Hearthstone Review

[Baneful]

Hearthstone Review

(Context: Hearthstone is still in Beta, so is subject to a lot of change, and most likely will improve over the years. This review isn't a final verdict. More of a first impression, based on the several hours that I have played it. I am someone who has experience in real-life trading-card-games, but not so much with Blizzard's MMO's, so my perspective may be totally different from someone who, for example, might be a RPG player looking for something new.)

With the success of World of Warcraft, Diablo and Starcraft, Blizzard strayed away from MMO RPG's this time in pioneering one of the first online card-based video games. It is heavily based on Magic the Gathering, often to the point of being a clone, but there's still plenty of merit to be had.

The learning curve is smooth, and probably anyone can get a basic gist of the game in just an hour. The rules are simple. Both heroes (you and your opponent) start with 30 life and the goal is to reduce the opponent's life to 0. You will do so with minions (creatures) that you can summon to beat the opponent down with, as well as spells you can cast on the side. It sounds a lot like Magic: the Gathering. That's because it is, but simplified to reach out to an audience that has never played a card game before.

Blizzard is well honest that it is copying MTG, in the same sense most 2D fighting games copy Street Fighter II, but it takes out many of the complex rules that might have made Magic frustrating to learn for some people. For example, while there is "summoning sickness" (minions cannot attack during the turn they are put into play), there is no tapping. Minions can target other minions or attack the other hero directly, with no blocking. Abilities are almost always either constant (they apply so long as the minion is on the field) or activate immediately on-summon, so there's never a question of when to activate a power. The dilemma of whether to attack, block or activate an ability is one less burden on your mind.

Also, you start with 4 cards instead of 7, of a deck with 30 cards. It's apparent that Hearthstone has benefited from seeing other card games evolve and observing their mistakes. Both players are allowed a flexible mulligan of placing as many cards from their opening hand into their deck and re-drawing new ones (without a -1 card penalty). This is because of Magic's problem of relying on cards in the deck (Lands) for mana sources. Hearthstone does use mana but makes it a mechanic that exists outside the deck, increasing your mana capacity steadily by 1 after the end of each of your turns. This ensures there's never imbalances where you might draw a mana instead, and it makes deckbuilding simple for newcomers to learn.

There's also another less flattering reason why Hearthstone did not include card's like Magic's Lands is because it uses a class-based attribute system rather than color-based system. In Magic, there are 6 colors and you can mix-match them whatever way you like. The more colors you add, the more risk and reward there is to be had. In Hearthstone there are 9 classes, each with their own set of exclusive cards that only they can use. Each class has a different focus.

For example, hunters specialize in dealing damage, mages cast powerful spells, preists have strong healing effects and Warlocks will sacrifice their own health to gain advantage. And there are Hero Powers (abilities you can activate, without using a card) that cost mana. For what it's trying to be, Hearthstone is striking a very good balance. The ability to choose between classes, to find a playstyle that fits you or to just have a variety of different playstyles adds depth the to game. At the same time, it doesn't punish new players, like Magic does, by giving players who can mix different types together an inherent advantage.

Initially, you begin with one hero and must defeat the other heroes in battle to be able to play as them. The tutorial is smooth, and rarely patronizing. One complaint is that early-on, you have a very limited card pool and must defeat enemies that have powerful cards without having much room to customize your own deck strategy. Thankfully, you there are ways to craft new cards. Since you can only use 2 of each card in a deck, you can craft the excess and convert them into cards you do want to have. You unlock cards by winning duels, though progression is slow as molasses.

The main incentive in making a free-to-play game like this is hoping that players will buy virtual cards, which is a good route to take if you're short on time but have the money to spend. You can go through this game just fine without spending a penny, but you'll have to grind a lot. When it comes to the fairness of this free-to-play model, it rests in the middle. You still need to make sacrifices to get the cards you need to stay competitive, one way or another, though the game is never cruel in pressuring you to buy temporary power-ups like many other games out there. But it does function as an RPG with levels. The more you play, the more levels you gain. Often times, it is sheer persistence that is responsible for you winning duels, but there's also a lot of skill to be had in the game-play itself.

A big plus-side to this game is the simple to use interface, which is colorful and brimming with personality, exuded in pleasing sound effects that add to the ambiance. The visuals are impressive, taking a color-saturated approach to ensure that in 5 or 10 years, this game doesn't start to look muddy and ugly. This minimalist, but still rich with personality and flavor, interface makes playing for extended periods of time easy to manage. Matching up with other players is a breeze, and everything works well in playing against online opponents. There is even a friends system in Blizzard's user interface, so you and your friends can play against each other. The fact that EXP is gained, whether you win or lose (granted, moreso if you win) gives players an incentive to play with honor and be a good sport, on top of that.

Much like World of Warcraft's Lich King, standing atop an icy tower staring below, Blizzard has been paying attention to card games and made one that would appeal to people who do not want to play a real-life card game. Though this game is still a very good ancillary game for those who do play card games in real life. The commute, the money, the time, and the logistical concerns of playing card games in real life, as well as organizing tournaments is gone. And with Hearthstone, this is exactly the kind of game we need in 2014. While this game may have been feasible to make in 2007 or even 2010, this is the perfect time, seeing the kind of world we live in with social networking. This accessibility should be seen as a downside, especially when compared to games like Dota 2 that are intentionally arcane and resent newcomers.

If you were to call this game a Magic the Gathering rip-off with a shiny coat of paint, you would be right. If you were to call this game a refined product, with a solid framework that is acutely aware of what this current generation of gamers want, you would be correct too. Their slogan is "a fast paced strategy game for everyone", and literally everyone. Someone who has never played a video game before could learn how to play this one if they want to. Despite the grinding and simplicity, this game doesn't do anything ostensibly wrong. It's just marketing to a mainstream audience and needs to stay profitably, so some niche interests may be compromised.

Blizzard has seen immense success with their MMO RPG's such as World of Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo, and I expect Hearthstone to exist alongside them in success. There are some flaws that need to be ironed out, mainly ones involving where Blizzard wants to go with this card game in order to expand it's concepts to add more strategy (whilst staying accessible) but these things will likely come in time. This game is going to have to delicately balance adding depth to keep established players interested and still being friendly to newcomers. It has the personality and charm that Blizzard has built up by now with it's World of Warcraft universe. It just needs more of an identity.

As it is now, it's not a great game yet. Though it can, and likely will, be with time. It's still very good though, and if you're remotely interested in card games, you should download this, if only just to see what Blizzard does with it over the next few years

Pros:
+ Simple, easy-to-use, colorful cheeky interface
+ A very accessible game for just about anyone
+ Still has some depth and strategy for a simple game
+ Improves upon the foundation of traditional TCG's by effective using technology
+ Playing against friends and strangers online

Cons:
- Is still a watered-down Magic the Gathering clone
- Can feel a bit grind-heavy at times


7.5/10

[dabontv]

Nice review, been playing this game a lot recently