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League of Legends

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9.3 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 32 critic reviews
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Based on 123 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Riot Games

Developer: Riot Games

Genre(s): Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game

Players: Thousands

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: October 27, 2009

Summary

Join forces with your closest allies as you unite to defeat your foes in deadly multiplayer battle arenas. League of Legends combines elements from both strategy and role playing games to bring you a unique and dynamic player experience. As a Summoner, you will have your own distinct, customizable avatar that grows in power as you move through the game. In each battle you will select and call forth one of dozens of Champions to control and engage in head-to-head combat against teams of highly trained warriors. Choose your allies wisely, for the stakes are high. In the League, every battle means more than life or death as the balance of power shifts with each victory or defeat. [Riot Games]

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

1UP

The biggest change to the formula, however, is the persistence of your player as a "Summoner," not to be confused with the 30-odd in-game characters, which get a clean slate at the start of every match.

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GameShark

Free to play and addictive as hell, League of Legends delivers a really entertaining, competitive environment for RTS twitch players.

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GameZone

League of Legends has replayability in spades for anyone who loves romps in real-time strategy format. It’s attractive, accessible, and above all else, League of Legends delivers heaps of fun.

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Cheat Code Central

Getting hooked up with players in the lobby is about as easy as it gets. The matches are short enough and challenging enough to suit virtually all skill levels. The time I spent with this game has been fun, and with a good community base, it can only get better with time.

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GamingXP

There are always some people online you can fight with! If you liked the mod GOTA for Warcraft III, you will definitely love this game!

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ActionTrip

The fact remains that if you're looking for a fast, smart and fun fantasy themed team-based strategy game, you can't go wrong here.

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PC Gamer

The most accessible, rewarding and endearing of DotA's offspring yet. [Jan 2010, p.72]

Gamer Limit

LoL is a great, free alternative to DotA that caters both to newbies, and the hardcore.

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Vandal Online

Demanding, addictive, fun and free to play, League of Legends provides intense and absorbing moments.

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Gamervision

When it comes to actually playing the game, something that's obviously very important, LoL provides an addictive experience that should feel reminiscent of any other game in the genre.

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SpazioGames

League of Legends bring back the classic DotA gameplay and graphic style adding new heroes and a better battle system. Hundreds of combination of Heroes and abilities make the game suitable for old DotA players and new ones that want to try the game for free. Pretty good matchmaking system and nice server support from GOA actually make this game the best of his genre. Let's wait only for some new maps and new game options.

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GameTrailers

The game largely succeeds more than it falters, and anyone with a soft spot for deep, team-based strategy should not pass up this substantial gem.

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Game Revolution

A very well-done game.

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GameSpy

The best game of its kind I've played. If nothing else, it definitely takes careful measures to ease in new players (meaning the non-Defense of the Ancients elite).

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Eurogamer Spain

This is what Demigod should have been. An addictive experience with a great multiplayer mode.

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Game Chronicles

Despite being released probably a bit earlier than optimal, League of Legends is still a very solid game that combines many of the fun elements found in RTS, RPG, and online multiplayer PvP games.

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Eurogamer

More time, heart and money has gone into this than any other free game I can remember playing, and I think Riot Games is going to make good on its promise of post-release development. Until further notice, this is the DOTA game you should be playing.

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IGN

But sometimes it feels like League of Legends throws too much at the player, both in terms of the number of champions and the general confusion of the larger battles. While that's not enough to dampen your enthusiasm of the game, the vague status of the launch and the more-than-occasional hostility of the community just might.

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Multiplayer.it

Warcraft's mod DotA revives in this free to play mix between a strategy and a role playing game. Worth a try.

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Armchair Empire

You can certainly play this game offline, but you’ll find that the artificial intelligence leaves a bit to be desired (as is often the case) meaning that the minions you face up against are pretty easy to defeat. The online play works well and is easy to get into with the matchmaking abilities built in.

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Game Informer

It's too bad that Riot Games didn't take more chances with League of Legends, because the basic premise is good enough to have made Defense of the Ancients a subgenre unto itself. [Jan 2010, p.89]

GamingTrend

But, If you have ever wondered what it would be like to play multiplayer Warcraft III without the base building and minion control then I think you should definitely give League of Legends a shot. The fact that there are only three maps to play sucks, but the developer is committed to constantly updating and adding to the game.

