result. While still fun in spite of all of this, this game is a prime example of 'the journey is more important than the destination/ending' - some may see this as a caveat and some will not.

A more obvious caveat with this game, is that it is short. Very, very short. As in, 'played-on-my-lunch-break-on-my-laptop-and-completed-it' short, if rushed through. While a review found online slated the game as "feeling like a longer demo" and while the material is simplistic and can be finished in an hour or two, I feel that this game is more like a dish at a fine restaurant: yes, you could gobble it up in minutes and leave, but what would be more enjoyable is to savour each moment, enjoy each bite and spend hours lingering and sampling, looking around and taking it all in over a longer period of time. If one's time is taken in the game, every nook-and-cranny is explored, every piece of evidence collected; much [much!] more enjoyment will be taken out of the experience than if one were just looking for how fast they can complete yet another title. I feel this game is meant to be gone through slow and enjoyed, like a good book.

Technically, the game's approach is simplistic too, with simple environments and sounds. The main sounds for the game are the storm outside, the creaking of the house (doors, drawers, etc) and the Narrator herself. There is only the one house to explore, but by the end it does not feel like it needed more (again, the simplicity of the game does not detract from the enjoyment of the game). What did impress me was the collection of textures [the materials on the shapes] that were used. The detail of the textures and clarity of them was fantastic. Wood and paper looked realistic, signs and labels could all be read easily, and the sheer variety of materials from the time period (whether photographed or created) was significant. The environment itself was meant to be a North American 1990's family house and it was represented wonderfully. If one lived in this type of setting in the 90's (and especially if you were 'coming of age'/a teenager during that time), you will be lovingly enveloped in decor, music and 'attitude' [mindset] of that decade.

While the story itself is simplistic (but meaningful) and the technical aspects are somewhat low-key, the winning element of the game is how the story is presented (the exploration). By exploring everything yourself, you are delving up the story at your own pace. As you go searching throughout the house, characters and plot lines are opened up and revealed to you. It is much like an interactive book. Given the financial and work-force constraints of the 'indie' development team (only three people at the outset, I believe), it was wise to pick a solitary character exploring an environment - and they did wonderfully with what they had on-hand. Utilizing the mindset of a teenager during that time (of calendar and of age), with creepy shadows and scripted sounds, the game engine is used well, in regards to portraying the story and setting, even if it is not exercised to it's fullest extent. Indeed, not using the game engine to inject excessive effects lends even more feeling to the reality of the environment and representation of the time period - where technology did not yet permeate every aspect of daily life.

I have to end this article by saying that some players and reviewers (especially in regards to the length of the game) have said that this is less of a 'game' as it is a 'demo' or 'art project' - but in the sense of competition or completion, they are somewhat correct - there are no other players to combat and no ending antagonist to overcome and you are seemingly placed in the middle of a story, playing out 'chapter three' in a person's life and then it is over. In that sense, it is not really a 'traditional' video game. If anyone were to ask me about the game, I am going to refer to it [as I have above] as more of an 'interactive book'. I could say that it is basically a point-and-click adventure game [like the ones stated at the beginning of this post] made after they were able to have "3D" graphics and as far as technology and storyline development, that's mostly true. But to me, overall Gone Home really is more akin to a short story. The characters aren't deeply developed and you experience only a portion of events in the life of the persons involved. Still, in the end these limitations don't go against the enjoyment of the game itself. You may or may not identify with the characters and what they are going through; but even if you do not, the presentation of the game is lovingly crafted and the overall experience of the game is enjoyable - even if that experience does not last as long we would like. But then, isn't that the same with every good experience in life?


See You At Home

Hitman: Absolution - First Impressions and Screenshots

I finally picked up the latest iteration of the Hitman Series, Hitman: Absolution, starring Agent 47 as the main anti-hero, id est killing the bad guys but never quite [arguably] becoming one of them. Differing from the last couple of Hitman publications, Absolution has an overarching story, connections being made in a chronological manner throughout the various stages and settings. Characters are introduced and developed via cutscenes, as the plot is pushed further by your completing the next mission for a feeling of engagement in the storyline.

I personally liked this approach, as opposed to the last couple of Hitman games, which seemed like mostly 'replays' of old missions from previous games (which in and of itself, isn't a bad thing). While there were similar settings, such as a Chinese Market Square, they were sufficiently changed enough - especially with the graphical improvements and new gameplay interface - to seem varied enough to be enjoyable. There were even updated versions of [personal] 'old favorites' that I waited excitedly for (such as a 'Hotel' stage). Slightly more varied than the old versions, if you include the new "Instinct" game mechanic, these levels felt 'fresh', even if they weren't new.

