DOTA (Defense of the Ancients), a mod for “Warcraft III”, influenced and inspired a number of games throughout the years. “Demigod” is one such game, allowing players to take on the role of a unique character, level them up, and battle their way to victory. Despite being released in 2009, I still find myself playing it on occasion simply because…well…it’s fun to level up in games and kill stuff, am I right?
Demigod (PC)
The main menu allows the player to play a single or multiplayer game, adjust game options, change profiles, enable any mods they may have downloaded, and view achievements. Achievements actually serve a purpose, rewarding you with points that you can use in-game to purchase special items…more on that in a bit. The options menu is a fairly full one, allowing players to adjust screen resolution, change various graphics settings, toggle things like edge tracking and tool tips, and raise/lower sound levels. Obviously, there’s more, and suffice it to say that players won’t be disappointed by the amount of options they’ll have available to them.
Playing single or multiplayer allows you to assign the number of players on both sides, what characters they’ll be, and what map will be played. AI bots are available on multiple difficulty levels, though they aren’t required to fill slots and the like. Arena maps can be small or large, supporting a range between 2 vs 2 and 5 vs 5. The larger the map, the more players that the map supports. Teams can be unbalanced, which is a good way to get yourself acclimated to the game. I recommend throwing an extra AI bot or two on your side while just learning the ropes.
You can still set fire to enemy NPCs, newbie or not, and enjoy it.
There are two main types of demigods: assassins and generals. Assassins are all about doing direct damage while generals can hire minions (controllable NPCs) to fight alongside them. While it is clear that there is a forces of light side and a forces of dark side, players can pick and choose whatever characters they want for either side. Each character has its own unique talent tree and set of skills…eventually, you’ll find one or two that you’ll really like. I’m personal to Rook (a solid tank), Unclean Beast (poison galore), Torch Bearer (fire!), and Regulus (who wouldn’t want a crossbow?).
The battlefield is made up of towers, portals, flags, and base buildings. Both sides start off on an equal footing, but players will be able to capture flags and portals to help their war effort. Flags provide various bonuses to a team while portals spawn noncontrollable NPC units on a regular basis. Towers can’t be rebuilt once they are destroyed, but really pack a punch early on to prevent rushes. The game can be setup with different victory conditions in mind, but the game usually plays out the same every time: level up your character, upgrade your team as a whole via base upgrades, buy gear to provide bonuses, and hope that you can dominate the battlefield.
Capturing an enemy portal can be devastating.
I enjoy playing “Demigod” because of the customization options that are available. You can set a multitude of game options so that the game plays out the way YOU want. Want to increase the gold or XP earned per second? Check. Want to increase game speed? Check. Want to make NPCs tougher and spawn faster out of portals? Check. The list goes on. I also enjoy being able to purchase gear, though the list of purchasable items isn’t near as lengthy as say, “League of Legends” or “DOTA 2”. There’s no trading in items to make better ones either…it’s a simple and dumbed down system, though that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Finally, I enjoy being able to choose how I want to improve my character and team. I can neglect my character and just focus on improving my side’s forces (stronger NPCs and towers, increased XP and gold rate, etc.) or simply spend my gold on me, myself, and I.
“Demigod”, while being an older game, has aged well and remains to be on my list of all-time favorite games. My only complaint is the lack of DLC and support. I would like to see new characters and new maps but alas, the devs seemed to have forgotten about it. While the character list and maps are somewhat limited, I still think the game is worth the purchase. You can find it for ten bucks on Steam, which is a far cry from the forty I paid when the game was released in 2009. “Demigod” is certainly worth ten bucks and I wholeheartedly recommend checking it out.
Final Verdict: 9/10
Editor’s Note: Two of the in-game characters (Demon Assassin and Oculus) are locked by default. Starting a multiplayer game, then quitting, will unlock them in single player.
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You can find the game on Steam, here:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/202710/
You can view gameplay videos here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQHbtyl0QfM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_qcKplbEDc
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