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3DJuegos

League of Legends is an intelligent and shocking remake of the Defense of the Ancients concept.

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PC Gamer UK

Less adventurous heroes might be scared off, but if more is merrier, LoL is perfect for your advanced tower defending fix. [Christmas 2009, p.112]

GameStar

The game is finished and at least sometimes it’ even possible to buy additional content. As far as the shop problems go, it almost seems fitting that the game is called LoL. Still, the fast battles between the heroes are highly motivating.

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PC Zone UK

Graphically dated. [Feb 2010, p.76]

Total PC Gaming

Does little wrong, but efforts made to broaden its appeal may prove largely fruitless. [Issue#28, p.52]

AceGamez

It has the potential to be marvellous, and it’s still a cracking, deep strategy that deserves your attention, but until some new content is chucked into the mix it’s best to leave this for a while and let it pack itself out with new stuff to make your online adventures that little more worthy of your money.

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Gaming Nexus

A solid and promising free-to-play multiplayer RTS that seems to have been released a bit too early. Even so, there's a lot of fun in the content that is available.

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GameSpot

This competitive strategy game is fun, though it offers only a fraction of what you should expect from a retail product.

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Boomtown

Underneath the tough exterior is an enjoyable game, but it's impossible to ignore the miserable, unaided struggle to get there and persistent balancing issues throughout.

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RPGamer

Overall, League of Legends holds a lot of promise, but comes up short as a retail product.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 9.3 (out of 10) based on 123 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Ken F gave it an8:
If you ever re-installed Warcraft 3 to play Defence of the Ancients, this free to play game is for you. No cash required to be on even footing with day 1 players, a bit of an MMO aspect (3 tree Blizzard system, Runes allow some customization), give this game alot of promise. Unfortunitly, with only one map available, gameplay can get old quickly. With team\guild\ladder support still being worked on, it makes it difficult to invest time for the hyper-competitive player. Though, being F2P, what do you have to lose by trying it?

Martijn S gave it a7:
This game is enjoyable, but as it stands now I will not buy it as a retail product, because one map simply isn't enough, the "worldmap" of the realm where League of Legends takes place has ~13 maps, yet there's only one available. I will stay with the free version for now. The artstyle/graphics is something you can compare to Warcraft and the likes with a little bit of cellshade, it should run on most computers quite properly with only a little bit of slowdown when there are *lots* of mobs* (which only tends to happen near the end of a match, at that point you're either winning or losing). Presentationwise this game delivers solid for a title that's free. That aside: The gameplay is amazingly fun and the differences between the champions are something you need to explore before getting really good in the game. Do not be mistaken by it being your average RTS, as Riot calls it, it's a MOBA, a hybrid between RTS and RPG, if that still doesn't ring a bell, compare it to a little WC3 mod called DOTA. It's a rough diamond, one that has potential in my opinion.

John S gave it a10:
Each new character you play is a completely new experience, in addition to the original 40ish characters available, Riot continues to create new ones. This game takes a lot of skill and timing to play, but mostly team work is required. As you play, you will develop relationships with others online and you'll find yourself a part of one or many crews of players. Extremely enjoyable on so many levels, and best of all, free.

Daniel D gave it a9:
Very fun for the casual player. Takes too long to be competitive due to the time involved in runes and masteries.

Timothy K gave it a5:
I guess I'm alone on this but this game is so boring. It's like WoW mechanics just pick a spell pick a bad guy and hope you don't run out of mana/health. The teamwork aspect is nice however doesn't hold enough to spark my interest.

Will B gave it a10:
This game is great! It's absolutely free and the graphic style is unique. The learning curve is great and when you start playing with friends it just gets better! Not to mention the friendly comunity and fun atmosphere.

Johan G gave it a10:
Its a strange rare game. You need to love old 2D game graphics. Also you need to love you will and get pwnd now and then. But Make friends use the chat system. Make a team and build your way up. Even i have lost 40 before i get 1 win. So its hard. But its fun when you feel how to play a this :). Because off some bugs i rate 10. If the fixs it i gave it a 11. Join its free The min rate are people that are crying because off there lose.

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League of Legends

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