The "Instinct" game mechanic seems like an effort to simplify the game, making it easier for newcomers and those who had trouble with the complexity and scope of the previous Hitman games. Indeed, I remember reading a lot over the years of people saying the Hitman games were "too big" or "too complex" and that it didn't help the player much at all, as far as where to go and what to do. It "plopped you down in a large area with just a map", they felt. Of course, that was the draw for all of the other people, the complexity and seeming openness of the game was enjoyed, where you had to figure out everything yourself. You could decide what to skip and what to do and could decide for yourself how to do it. The new "Instinct" mechanic of Absolution doesn't take too much away from this (you can turn it 'off' if desired) and it actually adds to the cinematic feel of the game by taking the 'player out of playing', so to speak, which results in more of a feeling that you are 'playing Agent 47', guiding him (and using his innate abilities) through the game, as opposed to 'actually being Agent 47' and figuring everything out yourself heavy-handedly. I suspect this more objective approach has already been a point of contention since the game was released.

An example of Hitman: Absolution's new 'Hitman Instinct' game mechanic, showing how Agent47 can 'sense' enemies in and around the nearby area and estimates where they may be heading.

When utilizing Agent 47's 'Instinct', the game shows where 47 'senses' there are enemies and where they are and shows you on the screen with outlined shapes. It even shows where 47 'calculates' enemies will be moving to, showing you their intended path with a line of flame and where they will stand still with a larger lick of fire. This is where the adrenalin-dipped decision making and primal 'danger' awareness kicks in during the game, as a player can choose to set up an engagement with an enemy, or stealthily avoid these paths and points.

For those who do not like or want the new game mechanic at all, it can be turned off, mainly by choosing a higher difficulty level. There are five to choose from and higher difficulties result in more 'sensitive' or 'aware' enemies, tougher enemies (wearing more body armor one assumes) and more of them. For those who are new to the game or having trouble with it, the difficulty can be lowered as well, with less enemies, enemies with less skill (not as good at aiming) and less awareness (having a bit more 'tunnel-vision') allowing you to sneak around them easier. The option to have this game mechanic off or on, at the players choice, is nice and was no doubt included to appease those who would not like it's hints and guidance. New players (those talking about the games' difficulty in the past) can have it on and still enjoy the action and storyline as well. It feels like an 'attempt to please everybody' - and I assume it will work well in that regard. (I haven't read any Reviews of the game (to avoid exposure to the material within) before I purchased it, but I assume that once I indulge in others' opinions, I will see much disagreement on that last sentence).

View of a hotel cleaning supply room from an air ventilation shaft. Click to see Full Size

The game itself felt atmospheric and cinematic. The music changed as action waxed and waned. Enemies ignored or chased you around winding levels that you had to discover and remember. The graphics were spectacular, with detailed textures, dark and gritty lighting and shading. The core Hitman gameplay was there - even if it wasn't there for very long. This game felt very short to me. Perhaps it was the somewhat simple Television Movie Special plot, perhaps it was the number of missions (although they were split up into sections). Perhaps it was merely enjoying it so much that I wanted more, but just during the course of writing this article off and on, I have completed the game in it's storyline entirety (not counting Challenges and Item Collection) in just over 20 hours. That doesn't seem very long, but I suppose it is to be expected in a game that is more like "Max Payne" and less like "Skyrim" (more Action and less RPG). You could keep playing after finishing the main story, select past levels and retry them, doing them 'cleaner' for a better score or achievement, or look around and discover new weapons and pathways, or just redo any level you wanted to for fun.

An example of how the levels are split up into sections and how you can select past levels to replay them.

An example of the updated game engine, with higher-detailed character models, textures and environments.
Click to see Full Size

Other than the copy-pasted 'general population' mannequin-people utilized in larger crowds (used understandably to keep memory/resource usage of the game down of course - all of the 'main' NPCs have good detail to them), I personally liked the attention  paid to smaller details, such as the amount of debris scattered around the levels - things like cups, papers and garbage, all part of the gritty 'lived-in-ness' of the environment, adding to the realism. It's nice to see games that pay more attention to the surroundings/settings these days, as opposed to the stark, clean-floor environments in games of yesteryear.

Overall, Hitman: Absolution was very enjoyable. It was great fun to figure out steps and schemes for the various areas and carry them out with cold calculation. I laughed out loud a few times and grit my teeth in anger at the more difficult parts, playing them over and over again, trying to figure out new ways to accomplish the objectives and complete the contracts. Despite feeling shorter (perhaps just because it was so enjoyable) and despite some changes that others might not entirely like, I still suggest trying it (especially if you are a fan of the previous games in the Hitman series). I personally had a lot of fun with the game - and isn't that the most important thing?

Have fun with Absolution and See You In The Games!