League of Legends

I´m curently up at 4.30 AM because my adrenaline levels are through the roof. The reason is League of Legends. This game is hands down one of the best I´ve played this year, and thats despite it´s lack of content. This game currently have ONE map to play on and STILL is so fun I´ve probably spent 8 hours playing it tonight. And probably 40 or 50 hours total and I feel like I´m just beginning to get into this game. 
 

LoL follows the Blizzard concept of being very easy to get into and very hard to master. This leads to something you think is really fun in the beginning and so frikkin instense you cant stop playing once you really start to get into the tactics of it. If any of you have played alot of World of Warcraft arena at higher ratings you know exacly what feeling I´m talking about. You concentrate so hard you zone away from the rest of the room and you start to really trying to nail every little second of your playtime. 
LoL is slowly becoming a real addiction for me. You run into alot of random games where you just get your ass handed to you. But if you get teamed up with 4 team mates that knows what they´re doing while playing a class you really know how to play well and combine that with good teamwork you get a game full of so much gameplay satisfaction its crazy.  
And let me tell you right now, this is coming from someone who didnt even try DOTA back when it was a Warcraft 3 mod. I went into this fresh and the sensation of finally starting to get into the flow is, as I said, comparable to Blizzard games like Warcraft 3 or WoW and their fast paced, combo intense, micro heavy gameplay. One game usually takes between 35 to 70 minutes but even after a 70 frikkin minute game you still instantly queue up for another one.  
 
Riot games have nailed supertight controls, a fantastic artstyle and an MMO style account management client where you actually level your account instead of a character. You can spec into different trees and buy runes that enhances your game when your actually playing. So on top of this fast paced, adrenaline pumping gameplay you have this client running in the background tracking your stats and earning you expeirence as you play.  
 On top of this the game is 100% FREE to play. Just go to their homepage and create an account and youre good to go. If you decide that you like the game enough (wich you will) you can buy skins, heroes and XP boosts for money. Its an excellent business model that hooks you and then makes you feel good about giving them your money. 
 
This holiday season is full of AAA console titles but I find myself playing more of this free PC game from a newly founded studio instead. They were really on to something with DOTA back in the day and with League of Legends this concept gets its own game and an ability to stretch out to the masses and I feel I have to do my part in spreading this message onwards.   
 

The only downside right now is the lack of content. There are loads and loads of characters (or summoners as the game calls them) but the game lacks maps (something I know is on its way) and alot of customization options. The game would really benefit from some announcer voice and UI options. But as I said this cant stop me from feeling more and more addicted to this game for every day.  
If you have a super tight game where both teams are masterful at what they do you end up feeling like you had the most gaming fun of the year at the end of the match. You also make alot of friends with whom you can make arranged teams with in the future (via the built in Friends feature of the account client). Oh and speaking of the client. Its a program that lies on your desktop where you can manage your account, your specs, visit the store, join chatrooms, manage your friendslist and more, outside of both a browser and the game. It also acts as a patcher wich is especially handy since this game is in its early stages. 
 
You can approach it from alot of different angles. Are you tired of your MMO and need a break from it? Are you an old DOTA veteran? Are you and old school Warcraft 3 Battle.net player that likes the fast paced micro or are you a causal fantasty fan looking to get into something new and completely fresh? 
The team at RIOT runs a superb community support, valuing each and every new member. They have started a program to help as many new players as possible to get into this. They are also great at managing the community and making YOU feel appriciated and valued like few before them. 
 

I just felt I needed to write something before I could go to bed. This game is totally addicting for anyone willing to give it a try. Sure there´s alot of jerks like in any online game and they will give you shit when you´re new and cant micro your hero with 300 CPM (clicks per minute) but stick with it, get better and join the game that manages to scratch both the progaming RTS nerve and the progaming MMO nerve at the same time. I´m starting to get into the zone with this game like I did with WoW, WC3 and Quake 3 before it. Total concentration and superfast reflexes.  
Its way too easy to dismiss this game as "something I´ll have fun with for a while but that isn´t really worth my attention right now". To think like that is making the biggest mistake of 2009 when it comes to gaming. Due to its low profile this game needs word of mouth just like I´m doing here. Try it out and spread the word!  
When this game starts to expand its feature set and builds up contentwise there will be nothing stopping it. 
If you have enough time to dedicate to one game (much like an MMO) you owe it to yourself to start digging into this one.     
  
Oh, and this game combined with a custom iTunes playlist consisting of the World of Warcraft and Wrath of the Lich King OST´s might be the best custom soundtrack fit of all time. I´m not kidding. The tunes of Elwynn forest and Sholazar Basin is a 110% perfect fit for this game.