The top teams have been closed beta-testing the game for awhile now; the fact that it has the same basic mechanics as the original dota helps as well. Also, do you remember the Super Smash Bros Brawl release tournament? It's kinda similar to that. New game, but a sequel to an already well-established and highly-played…

Right, but for all intents and purposes, it basically is.

Whoa, thanks for the info! Didn't know these games even existed. They don't look very good, though. ;)

Indeed! I actually don't want to play another, different game. I'm perfectly happy with DotA as it is and Valve is only improving on a winning formula. Excited to see it come out soon!

Exactly. You could argue this for any game genre—FPS, platformer, 2D fighter—the basic foundations of each game are the same but beyond that there are plenty of variations that are unique to each game (usually).

Well, there's only two, and Dota 2 doesn't really count as a clone since it's a direct sequel of the original.

I agree. In a micro-intensive team clash, the last thing you want to be focusing on is distinguishing which hero is which. Dota 2's artstyle seems to take the middle road between LoL's bright cartoony designs and HoN's darker, realistic style, which I like.

You should reword your original post, then. The "races" haven't been ripped off, but several of the individual heroes look very similar to their original counterparts. But this is obviously done because Dota 2 is just that, a sequel—not an original IP like LoL or HoN.

Sorry, but no. I see a large muscular creature with no distinct bovinian features, and I see a man with glowing eyes and a mustache in a Raiden-like outfit. I know the heroes they're based off of (earthshaker and storm spirit), and they're not the same creatures.

I'm not sure about "easily torn apart". I mean, we all know what elves and trolls look like. However, you may be right about some specific designs, but we won't know for sure until the hero rosters are revealed in more detail. And I don't think I saw a pandaren or tauren in the trailer, did you?

That's true. DotA itself takes some ideas from other IPs as well. For example, Lina Inverse is obviously from the anime Slayers, and the Phantom Lancer's sprite is directly based on Kimahri from Final Fantasy X.

Yep, and Eul is the original creator of DotA, bringing over StarCraft's Aeon of Strife.

To be fair, Blizzard didn't really invent any races either. Fantasy/mythological creatures such as trolls and gnolls have been around for centuries.

With all the crazy experiments they do, I wouldn't be surprised. Bow before your undead overlord!

I find it deliciously ironic that the "official" North Korean news is probably the least trustworthy news source of all. I'd sooner trust a seedy North Korean gossip mag than the putrid shit the government spews.

Perhaps he was thinking too hard. ;)

Because he wears cool shoes and says cool stuff like "You're too slow!"

I found it humorous that you couldn't figure out Brawl in the Family's gag. Two laughs for the price of one! Thank you sir.

If they did, that would surely only add to their attractiveness.

The past is good.