Blizzard began BlizzCon 2013 with an in-depth look at Heroes of the Storm, their free-to-play MOBA game. Heroes, formerly known as Blizzard All-Stars and Blizzard DOTA, allows players to control characters from the Diablo, StarCraft and WarCraft universes in team-based battles.
Some of the famous heroes and villains featured in the game include Kerrigan, Diablo, Illidan and Arthas. Each character possesses different abilities that can be upgraded over the course of a match. As a result, they can contribute to their team's victory in different ways. For example, Kerrigan is really good at ambushing enemies and finishing them off while Malfurion will find success in providing support to teammates.
The overall objective of each match is to overwhelm the enemy team's defenses and destroy their base. The battlefields between the two bases provide players with plenty of opportunities to turn the fight in their favor. You can capture watch towers to give your team vision of key portions of the battlefield. If you defeat mercenaries at camps throughout the map, they'll help in battle.
Each map in Heroes contains its own surprises. In one map, you can collect treasure and deliver it to the undead pirate Blackheart so that he'll turn his cannons on your opponents. Another battleground has underground mines where you can collect skulls and use them to build friendly golems.
While Heroes will be free to download and play, the game will presumably have microtransactions. The game's website mentions that players will have access to dozens of unique skins and mounts for their characters. It seems safe to say that these cosmetic options can be purchased for real-world money.
Hearthstone is playable at BlizzCon 2013 this weekend. If you're not in attendance, you can sign up for the beta through the official website. No word yet on when the test will start. In the meantime, check out the cinematic teaser along with the first gameplay trailer and screenshots below.
