While these two mega-popular games may very well be based on the same classic game, the directions they've taken couldn't be any more different

As a gamer whose job it is to play and (sometimes) critically analyze the games I play, one question that I've always found baffling is when peers or readers ask, "Which is better, game X or game Y?" Now, this question may sound harmless on paper, but the problem that usually arises is that most of the people who ask this question tend to assume that the answer is fairly straightforward, even if game X and game Y could be on opposite ends of the video game spectrum. Of course, video game comparisons are rarely as easy as "one has you blowing things up while the other one involves raising cuddly monsters so that you can beat on other cuddly monsters," and what invariably comes from these evaluations is that the recipient walks away with his or her vision of game defined by the comparison created.

Take, for example, League of Legends (LoL) and Heroes of Newerth (HoN), which are the two games that many players have asked me to weigh in on - as if hoping that my divine judgment can save them from spending a little bit of time and money to check out a new game (realize that nothing substitutes for personal experience). Of course, many of these comparisons have already been made, and Fony did a commendable job in checking out both of these Defense of the Ancients (DotA)-inspired games in his most recent BFF Report but, since the BFF Report can only be so long and each of these games is so deep, I've decided that, this one time, I would step in and finally compare these apples and oranges.

So which is a better game, League of Legends or Heroes of Newerth? Well, it's really more complicated than you think.

To begin with, I've been an avid DotA, a mega-popular Warcraft III mod that both League of Legends and Heroes of Newerth are based on, fan for about two years now, having been introduced to DotA quite late in my gaming career. I ultimately ended up buying a copy of Warcraft III and its Frozen Throne expansion just to play DotA (I have still never even touched Warcraft III), and that's one purchase I've never regretted making. With regard to Heroes of Newerth and League of Legends, I've already laid down my initial findings on both games, and for both, I had high praise for the developers and the delivered content.

Some players are quick to note that League of Legends was designed by none other than the DotA Allstars creator himself, Guinsoo, and so Riot Games (the developers of LoL) has a pedigree claim to the DotA-successor title in the same way any other sequel is made. Heroes of Newerth, on the other hand, has no such flagship developer with incredible ties to the DotA community, although S2 Games (the developers of HoN) notes that they did get the blessing of IceFrog, the current developer of DotA Allstars. While I have no real opinion with regard to who has "more authority" to create a DotA sequel, it should be noted that there have been many video game sequels developed by completely different studios - Obsidian Entertainment, for example, picked up the sequels to BioWare's Knights of the Old Republic and Neverwinter Nights, with both sequels receiving great reviews.

It's actually quite interesting to see that, while League of Legends is made by the creator of DotA, it's actually Heroes of Newerth that most resembles DotA. I've noted this before, but HoN looks, feels, plays and, at one point, was even being developed along the same lines as DotA. League of Legends, on the other hand, has, from the very beginning, set out to "re-create" the DotA experience. In this way, League of Legends is reminiscent of DotA, whereas Heroes of Newerth is, on most levels, DotA. In a sense, this was a huge gamble by Riot Games, as they were, and still are, basically reinventing the wheel. It's not to say that this was a bad choice, but gamers tend to be fickle creatures and, because of this, some fans that went to League of Legends demanding (and expecting) a prettier, more responsive version of DotA ended up being disappointed by the sheer amount of change. The question is, however, do you judge the quality of a sequel based on its similarity to the original, or do you look to see how the game has evolved and grown since then?