Elyse Shumway

League of Legends allows for small tweaks to the player's experience with their champion. The rune system (soon to be revamped and replaced) allows champions to begin the game with small stat boosts. By taking masteries, a champion receives gradual increases to their effectiveness, sometimes in the form of unique passive abilities to structure one's gameplay aro

2K's multiplayer online-only Evolve is under fire for this very reason. The game already has several DLCs and a deluxe edition available on top of its $60 price tag. Some critics claim this is equivalent to Evolve being a free-to-play game with microtransactions. Others, who support Evolve 's unique 4v1 approach to multiplayer and gorgeous graphics, hope that paying more money upfront will benefit and support future work. Adding more opportunities for players to pay more for games—through DLC and custom items—is a strategy that has earned developers more money thus far, so it's unlikely to end anytime s

Valve posted on the Dota 2 website that it hopes the new series will address some of the specific issues that the game has faced within the competitive scene. Namely, teams that want to participate in the Major Championships will have to have a set roster all year long. This seems to be an attempt to get teams to stop reorganizing or recruiting team members shortly before The International each y

No list of Blizzard cinematics would be complete without mention of the original World of Warcraft reveal trailer. In many ways, this is the trailer that kicked off the modern era of Blizzard gaming. The reveal trailer takes players back to Azeroth after Warcraft 3 and offers a brand-new perspective on the Warcraft setting. Aside from Trolls, just about every race and class get some love in this trai

Meanwhile, Dota 2 matches can average around 50 minutes per match. A huge complaint among the Dota 2 community is the inability to concede a match. However, comebacks are much more common in these matches . Many of the game's most amazing turnarounds could never have happened if Valve had allowed the implementation of a surrender opt

The two (former) professionals are Olzhas "Naiman" Batyrbekov and Dan "Alchemixt" Walton. The two lesser known players were only identified by their gamertags, XzaM and Damnery. While Blizzard has banned players for offenses like botting and win trading in the past, this is the first time they have publicly named the players. It seems like they're stepping up their efforts to clean up the professional scene as Blizzcon gets clo

Arizona State took home top notch gaming systems for their runner-up finish. Heroes of the Storm may still be in beta until June, but its appearance on national television last night got the eSports scene some of the best mainstream exposure its had

Most early video games, such as Pong in 1972, featured multiplayer modes. This was likely due to expectations from analog games, which were almost always played in person with friends and family. Early multiplayer modes were often turn-based, co-op arcade games—when one player died, another would take over or continue until all lives were extinguis

This weekend included a banner day for eSports with a competition for Blizzard's Heroes of the Storm getting broadcast live on ESPN 2 . More on that later, but first, there were also major developments across Dota 2 , Hearthstone and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. It's all on this week's eSports Rep

This Razer headset offers high fidelity audio through its large 50 mm custom-tuned drivers and features sound isolation so gamers can focus on which direction the opposing team's Reaper is running in from. The plush ear cushions and wide headband make it comfortable for an all day session, while the fully retractable microphone boom offers a flexible design so players can yell "get on the point!" with e

RISK: Starcraft Collector's Edition Board Game is a uniquely Blizzard take on the classic strategy game. Just like in the video game, players must choose between the Terrans, Protoss or Zerg and then head into battle in an attempt to gain control of the Koprulu Sector. While base-building in Starcraft the video game can get complicated at times, this board MOBA game Updates follows traditional RISK rules, meaning anyone ages 10 and up can jump right in. The Starcraft theme touches every part of this game, including the highly-detailed custom playing pie

Now, online multiplayer games are the norm. Even series that feature single-player campaigns, like the Call of Duty , Battlefield , and Gears of War franchises, are better known for their multiplayer. Games that once featured only single-player stories, such the Uncharted and Assassin's Creed series, have implemented online multiplayer in sequels. And although more games are incorporating multiplayer elements, few allow for local multiplayer; the focus is almost entirely on virtual shared gaming experien